Abstract
Originally published in 2000 and 2001, the recently released second editions of The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector and Understanding Nonprofit Organizations: Governance, Leadership, and Management offer 39 new chapters. The previous editor, J. Steven Ott, is now joined by Lisa A. Dicke. Both volumes include classic works such as Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of wealth” that were also included in the first editions, while the new chapters reflect some of the changes in the nonprofit sector over the past 10 years. It is well worth purchasing the second editions, as the changes are significant and useful. The volumes work well together and are valuable resources that will help students, professionals, and scholars alike explore and understand the external and internal environments of nonprofit organizations.
J. Steven Ott is the director of the Institute of Public and International Affairs and a professor of political science/public administration at the University of Utah. Lisa A. Dicke is an associate professor and PhD coordinator for the Public Administration program at the University of North Texas. Their teaching and research span the nonprofit, public, and private sectors, and their expertise is apparent in their selection of chapters and ability to frame the issues through the preface and introductory chapters for each section.
Ott and Dicke emphasize that while the private and public sectors experience some of the same issues, such as accountability, the books focus on the distinctive features of the nonprofit sector related to these issues. The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector includes chapters about the external environment of nonprofit organizations, including theories. Understanding Nonprofit Organizations focuses on issues within the organization and, as the title suggests, includes readings about governance, leadership, and management.
There are 10 parts to each volume. The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector includes a section about each of the following: an overview of the nonprofit sector, values and contributions to society, historical evolution, rationale for tax exemption and tax deductions, theories (economic and political theories, social and community theories, organization theories, theories of giving), the blending and blurring of the sectors, and finally, a new section about the global context. Understanding Nonprofit Organizations includes sections about governance, legal issues, leadership, capacity building, fund development, social entrepreneurship and commercialism, government contracts, networks and collaborations, budgets and finance issues, managing volunteers, and accountability and evaluation. Overall, the volumes reach the editors’ goals of presenting a story of the nonprofit sector that is readable and focuses on the central ideas that are important for students and professionals to grasp.
Each section begins with an introduction by the editors that is particularly helpful to the reader in sorting out which chapters in the section may be most relevant. In addition, the editors help make connections to other relevant sections and chapters of the book. The books do not need to be read from first to last chapter in order to be useful but can be accessed by the chapter topic of interest. Most sections also include charts, figures, and tables to illustrate the topics. The books unfortunately do not include indexes.
Students and beginning professionals are particularly advised to read the prefaces of the volumes for context and clarity. In The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector, Ott and Dicke discuss the intimidating nature of theory and state,
There are many different types of theories that attempt to explain why the sector exists in its current form and how nonprofit organizations and the people in and around them behave in different circumstances . . . the macrolevel theories in this volume try to explain and predict the existence, form, and functions of the sector, groups of organizations in the sector, or at the lowest level, individual organizations. (p. xvi)
More than half of the book’s chapters are related to theory and are relevant and readable. Although practitioners may not be particularly likely to pull out these sections in day-to-day functioning, teachers, students, and researchers will find them helpful as a starting point for identifying theories and pulling apart the what, how, and why of the sector.
Each section centers around a complex issue that is first presented in an introductory chapter to frame the issue. The accompanying chapters then provide varying levels of discussion about the issue. Part 5 of Understanding Nonprofit Organizations regarding fund development demonstrates the editors’ ability to select chapters that provide depth and breadth, classic and contemporary. The chapter by W. E. Lindahl offers insight about fundraising as a process instead of just the action of asking for money. The chapter by J. Pratt provides breadth and a valuable chart for understanding the various types of funding and the strengths and challenges associated with each. Part 5 also includes a chapter about giving circles by A. M. Eikenberry that highlights a growing, contemporary fundraising strategy, and a piece about foundations by E. T. Boris that remains relevant even after 13 years. Overall, this is one of the best sections for beginning practitioners because it contains current works, direct explanations, and enough depth to get started on the fundraising path. Combined with Dropkin and Hayden’s chapter in Part 8 about types of nonprofit income, the reader obtains a relatively full picture of income sources and related financial and cash flow management issues.
The editors note that the books are appropriate for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses and can be used as a stand-alone text or supplement. I agree with their assessment but note that many of the chapters will be difficult for undergraduate students and perhaps not appropriate as a stand-alone text for undergraduate courses. Individual chapters or sections are more likely to be useful for the undergraduate audience. Instructors will find that the editors have taken some of the difficult work out of finding “just the right chapter” to assign students.
New and experienced professionals will find straightforward chapters and an accessible desk reference. I recently recommended Understanding Nonprofit Organizations to the leaders of a developing grassroots organization that is seeking nonprofit status. A few relevant highlights are Block’s chapter about nonprofit boards and Arnsberger, Ludlum, Riley, and Stanton’s chart about the types of exempt organizations. Experienced professionals will likely turn to some of the more issue-specific chapters, such as those about legal concerns, for assistance.
With all the updates to the second edition, it is surprising to note that two sections in particular do not include recent chapters. Part 2 of The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector offers a discussion of the values and contributions to society, not an easy task given the wide range of purposes and types of nonprofits. It is even more difficult given that nonprofits sometimes provide services in the same field where for-profit and government entities (e.g., hospitals) operate. The readings revolve around the distinctiveness of the nonprofit sector and are all historical in nature. While these readings offer an important understanding of critical events that helped shape the values and contribution of the nonprofit sector, the section is missing a reading about values and contributions in today’s society. In Understanding Nonprofit Organizations, there are two readings in Part 3 about leadership, but both are dated. There is a missed opportunity, therefore, to bring these discussions into the current decade.
Overall, the editors were successful in choosing chapters that offer something unique and, as their cover art suggests, help to put together the pieces of the puzzle for a complete view of the nonprofit sector. These books are now part of my “go-to” books as an instructor for macro-level social work courses and as a cofounder and community organizer working with various stakeholders on a new social service initiative.