tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061889597444937225.post6479668508026151894..comments2023-04-02T08:45:48.407-07:00Comments on private foundations PLUS: When Is the Nonprofit Sector Big Enough?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05396784041176426677noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061889597444937225.post-53432063436371316052013-11-10T22:15:45.258-08:002013-11-10T22:15:45.258-08:00Hi Anonymous,
Thanks for your response and engage...Hi Anonymous,<br /><br />Thanks for your response and engagement in this topic. There is no question of the value of the nonprofit sector; on many levels, this sector is breathtakingly productive, powerful, and useful. The nonprofit sector—both public charities and private foundations alike—have contributed positively to our daily lives. But the single reason I wrote this particular essay was to ask the following question: If the nonprofit sector was developed and structurally designed for voluntary action to respond to needs at a localized level, then aren’t there just some things that this sector is not capable of realizing (which a retrospective look anecdotally and empirically confirms), such as ending homelessness, fighting climate change, ensuring a sense of security and well-being, and so on and so forth that make continuing to grow this sector with the false hope that it can do all these things a disingenuous proposition? The nonprofit sector, on the macro level, is not the place to realize the redistribution of wealthy and opportunity, which is fundamental to realizing many nonprofits’ missions. A greater realization of the strengths and weaknesses of the nonprofit sector will help in improving strategically this sector as well as channeling energy and resources appropriately across all three sectors—enterprise, public, and private nonprofit—toward addressing seemingly intractable problems. Growing the nonprofit sector (i.e., increasing the number and size of its institutions) for the simple sake of growth is not the answer to positive social change, yet that has been the track this sector has been on for over forty years.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05396784041176426677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061889597444937225.post-90637426340963400302013-11-05T09:29:25.722-08:002013-11-05T09:29:25.722-08:00Having worked in all three sectors: Government, Fo...Having worked in all three sectors: Government, For-Profit, and Non-Profit - I don't think the question is whether the non-profit sector is too big (or if some of the work done in Non-profit should go to government). I can tell you that non-profit plays an important role in the make up of the community and the effectiveness of services. Non-profits are able to tackle issues faster and with fewer barriers than government and more cost-consciously than for-profit entities (because its not about return to the board of directors -its about return on the mission). Also, I think it is important to note that you are really talking about a sect within the non-profit sector - the Foundations. <br /><br />I also think the question runs much deeper and is harder to answer. Are the community non-profit foundations making themselves responsible for engaging the whole (local, state, national and/or international) community and getting quality feedback on the outcomes, operations, and really answering for the quality of the product they are producing? Further, regardless of Reich's astute reality of what the non-profit foundation sector was intended to be and what it has become, we in the Non-Profit Sector, like all industries, are subject to evolution and change. We are not immune to the tide - we must be willing to change with the needs of the community or some organizations and some foundations will have to come to an end. Further, we, as non profits service organizations need to tell the Foundation that change is necessary - but we seem to be struggling to take our place at the table and declare what we need to make our sector work best. And, its not easy to tell the Foundations what we need- particularly because we fear the retribution might be exile if they don't like what we say. Further, we don't know if the foundations are ready for what we have to say - particularly the board members. It takes great leadership and maturity within the elite institutional foundations of each community (Greater Phoenix, LA, Cleveland, Boston, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, etc) where the staff and board of the foundation will take the betterment of the community, immediately and well into the future, seriously. And that seriousness takes planning, partnerships, and forethought. Community Leaders (non-profit executives of all service industries, neighborhood leaders, local elected officials), Business Leaders (large, medium, small and emerging industries), and EDUCATION leaders (universities, local public schools, private schools, early education) all need to be together at a table determining the short-term and long-term best interests of the community. The interests might be the poor, it might be education, it might be transportation, it might be housing....it may be a priority list of all of these. But, the donors and the leaders in the community should be encouraged (from all sides) to participate in these solutions - and they should be held accountable to the community (publicly if necessary) if they don't participate. So, I don't think its about the Non-Profit sector getting smaller - I think its about the non-profit foundations sector building REAL partnerships that bring everyone to the table, partnerships that encourage participation in solving problems instead of using band-aids of funding on a year-to-year (ever shrinking) basis to fund the wants of the few instead of the real needs of the community. So, I don't think the Non-Profit sector is "big enough" I think our tent has to get organized and new organizations will emerge and others will wane to meet the needs of our ever changing communities. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com