Chapter 6: Country profiles.

John Casey explores the expanding global reach of nonprofit organizations, examining the increasingly influential role not only of prominent NGOs that work on hot-button global issues, but also of the thousands of smaller, little-known organizations that have an impact on people's daily lives.

Nonprofit America is one of the least understood segments of national life, yet also one of the most crucial. Author Lester Salamon, who pioneered the empirical study of the nonprofit sector in the United States, provides a wealth of new data to paint a compelling picture of a set of institutions being buffeted by a withering set of challenges, yet still finding ways to survive and prosper. These challenges, however, are posing enormous risks to the historic character and role of nonprofits. Operating in an increasingly competitive environment in which traditional sources of government and philanthropic support are difficult to maintain, nonprofits have turned decisively to the market. In the process, however, they may be losing their raison d'être, sacrificing their most crucial missions, and risking loss of public understanding and support. To remedy this situation, Salamon recommends a "renewal strategy" for the nation's nonprofit sector that begins with a wider articulation and application of the sector's "value proposition"—the attributes that continue to make it deserving of the special privileges and benefits it enjoys. Salamon's pithy and accessible book is perfect for nonprofit boards, leaders of charitable foundations, government officials, and students of the nonprofit sector and of public policy, as well as anyone looking for guidance on how we go about dealing with public problems in America's increasingly collaborative system of governance.

The growth of the non-profit, voluntary or third sector has been widely recognized throughout the world. This text seeks to provide a definition and a common classification of the non-profit sector, while recognizing the great diversity of voluntarism internationally.

One of the major tasks facing researchers, practitioners, and funders is the development of empirical tools to measure the inherent worth of nonprofit organizations as well as the sector as a whole. Renowned scholars present chapters on the state of the art of performance measurement in the nonprofit sector and seek to establish a framework for a long-term research agenda to identify, quantify, and self-assess those qualities that make the nonprofit sector unique.

Recent years have witnessed a significant upsurge of organized private, nonprofit activity in the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America and with it an appreciation of the role that nonprofit organizations can play in the processes of economic and political change. Long recognized as instruments of relief and promotors of human rights, such organizations have recently come to be viewed also as essential contributors to basic economic growth and to the broader civic infrastucture that is now increasingly seen as a fundamental precondition for markets and representative political institutions to function.

A proven, strategic plan to help your nonprofit emerge from the 2008-2009 economic storm Utilizing the extensive expertise of leading fundraising consulting firm Skystone Ryan's executive leadership team and managing consultants to explore and illuminate the most timely issues facing the philanthropic community, Building Strong Nonprofits: New Strategies for Growth and Sustainability identifies new opportunities to define the future of philanthropy. Includes notable contributors from the Skystone Ryan leadership team Analyzes the most potent trends and developments and interpret their implications for the future of philanthropy Offers eight to twelve essays, each by a different Skystone Ryan consultant with particular experience, insight, and expertise in the area Building Strong Nonprofits: New Strategies for Growth and Sustainability is you, whether you are a nonprofit leader, executive director, board member, or development director, and are becoming aware that new organizational strategies are called for if the same old donors are not supportive in the same old ways.