J. Steven Ott

Lisa A. Dicke

There are no easy solutions to the complexities faced by nonprofit leaders and managers. This textbook addresses the governance, leadership, and management functions of the thousands of organizations in the nonprofit sector that provide an enormous range of services. This thoroughly revised fourth edition of Understanding Nonprofit Organizations does not simply recount and summarize seminal literature; it presents 22 of the most important and informative articles, chapters, and essays written about the workings of nonprofit organizations, alongside 18 case studies that illustrate the complex governing, leading, and managing issues raised in the chapters. The introductions that open each of the sections explore important issues and concepts, provide context, and explain what students should be looking for as they read each of the chapters. Each section introduction has been extensively rewritten or updated to address recent movements and changes in the nonprofit field, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of nonprofit organizations’ functions and ability to raise funds, increasing social and political divides within countries and communities, the gains and problems that have arisen with dramatic expansion of social media, and the need for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in our organizations and our society. Understanding Nonprofit Organizations provides a cohesive set of relevant readings for a course on nonprofit organizations and management, and instructors and students will appreciate the original case studies that parallel the major themes presented. The book is also designed for individuals who are hoping or planning to move into paid or voluntary leadership and management positions in nonprofit organizations—as well as for those already involved with nonprofits seeking to improve their skills and understanding of their chosen field.

Governance, Leadership, and Management

Understanding Nonprofit Organizations

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 book encompasses everything from Andrew Carnegie's turn-of-the-century philosophy of philanthropy to the most recent writings by current scholars and practitioners from a wide variety of perspectives and disciplines. Each part in the book opens with a framing essay by the editors that provides an overview of the central themes and issues, as well as the sometimes competing points of view. The third edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to feature new essays that analyze the nonprofit sector's place in our economy and its relationship to our government, and new readings on the economic, community, and civil society theories of the nonprofit sector. The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector is thorough, topical, and above all, accessible to students, making it the ideal text for graduate and upper-division undergraduate nonprofit organizations and management survey courses.

Lisa A. Dicke

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