The capacity challenges of nonprofit, community-based organizations

This mixed method case study explored the capacity challenges of neighbourhood based community centres related to the areas of governance and leadership, program delivery, financial management and human resources. The study involved the examination of three community centres with multi-mandates (i.e., provide programs and services to individuals from pre-school to seniors in the areas of social, educational, recreational and health) and utilized three phases of data collection: 1) surveys with board members; 2) focus groups with all boards and staff; and 3) document review which examined pertinent organizational policies and procedures. Questions were aimed at gaining an understanding of some of the challenges faced by staff and administrators of neighbourhood based community centres, as there a gap in the research in this particular area. Research findings identified a number of related challenges facing non-profit organizations specifically in the areas of funding and staffing and how these challenges impact both day to day operations and longer term sustainability. More research is needed with nonprofit organizations that have these broader mandates and diverse operational challenges, hence greater capacity building challenges.

The influence of a peer mentor program for international students on domestic peer mentors and their intercultural development

In this study, a mixed method approach was used to examine the experience of 43 domestic peer mentors who participated in a peer mentoring program for international students offered at Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada. The study aimed to answer the following questions: 1) does participating in a mentorship program for international students result in change in the intercultural development for domestic peer mentors as measured by the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)? 2) what were the experiences of domestic peer mentors participating in a peer mentoring program for international students? Following the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Bennett, 1998) as a guide, this study used the scores from the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) to gain an understanding of the influence of the program. The scores obtained pre and post mentorship experiences were compared and a significant difference was found. Reflections from 120 monthly reports and seven individual semi-structured interviews were also conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the mentorship experience and the influence it had on the mentors’ intercultural development. The benefits of intercultural peer mentoring on student development of skills such as leadership, communication and empathy are also discussed. The study echoes previous research that calls for an increased amount of facilitated intercultural program within university campuses. The study also advocates for further implementation of programs that provide opportunities for intercultural learning between domestic and international students in order for intercultural development to improve in higher educational settings.