The Future of the Nonprofit Sector: Its Entwining with Private Enterprise and Government
The Future of the Nonprofit Sector: Its Entwining with Private Enterprise and Government
The nonprofit sector-neither private enterprise nor governmental-is growing
rapidly, and not only in the United States. This article explores three questions
about the sector, which includes large elements of such service industries
as universities, hospitals, nursing homes, day-care centers, museums, social
services, and organizations promoting medical research, environmental protection, and the arts. These questions are: (a) Why is the nonprofit sector expanding
worldwide?; (b) How is the growth of nonprofits affecting other parts of the
economy?; and (c) What evidence is there that nonprofits make a difference,
that they perform functions which private firms or government cannot per-
form? A major theme is that the sector’s growth necessitates finding ways to
increase revenues, and that has brought side effects, particularly as nonprofits
have become more and more “commercial.” In the process, borders between
the nonprofit and both the for-profit and public sectors are being crossed
increasingly, and with consequences that often pose pro
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