{"id":13677,"date":"2026-05-26T13:45:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/?p=13677"},"modified":"2026-05-26T13:45:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:45:45","slug":"nonprofits-why-leaders-should-let-practice-refine-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/management-society\/nonprofits-why-leaders-should-let-practice-refine-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofits: why leaders should let practice refine their purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In this video, <a href=\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/expert\/farah-kodeih\/\">Farah KODEIH<\/a>, and co-author Henri SCHILDT (Professor at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aalto.fi\/en\">Aalto University<\/a>), share the findings of their study of a Finnish nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"60 seconds | Nonprofits: why leaders should let practice refine their purpose\" width=\"1778\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MVFuQsC5aeI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers followed the nonprofit over five years \u2014 from its founding during the European refugee crisis through multiple phases of growth, tension, and transformation. &nbsp;The founders launched the organization with an inspiring vision:&nbsp;to&nbsp;integrate refugees into Finnish society through technology entrepreneurship. It was a compelling story that attracted volunteers and donors alike.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>&#8220;But as volunteers began working directly with beneficiaries, they discovered that this vision&nbsp;didn\u2019t&nbsp;match the needs on the ground.,&#8221; explains Professor KODEIH. &#8220;Most refugees&nbsp;weren\u2019t&nbsp;looking to launch startups \u2014 they needed practical pathways into the labor market. This created real tension within the organization.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers found that a nonprofit\u2019s purpose&nbsp;isn\u2019t&nbsp;simply set by founders and preserved over time. &#8220;It\u2019s co-constructed through an ongoing push and pull between three forces: leaders\u2019 aspirational narratives,&nbsp;volunteers and staff\u2019s&nbsp;shared understandings, and day-to-day practices with beneficiaries,&#8221; adds Professor SCHILDT. &#8220;When these fall out of alignment, it can spark conflict \u2014 but that conflict can also be&nbsp;productive.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the case they studied, frontline volunteers&nbsp;ultimately steered&nbsp;the organization from technology entrepreneurship toward labor-market integration \u2014 a purpose&nbsp;grounded in real, observable impact.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>&#8220;Here\u2019s&nbsp;the key insight:&nbsp;leaders often guard against mission drift, but frontline&nbsp;volunteers and staff&nbsp;guard against irrelevance<strong>.<\/strong>&nbsp;By centering what&nbsp;actually helps&nbsp;beneficiaries, they can steer purpose toward tangible impact,&#8221; adds Professor SCHILDT.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>For nonprofit leaders and boards, their message is clear:&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;just protect your&nbsp;aspirations, let practice refine your purpose. &#8220;Align&nbsp;your story with tangible impact \u2014 or risk becoming irrelevant&nbsp;to the very people you set out to serve.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Find out more in their study:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Social Purpose Formation and Evolution in Nonprofit Organizations&#8221; (Organization Science, 2025) by Farah Kodeih, Henri Schildt &amp; Emma Sandstr\u00f6m (Aalto University), Davide Ravasi (UCL) and Jukka-Pekka Heikkil\u00e4 (Independent).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nonprofit organizations are often founded on big, aspirational visions \u2014 but how does a nonprofit\u2019s social purpose actually take shape on the ground? And what happens when the original vision doesn\u2019t match reality?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[488],"tags":[17,18],"article-type":[13],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.5.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Nonprofits: why leaders should let practice refine their purpose<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nonprofit\u00a0organizations\u00a0are\u00a0often\u00a0founded on aspirational visions, but how does a nonprofit\u2019s\u00a0social\u00a0purpose take\u00a0shape on the ground?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/management-society\/nonprofits-why-leaders-should-let-practice-refine-purpose\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nonprofits: why leaders should let practice refine their purpose\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nonprofit\u00a0organizations\u00a0are\u00a0often\u00a0founded on aspirational visions, but how does a nonprofit\u2019s\u00a0social\u00a0purpose take\u00a0shape on the ground?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/management-society\/nonprofits-why-leaders-should-let-practice-refine-purpose\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"I\u00c9SEG Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-26T11:45:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-26T11:45:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/shelby-murphy-figueroa-tYq6MoiTR-E-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew MILLER\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew MILLER\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/management-society\/nonprofits-why-leaders-should-let-practice-refine-purpose\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/management-society\/nonprofits-why-leaders-should-let-practice-refine-purpose\/\",\"name\":\"Nonprofits: why leaders should let practice refine their purpose\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-26T11:45:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-26T11:45:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/#\/schema\/person\/3d9d5305d4471a7c4bf3fa7bda0d004f\"},\"description\":\"Nonprofit\u00a0organizations\u00a0are\u00a0often\u00a0founded on aspirational visions, but how does a nonprofit\u2019s\u00a0social\u00a0purpose take\u00a0shape on the ground?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/management-society\/nonprofits-why-leaders-should-let-practice-refine-purpose\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/management-society\/nonprofits-why-leaders-should-let-practice-refine-purpose\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/resource-center\/management-society\/nonprofits-why-leaders-should-let-practice-refine-purpose\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"I\u00c9SEG Insights\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/insights.ieseg.fr\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Management &amp; 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