Reading Room
The following are selected books, articles and blogs that offer some interesting perspective on our work in the nonprofit sector.
The New York Times recently published a thought-provoking piece on "What is Charity?" It points out changes in philanthropy in recent years, and asks questions about the intersection of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector as a whole. "Across the country, nonprofit leaders who battle poverty saw hope in Hurricane Katrina, which starkly illustrated how even something as evenhanded as a natural disaster can discriminate against the have-nots...Yet, among the many who had been turning away from Americans most in need of charity was the philanthropic sector itself. Last year, the share of giving going to organizations most directly related to helping the poor hit a record low, accounting for less than 10 percent of the $248 billion donated by Americans and their philanthropic institutions.Adjusted for inflation, gifts to health groups have almost tripled over the last four decades, and those to educational institutions have risen almost fourfold, while donations to human services groups are up only 28 percent." Read more...
These are trying times for the nonprofit sector. And yet, signs abound that the sector is poised to recover from its current troubles and, indeed, may have its best days ahead of it. To get a better idea of where the sector is headed, Philanthropy News Digest recently spoke with Audrey Alvarado, executive director of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, the national umbrella organization of state and regional associations of nonprofits, about the impact on the sector of changes in the nonprofit regulatory environment, the sector's response to government efforts to curb nonprofit advocacy, and why it's important for nonprofits to rediscover their values and purpose.
Fifteen years ago, Robert Egger asked himself this same question and knew there had to be a better way. In 1989, he started the DC Central Kitchen by collecting unused food from local restaurants, caterers, and hotels and bringing it back to a central location where hot, nutritious meals were prepared and distributed to agencies around the city. Since then, the DC Central Kitchen has become one of the most respected and emulated nonprofit agencies in the world. In Begging for Change, Robert Egger looks back on his experience and exposes the startling lack of logic, waste, and ineffectiveness he has encountered during his years in the nonprofit sector, and calls for reform of this $800 billion industry from the inside out.
Robert shared his ideas with Arizona nonprofits twice in the fall of 2005, appearing at an Arizona Grantmakers Forum event, and delivering the lunch keynote at the Communtiy Leadership Forum.
To find out more about Robert Egger's thinking, read his blog.
There is an interesting dynamic in the nonprofit community that has the potential to develop young leaders, yet at the same time has the potential to defeat them. Read more from the "Progressive Nonprofits Dia-Blog"...
In collaboration with the Yale School of Management-The Goldman Sachs Foundation Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures, this comprehensive guide identifies best practices for generating a reliable income stream and ultimately reducing nonprofit organizations' dependence on traditional sources of funding. Edited by renowned scholar and consultant Sharon Oster and Cynthia Massarsky and Samantha Beinhacker, deputy directors of The Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures, Generating and Sustaining Nonprofit Earned Income: A Guide to Successful Enterprise Strategies will teach readers sound business planning strategies that can significantly benefit their organization's internal capacity and financial health.
Paul Light, renowned expert on public service and nonprofit management, h3ly argues for capacity-building measures as a way to sustain and improve the efforts of the nonprofit sector. With innovative data and insightful analysis, he demonstrates how nonprofits that invest in technology, training, and strategic planning can successfully advance their goals and restore public faith in their mission and capabilities.
Nonprofit organizations are playing an increasingly important role in delivering basic government services. Yet they are discouraged by federal law from participating in legislative lobbying efforts-even on issues that affect their clients directly. Without the involvement of nonprofits in the governmental process, the vulnerable populations they serve are left without effective representation in the political system. A Voice for Nonprofits by Jeffrey M. Berry analyzes the effect of government restrictions on the participation of nonprofits in the policymaking process and suggests ways to address the problems. Received the Leon Epstein Award from the American Political Science Association's Political Organizations and Parties Section for its "outstanding contribution to research and scholarship on political organizations and parties."
"Adaptive capacity: The skill to take the initiative in making adjustments for improved performance, relevance and impact. Fundamentally, it is the ability to respond to and instigate change. The importance of this aptitude for change grows as organizations appreciate the breadth, complexity and dynamism of their organizational ambitions and operating environments. As used here, adaptive capacity includes the ability to generate or initiate change-challenging the organization's external circumstances." This article in Nonprofit Quarterly is excerpted from a paper produced for Management Consulting Services (MCS) in Boston.
Author: Stevens, Susan
Date: 2001
This book offers practical insights and thought-provoking case illustrations, highlighting the seven nonprofit lifecycle stages and the predictable tasks, challenges and inevitable growing pains that nonprofits encounter and can hope to master on the road to organizational sustainability.
This issue is the culmination of work of a national group of nonprofit infrastructure organizations and funders (PDF). The articles in this issue illustrate the crucial and varied roles national infrastructure groups play in strengthening the work of nonprofit organizations.