Who Benefits From The Nonprofit Sector

Over a million nonprofit organizations, from day-care centers and neighborhood churches to major research universities and metropolitan hospitals, are currently relied upon to deliver an array of essential social services. This is in keeping with a historical conviction that private voluntary action, as opposed to government intervention, should address as many of the nation's social needs as possible. But just how much to rely on the nonprofit sector is the question at the center of a growing debate. Critics challenge the assumption that nonprofit organizations have successfully directed much of their benefits toward the poor and disadvantaged - an assumption that has to date justified favorable tax treatment for donations and nonprofit operations. Who Benefits from the Nonprofit Sector? examines all the major elements of the nonprofit sector - health services, educational and research institutions, religious organizations, social services, arts and cultural organizations, and foundations - describing each institution and its function, and then exploring how their benefits are distributed across various economic classes. The book's findings indicate that while few institutions serve primarily the poor, there is no evidence of a gross distribution of benefits upwards toward the more affluent. The source of an institution's funding is also shown to be an important determinant in how its benefits are distributed. They show, for example, that: . Nonprofit nursing homes and drug treatment centers have a lower concentration of Medicaid patients than their for-profit public counterparts do. Twenty-seven percent of social service agencies serve primarily the poor, and the large majority ofthese received most of their income from the federal government. The effective educational subsidy (i.e., cost of education less tuition) per person at both public and private univenities increases with income. The analysis of this data makes for a book with profound implications for future social and tax policy.

This accessible study examines all the major elements of the nonprofit sector of the economy of the United States —health services, educational and research institutions, religious organizations, social services, arts and cultural organizations, and foundations—describing the institutions and their functions, and then exploring how their benefits are distributed across various economic classes. The book's findings indicate that while few institutions serve primarily the poor, there is no evidence of a gross distribution of benefits upward toward the more affluent. The analysis of this data makes for a book with profound implications for future social and tax policy.

The growth of the non-profit, voluntary or third sector has been widely recognized throughout the world. This text seeks to provide a definition and a common classification of the non-profit sector, while recognizing the great diversity of voluntarism internationally.

The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector is a collection of insightful and influential classic and recent readings on the existence, forms, and functions of the nonprofit sector—the sector that sits between the market and government. The readings encompass a wide variety of perspectives and disciplines and cover everything from Andrew Carnegie’s turn-of-the-century philosophy of philanthropy to the most recent writings of current scholars and practitioners. Each of the text’s ten parts opens with a framing essay by the editors that provides an overview of the central themes and issues, as well as sometimes competing points of view. The fourth edition of this comprehensive volume includes both new and classic readings, as well as two new sections on the international NGO sector and theories about intersectoral relations. The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector, Fourth Edition is therefore an impressively up-to-date reader designed to provide students of nonprofit and public management with a thorough overview of this growing field.

“Timely, unique, and definitive . . . not only chronicles the history of the nonprofit sector but also provides a broad but critical analysis of its current state.” —Vartan Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corporation of New York The nonprofit sector has changed in fundamental ways in recent decades. As the sector has grown in scope and size, both domestically and internationally, the boundaries between for-profit, governmental, and charitable organizations have become intertwined. Nonprofits are increasingly challenged on their roles in mitigating or exacerbating inequality. And debates flare over the role of voluntary organizations in democratic and autocratic societies alike. The Nonprofit Sector takes up these concerns and offers a cutting-edge empirical and theoretical assessment of the state of the field. This book, now in its third edition, brings together leading researchers—economists, historians, philosophers, political scientists, and sociologists along with scholars from communication, education, law, management, and policy schools—to investigate the impact of associational life. Chapters consider the history of the nonprofit sector and of philanthropy; the politics of the public sphere; governance, mission, and engagement; access and inclusion; and global perspectives on nonprofit organizations. Across this comprehensive range of topics, The Nonprofit Sector makes an essential contribution to the study of civil society. Praise for previous editions “Takes a decidedly multidisciplinary approach . . . .invaluable.” —Journal of Policy Analysis and Management “A major contribution to the field.” —Social Forces

Nonprofit organizations are all around us. Many people send their children to nonprofit day-care centers, schools, and colleges, and their elderly parents to nonprofit nursing homes; when they are ill, they may well go to a nonprofit hospital; they may visit a nonprofit museum, read the magazine of the nonprofit National Geographic Society, donate money to a nonprofit arts organization, watch the nonprofit public television station, exercise at the nonprofit YMCA. Nonprofits surround us, but we rarely think about their role in the economy, or the possibility of their competing unfairly with private enterprise. Burton Weisbrod asks the important questions: What is the rationale for public subsidy of nonprofit organizations? In which sectors of the economy are they of real importance? Why do people contribute money and time to them and why should donations be tax deductible? What motivates managers of nonprofits? Why are these organizations exempt from taxes on income, property, and sales? When the search for revenue brings nonprofits into competition with proprietary firms—as when colleges sell computers or museum gift shops sell books and jewelry—is that desirable? Weisbrod examines the raison d’être for nonprofits. The evidence he assembles shows that nonprofits are particularly useful in situations where consumers have little information on what they are purchasing and must therefore rely on the probity of the seller. Written in a clear, direct style without technicalities, The Nonprofit Economy is addressed to a broad audience, dealing comprehensively with what nonprofits do, how well they do it, how they are financed, and how they interact with private enterprises and government. At the same time, the book presents important new evidence on the size and composition of the nonprofit part of the economy, the relationship between financial sources and outputs, and the different roles of nonprofits and for-profit organizations in the same industries. The Nonprofit Economy will become a basic source for anyone with a serious interest in nonprofit organizations.

A first step toward understanding the role of nonprofit organizations in the context of an emerging global society?in developed and developing countries around the world.