Teaching Paper: Stakeholder Engagement Framework for Nonprofit Organizations

This Teaching Paper introduces a Stakeholder Engagement Framework tailored to nonprofits seeking to strengthen relationships, enhance trust, and sustain mission-driven impact. The framework includes seven core elements: stakeholder identification, understanding needs, designing engagement strategies, building collaboration, creating feedback mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation, and transparent reporting. A case study from a community health nonprofit in Uganda illustrates how structured engagement practices increased donor retention and community participation. Rooted in Bryson’s (2018) strategic alignment, Drucker’s (1990) principles of accountability, and Patton’s (2011) adaptive learning, the framework bridges theory and practice. For scholars, it contributes to nonprofit governance and management studies; for practitioners, it provides actionable steps to operationalize stakeholder theory in real-world contexts.