Understanding nonprofit leaders' perceptions of organizational efficiency

With limited resources and increased demand, efficiency is essential for nonprofits. However, there is minimal research into understanding nonprofit leaders' perceptions of efficiency. This study is based on interviews with Habitat for Humanity leaders across the United States. Applying a case study approach with qualitative content analysis and descriptive statistics, two key findings emerge. First, some nonprofit leaders are conflating efficiency and effectiveness. Second, in more than half of the cases, nonprofit leaders' perceptions of their organizations' efficiency failed to align with a commonly accepted objective measure of efficiency applied to those organizations. These results raise concerns and have significant implications for nonprofit performance and communication with key stakeholders.