The New Face of the Nonprofit: An Analysis of the Math Learning Center

Abstract

This research paper focuses on the operation and regulation of The Math Learning Center (MLC), a private nonprofit corporation based in Oregon. Part 1 will first assess nonprofits themselves as an entity, look at the structure and history of the MLC, and break it down into its individual components. It will then analyze the MLC's behavior as a nonprofit, look at the involvement of the government into the nonprofit sector, and characterize the MLC's components as profit-making sub-divisions. Finally, it will describe and analyze the MLC's high rate of growth over the last several years. Part 2 is a description of my work with the MLC. While studying the firm, I translated samples of their mathematics materials into Spanish. The materials ranged from Visual Mathematics textbooks aimed at the middle school level in the United States, to Box it or Bag it materials aimed at the Kindergarten level in Costa Rica. Part 3 details the value of this research project to me, how it improved my ability as a student, and how it helped to prepare me for Graduate School. The goal of this paper is to distinguish between the structural and innate differences of nonprofit and for-profit firms, and to see how altruistic behavior affects the operation of a firm.