Understanding Nonprofit Organizations: Governance, Leadership, and Management - Softcover

Praise for previous editions

Ott and Dicke should be applauded for their outstanding efforts, which bridge the macro and micro levels of the nonprofit sector for the first time and consequentially enrich the intellectual understanding of the field.”
Public Administration Review, Vol. 73, Issue 1, January/February, 2013

In my view, nothing competes with this book. It differs from all others in the foundational nature of its readings, the scope of coverage, and the introductory essays of the co-editors that synthesize concepts and knit together the ideas of others.”
Kathleen Hale, Auburn University

This is an excellent resource to give students a taste for research in the field. It covers a variety of topics across the gamut of nonprofit management, and the introductions to the topics are clear and make the issue interesting for my students. Without this book, the course would be shallow.”
Russell A. Cargo, Carroll College

Understanding Nonprofit Organizations examines the most important issues facing today’s leaders and managers of nonprofit organizations. Through the writings of scholars, consultants, and practicing executives, the text focuses on governing, leading, and managing nonprofit organizations and how such organizations differ from the public and private sectors. Each of the ten parts opens with a framing essay that identifies the central theme and issues, and summarizes the significance of the contribution each piece makes to the development of knowledge in the field.

Completely revised and updated, the third edition includes new articles on legal frameworks, philanthropy, managing volunteers and accountability, as well as an original essay on capacity building. In addition, the third edition features new, thought-provoking case studies by C. Kenneth Meyermaking it an extremely student-friendly text for use in graduate and upper-division undergraduate nonprofit organization and management survey courses.


J. Steven Ott is Director of the Institute of Public and International Affairs and Professor of political science and public administration at the University of Utah

Lisa A. Dicke is Professor of public administration at the University of North Texas

Also Available as a Two-Book Set from Westview Press
The Nature of the Nonprofit Sector, 3rd edition
Understanding Nonprofit Organizations: Governance, Leadership, and Management, 3rd edition.
Edited by J. Steven Ott and Lisa A. Dicke
Set ISBN: 978-08133-4993-0