The Urban Institute Case Study Bullet Analysis
Alexia Tate
Liberty University
18 NOV 2021
Introduction
The organization chosen for the case study is The Urban Institute. According to
guidestar.org The Urban Institute has about 200M in assets and 141M in gross receipts.1 The
Urban Institute brings together researchers that collaborate with one another to examine social
and economic policy changes through evidence based research and objective analysis.
Background2
● President Lyndon Johnson founded The Urban Institute in 1967 to combat the
problem of poverty that American families were facing.
● The Urban Institute focused on the effectiveness of antipoverty programs
established during this time.
● The Urban Institute studied the effects of SNAP (food stamps), cash benefits, tax
credits and other subsidies.
● The Urban Institute’s main goal was to determine the long term effects of these
programs on families living in poverty.
Board Members3
●Strengths of Board Members → Majority of the Board Members have a
financial and entrepreneurial background whether it is building a business,
managing a business or working directly in the business. This is a strength for
the Urban Institite because having a financial background can build a better
perspective of those less fortunate and can create a teaching moment on
how families can pull themselves out of poverty. For example, the board
members could potentially show families the value of building credit, the
value of getting an education, budgeting tactics, and simple financial literacy.
●Weakness of Board Members → Weaknesses would include the opinions of
those on the board. Those in a better financial situation may forget that the
majority of Americans live in poverty and lose sight of that perspective.
Volunteers4-5
● Volunteers are chosen based on the size of the charities. The volunteers are partnered
with paid staff to accomplish goals. 4
● A good system of volunteers includes planning, screening and selection, orientation,
training, and evaluation.5 Planning is an essential part to having volunteers because it
maps out the entire program and finds the areas where the most help is needed.
Planning also allows the last minute questions to be answered such as what resources
are needed and what are the volunteers expected to do? Screening and selection allows
for the best candidate to fill the volunteer role. Regardless if the candidate will receive a
stipend or if services will be free, it is vital to select the best suited candidate in order to
fulfil the agency's vision. Orientation is vital because it will introduce the agency’s vision,
mission and goals and introduce the expectations of the volunteers. Training is the most
important element because without proper training the program will fall apart because
responsibilities and expectations will not be met. Lastly, evaluations will be a
performance measure to determine how effective the volunteer has been performing.
This allows for the management team to hone in on the weaknesses and build on the
strengths.
Strengths and Weaknesses
●S→ Combats the issue of American Poverty through evidence-based research
and objective analysis of federal antipoverty programs.
●W→ The research may be biased based on one population. The Asian
population may respond to anti poverty programs better than the African
American population.
●O→ Opportunitites for growth would include various study designs to research
the effects of these programs.
●T→ Threats would be the change in politics. Everytime the president changes
or the Senate or the House, the agenda changes which in turn effects these
programs.
Performance Measures
● The Urban Institute uses communications through the supervisors to measure
performances.6
● The Urban Institite could adopt quarterly reviews of the staff and use this time to review
salary, assignments, progress etc.
● The Urban Institute could also adopt small merit badges that recognize staff for making
progress with tasks.
Major Functions
● The Urban Institute was created to have a trusted source for information that regards the
well being of Americans.
● “OUR MISSION IS TO OPEN MINDS, SHAPE DECISIONS, AND OFFER SOLUTIONS
THROUGH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLICY RESEARCH.” 7
● Function is clearly stated in the mission.
Financial Sources
●Most of the Urban Institute's funding comes from grants and contracts from all levels of
government and from other institutions, including foundations and other nonprofits,
universities, and corporations.8
Fiscal Analysis8
●Between 2019 and 2020 The Urban Institute was able to increase revenue from the
different financial resources as listed previously. COVID-19 began spreading
uncontrollably in 2019 and in 2020 is when procedures were put in place to prevent the
spread. This could have sparked an increase in revenue as trusted information regarding
COVID-19 was needed. As long as public health crisiss contiunue to happen funding for
The Urban Institute will be required. Especially because ther Urban Institute provides
reliable information without bias and allows for the researcher to formulate own opinions
and beliefs based on research received.
Conclusion
●Overall, The Urban Institute is a great organization that provides unopinionated research
for those seeking the effectiveness of federal antipoverty programs. The only
recommendation I would provide for the organization would be to bring in more board
members that have a background in public health or social work so that the perspective
will always be focused around the mission. Ephesians 4:32 says "Be kind,
compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ."
We need to take care of each other including those less fortunate and the Lord will bless
us.
References
1. The Urban Institute. Guidestar Search. https://www.guidestar.org/search. Accessed
November 18, 2021.
2. Making facts matter for 50 years-and counting. Urban Institute.
https://www.urban.org/about/our-history. Accessed November 18, 2021.
3. Board of Trustees. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/aboutus/who-we-are/board-
trustees. Published October 21, 2021. Accessed November 18, 2021.
4. Hager MA, Brudney JL. Volunteer management practices and retention of volunteers.
Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/volunteer-management-
practices-and-retention-volunteers. Published May 4, 2020. Accessed November 18,
2021.
5. Minnesota Literacy Council. Successful Volunteer Program.
https://www.literacymn.org/sites/default/files/elements_of_a_successful_volunteer_progr
am_2.pdf. Accessed November 18, 2021.
6. Performance measurement and management. Urban Institute.
https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/performance-measurement-
and-management. Published February 15, 2019. Accessed November 18, 2021.
7. About the Urban Institute. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/aboutus. Published
November 9, 2021. Accessed November 18, 2021.
8. Board of Trustees. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/aboutus/who-we-are/board-
trustees. Published October 21, 2021. Accessed November 18, 2021.
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