August 23, 2001 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Third Sector Management: The Art of Managing Nonprofit Organizations
by Evan M. Berman and William B. Werther Jr.
Why do some charities succeed while others fail? What can nonprofit leaders do to increase their chances of success? And why is having a strategic plan important to building a useful nonprofit organization?
In this new textbook, the authors set out to answer these questions and others about the nature of nonprofit management. Evan M. Berman, associate professor of public administration at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, and William B. Werther Jr., co-director of the Center for Nonprofit Management at the University of Miami, write that although many nonprofit groups believe “the single key to success is fund raising, we believe that fund raising depends on how the nonprofit is positioned and performs.” The key, the authors write, is to assume “vision, mission, strategy, and execution are pillars on which success is built.”
To examine the theme of management as key to nonprofit success, Mr. Berman and Mr. Werther discuss issues such as leadership, board development, stategic planning, hiring staff, fund raising, working with other groups, increasing productivity, and making staff people accountable.
Part One looks at what components are needed for charities to succeed. It includes a discussion of the role of nonprofit groups in society, the limitations and benefits of creating strategic plans, and an analysis of the tools needed to assess a group’s potential for growth.
Part Two discusses how to execute a strategic plan based on the organization’s mission. The authors explain the need for productivity and efficiency, creating alliances among public and private groups, and using performance measures.
The book is designed for graduate courses in nonprofit management but may be useful to nonprofit staff members, volunteers, and board members as well.
Publisher: Georgetown University Press, P.O. Box 4866, Bethesda, Md. 21211-0866; (800) 246-9606 or (410) 516-6995; http://www.georgetown.edu/publications/gup; 228 pages; $60, hardcover; $24.95, paper; I.S.B.N. 0-87840-843-6 (hardcover); 0-87840-844-4 (paper).
