The Nonprofit Sector
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.
"Now in its third edition, The Nonprofit Sector continues to build the field of nonprofit studies by exploring the full range of organizations, associations, actions, and interactions that constitute the voluntary sector in the US and globally. Featuring a broad and multidisciplinary range of scholars, this work provokes us to reexamine the history and envision the future of nonprofit scholarship and practice. The Nonprofit Sector generates a rich research agenda that will stimulate novel and innovative scholarship for years to come."—Mary Kay Gugerty, University of Washington
"Walter Powell, Patricia Bromley, and Stanford University Press are to be congratulated for assembling this timely, unique, and definitive volume which not only chronicles the history of the nonprofit sector but also provides a broad but critical analysis of its current state. This third edition of The Nonprofit Sector presents a wide range of carefully chosen scholarship which will ensure that this book remains an invaluable resource to the growing number of scholars and practitioners in the sector around the world. It is an essential handbook for the leadership of nonprofit and philanthropic institutions, their governing boards, as well as public officials and journalists."—Vartan Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corporation of New York
