Part A Provide an overview of the organization’s history and purpose.

Part B Discuss the organization’s financial and performance fluctuation.

Part C Evaluate Corporate Governance and the Board of Directors.

Part D Discuss the internal environment (corporate structure, culture, and resources).

Part E Explain whether you think the organization has made the correct strategic decisions and if you feel that they are or are not poised for future success.

ANSWER

Nonprofit Organizations: American Heart Association (AHA)

Organizational Overview

Nonprofit organizations, as the name states, are non-business tax-exempt institutions that conduct their activities and affairs for the betterment of people. They focus on assisting people rather than and making profits. The America Heart Association (AHA) is an example of a health voluntary or nonprofit agency, and this paper’s focus. AHA was founded in 1924 by six cardiologists and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with the main purpose of funding cardiovascular and medically related research in the fight against heart diseases and strokes among individuals, as seen through the Journal of American Heart Association (AHA, About Us, 2020). Globally, heart disease is ranked first as the world killer while strokes ranked second, resulting in death or disability among patients. AHA is America’s maturest and largest cardiovascular nonprofit organization employing over 3,400 employees, over 33 million volunteers, and supporters operating in seven local regions. AHA’s mission statement is, “To be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.” In addition to cardiovascular research, AHA educates, creates awareness, and publishes heart disease and stroke guidelines while providing life support, ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support), and PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) among its patients and supporters (AHA, 2020).

Financial and Performance Fluctuation

In the 2018-2019 fiscal year, AHA’s financial highlights in the annual report record total revenue of $887,420 (thousands), with contributions, gifts, and grants contributing 46.7% of the revenue ($414,425), fundraising events contributing 52.1% ($462,234), and the rest from federal campaigns and grants (1.2%). Total expenses are seen in programs (80.6%) of the revenue, and Appendix I shows the expense and revenue performance 2014-2018. The remaining 19.4% accounts for education, community service, and management (AHA, 2019). According to Charity Navigator (2020), AHA’s financial performance is rated at a 90.57 score out of 100 with a 97 score in accountability and transparency. These ratings and scores indicate a financially healthy, accountable, and transparent organization, thus a performer and achiever of their purpose and mission. The table below shows historical ratings in AHA’s financial performance to explain fluctuations of performance (Charity Navigator, 2020).

Corporate Governance and Board of Directors

The corporate governance and leadership in AHA are composed of AHA’s president, who is also the chairperson of the board of directors, a CEO (Nancy Brown), and volunteer board of directors from seven AHA regions. They include Western States, Southwest, Greater Southeast, Midwest, Great Rivers, Mid-Atlantic, and Founding regions. The board of directors’ primary role is to effectively impact and change among cardiovascular disease patients and people living in milieus with increased and high percentages of polluted environments (AHA, THE IMPACT OF YOUR DOLLAR, 2019). The impact includes educating and creating awareness among people together with their workforce on healthy living, the importance of unpolluted or smoke-free atmosphere, healthy eating, and the management of cholesterol, blood pressure, body weight, and glucose.

AHA Internal Environment

AHA’s internal operating environment comprises a differentiated and highly skilled workforce, goals and values that form a shared organizational culture and strategic positioning, resources and core competencies, and dedicated leadership with an effective matrix corporate structure. Primarily, AHA is well endowed resourcefully and is strategically positioned to achieve its missions and goals. AHA has over 156 offices in the country from the seven regions with a highly trained, engaged, and a valued workforce of 3,200 employees and over 30 million volunteers and supporters. These valuable assets and capabilities enhance and improve its already trusted brand and reputation. The organization’s segments, such as the R & D, are heavily invested, with about $3.9 billion targeting increased cardiovascular research, education, treatment, and awareness (AHA, 2019). This indicates financial strengths, as seen in the financial performance and health in the finance section. The workforce involves equipped, experienced, and trustworthy volunteers, best-known scientists, doctors, health experts, and board of directors from well-positioned top companies. The matrix (functional and divisional), organization structure, communication efficiency, employee motivation, and effective resource utilization benefits are acquired. AHA’s total and net assets are part of the financial health and high performance that enhances its core competencies. Finally, the organization’s guiding values, including improving and extending people’s lives through trustworthy commitments, extensive research, and ensuring equitable health access, create a culture of togetherness, partnerships seen through wide volunteer-ship, and a shared goal of service to humanity as the sole and primary reason. AHA’s pillars and goals include transforming healthcare, communities, enabling policy and system change, and finding a scientific breakthrough, through which by 2020, AHA wishes to reduce cardiovascular cases and deaths by 20%. By 2018, they already achieved a 15.1% reduction in heart disease and 13.6% in strokes, which is great progress and indication of a successful future (AHA, 2019).

Conclusion

AHA uniquely and strategically positions in the healthcare industry, and the goals, pillars, activities, and organizational culture align with the organization’s mission, vision, and essence, or purpose. American Health Association is poised for the future as seen through its capabilities, including a differentiated and highly skilled workforce, extensive and comprehensive R&D, goals and values that form a shared organizational culture and strategic positioning, resources and core competencies, and dedicated leadership with an effective matrix corporate structure. The organization seems prepared from research, development, with differentiated and exemplary programs on heart disease and strokes and most importantly, possesses multiple sources of funding, and revenue streams to finance programs, activities, and research that are core aspects in its strategic decisions.

References

AHA. (2019, June 30). THE IMPACT OF YOUR DOLLAR. Retrieved from American Heart Association: https://www.heart.org/-/media/files/about-us/annual-report/american-heart-association-annual-report-for-2018-2019.pdf?la=en

AHA. (2020). About Us. Retrieved from American Heart Association: https://www.heart.org/en/about-us

Charity Navigator. (2020, March). American Heart Association. Retrieved from https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3260