Nonprofits and Government: Collaboration and Conflict [Paperback]

Elizabeth T. Boris (Editor), C. Eugene Steuerle (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0877666873 | ISBN-13: 978-0877666875 | Publication Date: April 1999

The collaboration between government and nonprofit organizations is vital to developing and maintaining civil society. Nonprofits & Government challenges simplistic assumptions about what nonprofit organizations can do and how they affect society, as well as how government affects them, and offers tools to guide the development of public policies that affect the nonprofit sector. Practitioners, researchers, and policymakers alike will benefit from the authors' wide-ranging discussion of major policy issues, including a comparison of nonprofit and government resources, regulatory and tax policy, advocacy, devolution, value-based clashes in religion and the arts, non-profits and for-profits, and international perspectives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Can nonprofits make up for cuts in government spending? How dependent are nonprofits themselves on federal funds? What role do tax breaks play in charitable giving? These questions have all figured prominently in recent Washington policy debates. Now, the authors of this important book have marshaled the best evidence available to provide some much-needed answers. -- Janet Novack, Senior Editor, Washington Bureau, Forbes magazine

More than any other country, the United States relies on nonprofit organizations to conduct the people's business -- a division of labor that is a central feature of American freedom. Yet this unique arrangement cannot be fathomed, or its future course predicted, without understanding the role the government plays, or declines to play, in regulating, supporting, complementing, embracing or crowding out the nonprofit sector -- and, in turn, that sector's impact on public policy and the political process. The volume that Elizabeth Boris and Gene Steuerle have orchestrated captures beautifully the constant and fateful interaction between state and civil society in all its variety and complexity. Each of the book's learned and resourceful contributors brings analytical power and thoughtful reflection to a different dimension of this fast-shifting story of public-private engagement. -- John Simon, Augustus Lines Professor of Law, Yale Law School, and Founding Director, Yale University Program on Nonprofit Organizations

Nonprofits and Government brings up-to-date evidence and sophisticated analysis to bear on the relations between nonprofit institutions and the public sector. This outstanding collection of essays by leading experts is essential reading for anyone interested in the field. -- William A. Galston, Director, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland

The past three decades have seen unprecedented growth in the scope and complexity of relationships between government and nonprofit organizations. In Nonprofits and Government: Collaboration and Conflict, Elizabeth Boris, Eugene Steuerle, and their colleagues provide a valuable overview of where this growth has led. Their careful analysis shows clearly that these relationships have been more fruitful than many doubters had feared -- and more problematic than many advocates had hoped. For anyone who wishes to understand the role of nonprofit organizations in carrying out and influencing public policy today, this collection of essays is essential reading. -- Leslie Lenkowsky, Professor of Philanthropy and Public Policy, Indiana University Center on Philanthropy

This book is a timely, substantive and important addition to a body of literature that cries out for further development. Readers will find much to chew on in these very informative chapters. -- Peter Goldberg, President and Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for Children and Families

This timely book lays out the history of government- nonprofit relations and discusses the issues that tend to cause conflict, such as devolution, conversions to for-profit, values clashes, and nonprofit advocacy. It will make a valuable contribution to the ongoing dialogue and, perhaps, help us all move closer to collaboration. -- Sara Melndez, President, Independent Sector --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Elizabeth T. Boris is the director of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute. She is the author of many research publications and articles on philanthropy and nonprofits, including "Philanthropic Foundations in the United States: An Introduction." She was the founding director of the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund at the Aspen Institute from 1991 to 1996.

C. Eugene Steuerle is a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and author of a weekly column, "Economic Perspective," for Tax Notes magazine. He is the author of seven books, more than 125 reports and articles, and approximately 500 columns and 40 Congressional testimonies or reports. His research on charity and philanthropy includes studies on the patterns of giving by the wealthy (for the Council on Foundations), the effect of taxes on charitable giving, payout rates for foundations (for the Filer Commission), unrelated business income taxes, and ways of simplifying and reforming tax rules for charitable contributions. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 383 pages
• Publisher: Urban Inst Pr (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877666873
• ISBN-13: 978-0877666875
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,507,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It might be interesting, August 25, 2007

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Matthew Friedman "Procrastinator" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nonprofits and Government: Collaboration and Conflict (Paperback)

Or not. I didn't read much of this book, but you're better off just going to government grant websites to get the gist of what this is about. If you're in need of a sleep aid and do not want to become addicted to Ambien, then I highly recommend this book.