Barriers and Challenges to Service Delivery and Funding: A Case Study of a Nonprofit Organization in the Western Cape, South Africa

Authors

  • Simone Martin-Howard Long Island University - Brooklyn

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20899/jpna.5.3.293-316

Keywords:

Nonprofit Service Delivery, South Africa, Underserved Populations

Abstract

There is limited qualitative case research focusing on the underreported voices of black and coloured men and women employed at nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and living in underserved communities of South Africa. The purpose of this single case study, then, is to explore barriers and challenges to service delivery and funding at one specific NPO in South Africa’s Western Cape Province (WCP). To do so, I rely on observations and indepth semistructured interviews with 11 staff members. According to a majority of the staff, religion and race are the primary barriers that prevent the organization from achieving its goals and objectives. Moreover, they note that poverty and poor living conditions, child abandonment and neglect as a result of maternal alcohol abuse, and racial and cultural tensions are contextual challenges that inhibit organizational effectiveness. While these barriers and challenges are specific to this particular NPO, the contextual factors that staff identified are evident in other townships in the WCP. As such, the findings from this study add to the knowledge of NPOs in the WCP and provide insights into how to improve service delivery for low-income and underserved populations in the region.

Author Biography

  • Simone Martin-Howard, Long Island University - Brooklyn

    Simone Martin-Howard is an Assistant Professor of Healthcare Administration at Long Island University-Brooklyn. Her multidisciplinary research interests include nonprofit service delivery, healthcare administration and policy, global health, maternal and child health, transnational crime, prisoner re-entry, and addressing violence as a public health issue. Prior to her academic career, she held positions at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Onondaga County Health Department, the New York State Department of Health, the Syracuse Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, and the Vera Institute of Justice.

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Published

2019-12-01

Issue

Section

Research Articles

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