The State of Nonprofit America - Hardcover

"[discusses various statistics in State of Nonprofit that show percentages of people involved in charity work]" --Willy Thorn, Catholic News Service Online, 1/17/2003 "Tells a readable story of how a multitude of intertwined public and private trends --shifts in demography, public policy and attitudes, technology, the marketplace --have combined to shape today's diverse nonprofit sector. Beyond reporting on how the sector has responded to past challenges, it provides provocative suggestions for changes necessary to promote nonprofits' health over the long term. It is a welcome addition to the literature, and I commend this book to anyone interested in the special role nonprofits play in American life." --Dorothy S. Ridings, Council on Foundations, 12/1/2003 "This is a thorough, extensive portrait of the nonprofit sector in the U.S. and the major fields of endeavor, presenting the challenges facing the sector and its limitations, while acknowledging its strengths and contributions. All those who care about the sector will find something of interest." --Sara E. Melendez, Independent Sector, 12/1/2003 "THE STATE OF NONPROFIT AMERICA is an indispensable resource for those who seek to understand America's nonprofit sector and the forces that are shaping it. So good, so complete, it is both immediately relevant and bound to stand the test of time." --Peter B. Goldberg, Alliance for Children and Families, 12/1/2003 "Salamon's volume provides a robust entry-level overview of the [nonprofit] sector from some of the most notable scholars currently in the field." --Arthur C. Brooks, Syracuse University, Public Administration Review, 7/1/2003 "Lester Salamon has repeatedly demonstrated his extraordinary ability to gather vast amounts of descriptive data on the nonprofit sector in the United States and around the world...[He] always succeeds in bringing his data to life with illustrative examples and keen insights on management and policy choices. In the State of Nonprofit America, Salamon continues this tradition of excellence, yet he seems to have set an even higher standard for himself and the 24 contributors. This book is arguably the most comprehensive and valuable collection of readings on the nonprofit sector." --Kevin Kearns, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 12/1/2003 "This book brings together an impressive amount of research and information about the US non-profit sector... This is an important book. It is rich in information, well edited, and with a structure that allows the reader to select the fields and topics of special interest... I am sure that it will occupy a central place in future research and policy discussions..." --Lars Skov Henriksen, Aalborg University, Social Policy, 1/1/2004 "Salamon's volume provides a robust entry-level overview of the [nonprofit] sector from some of the most notable scholars currently in the field." -- Public Administration Review, 10/1/2003

The thousands of organizations that comprise America's private nonprofit sector represent a national treasure. Yet serious pressures are altering the playing field on which nonprofits operate, and many are responding in ways that may undermine their popular support. Despite the significance of these developments, little has been done to analyze and interpret them in a clear and understandable way. Lester M. Salamon, a leading authority on the nonprofit sector, has joined forces with more than a dozen other experts and the Aspen Institute to produce this volume, an integrated, authoritative assessment of the state of nonprofit America and the key trends affecting its evolution. The book is organized into three sections. The first summarizes critical trends and issues; the second examines each of the sector's major subsectors (e.g., health, education, social services, arts and culture, international assistance, advocacy); the third focuses on major cross-cutting trends and issues (commercialization, changing government policy, accountability, and demographic and technological imperatives). The Resilient Sector will be updated every two years. It provides a basic sourcebook for sector leaders, the press, public officials, and citizens concerned about the future of America's nonprofit sector and eager to understand the forces affecting it.