The Non Profit Nation readings for week one were a really great insight into non profits and their effects on our society. I think it is interesting that when someone says nonprofit most people instantly think of this little run down volunteer agency, a place that has no permanent employees, no funds, and a place that one could not make a living from, when in fact, as the reading pointed out, many non profits are large organizations, that employ something like 8% of all Americans. When it comes to who can be considered a nonprofit and how the tax situation works though I don’t have a perfect understanding, but I think that as time goes on, and one works in a field, they gain a better understanding of exactly what that field is all about.. Or so I hopeJ.
In the first chapter of Non Profit Nation I found the definition of sectors to really provide a clear line as to where, and why, we separate certain aspects of the economy and society. When we look at the behaviors of nonprofit sectors, it’s really easy to understand why they aren’t lumped in with for profit corporations. I think this difference in behavior is why many of the people who have chosen to work in the nonprofit sector have done so. Not only are nonprofits looking out for the well being of certain groups and minorities, they are also making our society better for a large number of people.
Having said that nonprofits are looking out for the well being of many, I also found interesting the connection that chapter 2 of Non Profit Nation made with the power structure. I googled the ideas from this chapter and found it interesting how many corporations had sister nonprofits, whom looked after the agenda of that larger corporation. All the while, they get a positive image for being “giving”, which many associate with nonprofits. This is something that I am glad to have learned for future job searches..
All in all the readings and the class lecture on the history of philanthropy were interesting and I think that we had a great start to week one..
Before I attended the first lecture I had a similar perception of the nonprofit sector than what you described above- "this little run down volunteer agency, a place that has no permanent employees, no funds, and a place that one could not make a living from" -but a little bit less hopeless sounding. I had initial confusion about the differences between the three sectors, but the readings were useful in differentiating the nonprofit sector from the other two sectors. See you next tuesday!
ReplyDeleteMac Dre -
ReplyDeleteI, along with you and the first responder, had an image in my head of poor (but really nice) people working in shabby quarters doing things like serving soup to homeless people or sending soccer balls to third world countries. So I agree, the information was a little surprising. The whole "sister nonprofit" is a little frightening to me, as it seems there would be lots of opportunities there for scandalous financial interaction.