22
2014
The New Role – Will Our Sector Lead?
The number of challenges to the nonprofit sector, what I call the civil benefit sector, is increasing at a rather rapid rate. What the economists characterize as the “failures of the market” are under increasing pressures to be something else. At heart, we are the embodiment of the noble American traditions of collective action for the common good. We always cite the neighbors who bring the lumber and the lunch to rebuild the barn. Toqueville recognized a good thing. What we symbolize is the great stream of generosity toward others, of mutual help, of teaching our neighbors “to fish,” rather…
19
2012A New Paradigm?
A post by James V. Toscano Traditionally, help in supporting poor and vulnerable populations was largely the responsibility of government, foundations and nonprofits. There didn’t seem to be opportunity for the third sector, the market, to intervene in significant ways. Certainly, businesses give charitable dollars to help alleviate such conditions, but it has never been its focus for profits. Now, the ground is shifting. Privatization of some governmental functions has attracted the for-profit sector, now in a number of areas. Politicians of one stripe or another are talking about new ways to meet societal need through market-based competition, especially in…