News
The Interdisciplinary Alliance for Nonprofit Organizations at UGA Awarded Engagement Scholarship Consortium Seed Grant
The Interdisciplinary Alliance for Nonprofit Organizations at UGA is pleased to announce that we have received an Engagement Scholarship Consortium Research/Creative Activities Grant to support our community-driven research project, Community-Engaged Research for Resilience: Examining How Collaborative Data Practices Strengthen Nonprofit Adaptability in Times of Policy Change.
This work responds directly to requests from local nonprofit leaders who need credible, region-specific data to navigate recent federal policy and funding disruptions. Partnering with a network of more than 30 nonprofit executives, we will co-design and implement a near-census survey of roughly 200 organizations in Athens–Clarke and Oconee Counties and produce the first Athens Nonprofit Economic Impact Report.
The grant also enables us to study the engaged scholarship process itself—how shared decision-making, participatory research, and university responsiveness shape data quality, trust, and long-term collaboration. The goal is straightforward: generate high-quality economic data that nonprofits can use immediately, while strengthening the research–practice partnership that makes this work possible.
We look forward to moving ahead with our community partners on a project that supports both local resilience and broader learning in community-engaged research.
Alliance Shares Nonprofit Workforce Findings in South Georgia
The Interdisciplinary Alliance for Nonprofit Organizations at the University of Georgia traveled to South Georgia on November 3–4, 2025 to share results from its Nonprofit Employee Benefits Survey and to conduct focus groups with nonprofit leaders. Meetings in Moultrie, Tifton, and Dublin brought together a cross-section of nonprofit executives and staff.
The traveling team included Dr. Rebecca Nesbit and her doctoral student, Gabriel Kidman, along with Sayge Medlin and Dr. Julie Meehan from the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership. The trip was organized with the Archway Partnership, which provided funding and coordinated logistics. Angel Jackson supported statewide planning, while local Archway professionals Valerie Dixon and Sarah Hand recruited participants and managed on-the-ground details.
The sessions highlighted key findings about the benefits nonprofits offer, how employees value those benefits, and how benefits relate to job satisfaction, retention, and burnout. After the presentation, the team led focus groups to gather deeper qualitative insights.
This work reflects the strength of UGA’s public service and academic collaboration. The research team will synthesize the survey and focus group results and share a statewide report with nonprofit leaders in the coming months.
