December 12, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The State of Nonprofit America
by Lester M. Salamon
Nonprofit groups in the United States have proved resilient in the face of fiscal and other challenges, writes Lester Salamon, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, in Baltimore.
This volume, co-published by the Aspen Institute and the Brookings Institution, both in Washington, provides overviews of developments affecting nonprofit organizations in specific fields such as health, education and training, social services, and international assistance. Other chapters focus on the current state of giving and volunteering and the growing number of nonprofit groups that provide training, research, and advocacy to support other charities. The book also discusses challenges facing organizations throughout the nonprofit world and the adjustments they have made to overcome them.
Nonprofit groups are undergoing what Mr. Salamon calls a “quiet revolution.” They are increasingly marketing their services to paying customers; fees and charges for services account for nearly half the growth in charity revenue in the last two decades. In addition, he says, they are developing professional fund-raising techniques that no longer focus on the wealthy but reach a broader audience, and they are creating new partnerships with businesses. Those approaches have contributed to the significant growth in the numbers of nonprofit organizations and in their total revenue over the last 20 years, says Mr. Salamon.
In one essay, Mr. Salamon and Dennis R. Young, chief executive officer of the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise, in Arlington, Va., discuss the increasing commercialization of nonprofit organizations and their competition with for-profit companies. They argue that as the government steps up its distribution of vouchers to the consumers of social services—at times at the expense of direct grants to nonprofit groups that provide services—charities must advertise their services more aggressively to attract clients. Additionally, they note that many charities have begun to engage in businesses—such as renting their facilities to private parties—not directly related to their missions. Although running businesses may help charities obtain revenue, the authors warn that doing so might also threaten charities’ commitment to serving those in the greatest need, and could tempt groups to shift their focus from what is morally best to what is financially wise.
Another chapter discusses accountability and the public perception of nonprofit organizations. Evelyn Brody, a professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, writes that many Americans do not understand the need for charities to spend money on overhead costs and are frustrated when private donations or government grants are not spent entirely on charitable programs and services. Ms. Brody argues that organizations should seek to explain how they spend their money and show Americans what money spent on overhead actually buys.
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; (202) 797-6258 or (800) 275-1447; fax (202) 797-6004; http://www.brookings.edu; 563 pages; $62.95 cloth, $28.95 paper.
