May 16, 2002 | Read Time: 1 minute
Pathways to Nonprofit Excellence
by Paul C. Light
Under scrutiny for their performance following the September 11 attacks and facing increased competition from businesses and faith-based organizations, nonprofit organizations must strive to improve their performance, writes Paul C. Light.
“No amount of government funding, philanthropic largesse, or program innovation will matter if the sector does not make the investments needed to both achieve and sustain high performance,” says Mr. Light, director of the Center for Public Service at the Brookings Institution, in Washington. “The key issue today is not what the sector delivers, but how it operates.”
The book, which is based on nationwide surveys and interviews with 500 nonprofit leaders and experts, explores the effects of recent efforts by charities to improve and offers a look into “well-tuned” organizations.
The majority of experts interviewed for this book agreed that nonprofit organizations are better managed today than five years ago, but no one knows which changes worked or why they made a difference, says Mr. Light.
“It is little wonder that reforms come and go like waves at the seashore, rarely leaving a lasting imprint in the overall performance of the sector,” he writes.
The bulk of the book attempts to show what makes for a high-performing organization. Mr. Light explains that organizations vary greatly in their choice of strategy to improve performance, some starting with management, others with the accounting system. He also describes structural characteristics that high performers have in common, such as making good use of technology and maintaining a diverse staff.
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; 182 pages; $14.95; I.S.B.N. 0-8157-0625-1.
