Funders and Conclusion

I was very surprised to read that funder foundations only account for 3 percent of nonprofit revenue. These foundations are set up to donate to specific causes and I feel as if they make up for a much higher percentage than that. Shouldn’t these type of organizations be the driving force behind the nonprofit sector? I thought so, but in reality they often have agendas separate from merely supporting a cause. In many cases funder foundations are set up by large corporations simply for marketing purposes. And it makes sense from a business standpoint. If you a large, multinational corporation why not set up a nice sounding foundation claiming to be supportive of a good cause. The problem is that these foundations are often tied to controversy because they are thought to be working only in their best interests. This is why, as the book states, Congress has investigated private foundations four times.

This is not to say that private foundations are all bad, or that they don’t benefit society. It seems as if the corporations that are started by private philanthropists, such as Bill Gates or John D. Rockefeller, are usually more effective because they are less likely to have those type of corporate agendas. I was not surprised to read that much of the wealth contributed from foundations is concentrated into a small group. Only one percent of foundations had more than $100 million in assets which amounted to 60 percent of the total wealth. This is similar to the wealth stratification for our country as a whole. A problems that results from this is that often times the smaller foundations with less money are more willing to give, but obviously can’t make much of an impact because of their limited funds. This is where the top dogs need to step in and become more effective. When you consider how much of an impact funder organizations have on the nonprofit sector it seems a little disproportionate that they only provide for 3 percent of the funds.

All in all I have enjoyed this class quite a bit. It was interesting to learn about all of the different kinds of nonprofits and how they impact society. As I have mentioned before, I really had no idea that certain types of organizations were even considered nonprofit. Up to this point I really only had knowledge and experience with the business and government sectors of our society, and I never really even thought about what the third sector did or impacts. I have learned that it is actually quite significant and will continue to be so as our society starts to face of the difficult yet inevitable challenges that lie ahead. We cannot rely on government for everything and many of these challenges are simply to big for them to tackle on their own. I think it will be really important going forward for us to spread awareness and education about the nonprofit sector so that people know what kind of impact it can have because I think that a lot of people, myself included before I took this class, don’t really realize it.

Post 6

From a global perspective, international nonprofit organizations are probably the most important. The continued growth of these type of organizations will be vital in improving upon the world’s future as a hold. As we have entered into this global economy in which we are in, businesses and governments have become extremely interconnected. People in all different parts of the world are reliant on each other. Many global issues such as poverty, pollution, the environment and sustainability will need to be addressed in the near future and nonprofit organizations will need to step in and be a major contributor.

The single biggest problem I see with regards to increasing the role of nonprofits at the global scale is funding. It would obviously take a significant amount of money for an organization to have an impact on a global scale. This isn’t comparable to a local level nonprofit where they can gather money from people in the community in order to get something done. They need big time contributions, and in many cases it is probably hard to gather contributions for causes that are not domestic. I think in order for international groups to have a bigger impact they will need more government support. According to the book 62 percent of their revenue came from private donations and only 20 percent from the government. I feel that if the government starts donating more money to these type of organizations it will take some of the burden off of their shoulders. The government has so many different things to worry about that it cannot possibly effectively deal with all of the global problems that we face. If international organizations can gain more support they may be able to deal with these issues more effectively.

International foundations already play a pretty prominent role in providing global assistance. Organizations such as CARE, The Peace Corps, and Alliance for Progress provide assistance and relief for millions of people throughout the earth. Yet there are still tons of issues that need to be fixed. There will never stop being people in need of assistance. The foundation for helping these people is solid, but it needs to be built on. The first step is to spread awareness. People need to realize that they can make a difference by donating to these organizations. These organizations in turn need to do a better job of educating the public about the many issues that they are fighting to resolve. I think this is especially important for them to do because the government doesn’t really do a great job of it in my opinion. However, that might not be such a terrible thing if the nonprofit sector can fill in for them.

Post 5 and Research Topic

The environment is and will continue to be a major issue throughout our lifetimes. Will we see continued destruction and exploitation of natural resources, or will there be a sustained effort to preserve the beauty of nature? Whatever the answer may be, I have little doubt that the nonprofit sector will play a large role in determining what the future may hold. The article, “A Good Cause Gone Bad”, puts somewhat of a dim light on the prospective future of the environment. Nonprofit environmental agencies are transforming into profit driven corporations who hide behind misleading names. As the article states, many of the ceo’s of these so called nonprofit environmental groups are billionaires and most of the donations that fund organizations such as these are spent on these massive salaries instead helping the cause of which they are supposed to be advocating. One statistic that was really shocking to me was that BP’s Beyond Petroleum campaign only used 4 percent of the funds it received from donations towards energy solutions like wind and solar power, while using the rest on corporate salaries. Hopefully awareness of these type of practices will continue to be spread as this could become a major deterrent towards solving future environmental and energy problems. The environment is not something that can be commodified.

The “Story of Stuff”,which I have watch several times, brings a lot of these environmental issues to the forefront. This video is always entertaining and informative, yet clearly has an agenda. Many of problems being outlined by Annie Leonard seem to be a little overblown. While she is definitely making valid points and generally seems to have good intentions by raising awareness about many of these issues. But at the same time it kind of feels like she is trying to freak everyone out more than anything. For example, she mentions the amount of toxins going into our products and the health problems that result. I just don’t see a huge correlation. Are there really that many health issues being caused by being around products that were injected with chemicals in the production process? I am willing to accept that there can be and it may be an issue that we should start addressing, but I really don’t feel at very much risk because my pillow may have some chemical on it. If there are so many health hazards today then why is the human life span not compromised? People are living far longer today than they were when these problems did not exist.

The most interesting aspect of the video in my eyes was the subject of planned and perceived obsolescence. It is amazing to think how much pollution and energy waste could be cut down if we could simply use our products longer. It is somewhat angering to think that companies design products to eventually fall apart. Obviously the flipside of this is the question of what the impact would be on our economy, that is so dependent on continued consumption, without these type of practices. It would definitely have a major impact on our lifestyles, but with the continued exploitation of resources and destruction of our environment it may be something that we will need to adapt to. She mentions at the end that a large effort is being made to find solutions to these many problems and this is where the nonprofit sector comes in, as many of these groups are nonprofit organizations.


I decided to research the impact that for-profit colleges will have on higher education. I have always been curious about these online based colleges (which most for profit colleges are) and what kind of educational experience they provide. I feel like it will really change the landscape of higher education if these type of institutions become more prominent. Here are a few links I found on the topic...
http://chronicle.com/article/For-Profit-Colleges-Change-/64012/
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-04/obama-plans-new-rules-as-for-profit-colleges-mobilize-update2-.html
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/the-rise-of-for-profit-colleges/

Post # 4

Before reading this chapter I was fairly unaware of what an “advocacy nonprofit” organization meant. Well obviously I learned that it is an organization that advocates a certain cause. Advocacy organizations have a tremendous impact on society simply because there are so many things to advocate. Everyone has a certain set of norms and values that correlate to specific interests that they would like to see activated or preserved. For example, if you live in a rural area and value having the ability to hunt for food you would be inclined to support an advocacy group that pushes for the continued use of firearms, such as the NRA. The problem is that in almost all cases there are people on the opposite end of the spectrum with entirely different interests that often conflict with the things that you want to have happen. In the hunting example, you could have a metropolitan mother who wants guns off the streets so that her children can be exposed to a safer environment. In this case is either person necessarily wrong? No, they are merely trying to protect their own interests. This, in my opinion makes advocacy the most controversial realm of the nonprofit sector that I have read about thus far.

I also might say it is among the most influential aspects of the nonprofit sector simply because the primary purpose of advocacy groups is to influence. Every advocacy organization has a specific agenda that they are trying to put forth. Whether it be the government, corporations, or just the general public these groups have a point that they are trying to make. Despite the fact that they often cause divisions in the population, I still think that advocacy organizations are good for society overall. As the book mentions, many of the basic civil rights and liberties that we now enjoy would probably not be a reality without the efforts of these organizations. If I were to ever work for a nonprofit agency I would probably choose an advocacy group because I would be able to work towards a purpose that I felt strongly about. I also was not surprised to learn that almost all of advocacy organization’s revenue comes from private donations because it makes sense for wealthy donors to allocate funds towards things they believe in.

I wasn’t surprised to learn that the Arts and Culture realm of the nonprofit sector is the smallest. Art and Culture definitely is a major part of our society, however I just don’t think of it as being as influential as other nonprofit activities. The major Art and Culture nonprofit organizations are Museums and theaters, which mainly provide a forum for public entertainment and knowledge. In my opinion, Art and Culture org’s come closest to being for profit in that most of their money is earned through private sources such as fees and commissions. In a way they are just providing a service just like a movie theater does. Obviously there are distinctions as these organizations don’t actually turn profits and are actually relatively poorly funded in comparison with other npo’s. Although these type of organizations may have a little less impact as far as policy, they still play a significant in role in the nonprofit sector and will continue to do so as long people continue to cherish the Arts.

Education

The topic of education is obviously one of the most relevant aspects of the Nonprofit Sector that we will encounter in this class being that I am currently a student. The kind of education that you have will have a significant impact on the rest of your life. In general, there is a positive correlation between the amount of education that you acquire throughout your life, and the quality of life that you enjoy (usually meaning salary and other assets and/or social status). Obviously this is not always the case, but the statistics support this argument quite favorably.

The first thing that I want to address in regards to the topic of education is the contrast between public and private. I grew up in a small town in which there was only one high school, so the choice between attending public or private school was not an issue for me. However, there were a decent amount private schools located in more metropolitan areas that I competed with in sports because they had similar enrollments and thus competed in a similar classification. These schools were kind of annoying in that they didn’t really fit the profile of schools like mine because they could recruit students from densely populated areas to join their teams, while we had to work with what was available. My team was still successful, but it was always kind of annoying to see teams like this excel. A little bit off point, but relevant in my eyes nonetheless. I always thought of schools like this to be somewhat elitist, that is why I was surprised to read that salaries for private k-12 teachers was actually significantly lower than that of those at public schools. If you are a parent paying extra money to send your child to a school like this wouldn’t you want them to learn from the most highly qualified educators? It just seems strange that the quality of education is considered better at private institutions given these discrepancies in funding.

High school wasn’t my last experience with private institutions as, ironically enough, I enrolled at a private college out of high school (Linfield). A factor that played a part in this decision was the hype that I had heard surrounding getting an education from a private school (with the other part being that they allowed me the opportunity to play basketball). As the book says students and parents have been found to be more satisfied with private education. I only went to Linfield for one term before transferring to the U of O, but in all honesty I really didn’t see what the big deal was. In comparison to my 2 years at Oregon, I really didn’t feel I was gaining any better of a learning experience being at a private school. My reasons for transferring really had nothing to do with education and I was even prepared to experience a downgrade in the quality of my education, but I really haven’t felt that. So in conclusion, my opinion is that the differences between public and private schools are fairly overblown. I realize that you are in smaller classrooms with more individual attention available, but the fact of the matter is these differences can be negated. I truly believe that what you get out of your education is determined by how much you put into. If you put in enough effort you will be rewarded intellectually no matter what type of school you attend.

2nd Post

Before even reading chapter 3 I presumed that religion was a major factor in the nonprofit sector and the information in this chapter did nothing but reinforce this presumption. Religion is a fundamental part of everyday life. This is why I wasn’t surprised to find that the United States is among the most religious of the developed nations. It seems that no matter where you go, the presence of religious is always felt. Whether be a small town church, or religious influences being played out in politics you can see how much of a factor religion is in our society. Having said this, I was still fairly surprised at just how widespread truly is after looking at the statistics. I knew there were a lot of different churches, but 365,000 (the number of churches in America) is quite a staggering number. This obviously would coincide with a high rate of religious affiliation, which I once again expected but did not anticipate the statistics given in the book. 70 percent of people in America were reported to have claimed to attend yearly and 40 percent claim they go to church every week. When I think about all of the people I know, I would definitely say that these numbers would be a lot lower. Obviously this has a lot to do with the culture surrounding the area I grew up in, but it really puts things into perspective as to just how big religion is in America. Religion seems to be somewhat of a separate entity from the rest of the nonprofit sector. It seems to play a very vital role in charitable activities yet its purpose is not solely to provide for these types of services. Most other nonprofit organizations focus on a specific or several specific areas while religious organizations will make contributions in all areas to some extent. This makes religion very influential, and, in my opinion, maybe too influential. The intertwining of church and state, in my opinion, hinders our political system and should avoid interrelations.

Social services are usually the first thing to come to my when thinking about nonprofit’s. They are extremely necessary components that help to keep our society afloat. The charitable contributions of social service npo’s simply could not be matched by the government which is probably why they provide, “by far the dominant source of nonprofit social service revenue”. As I alluded to earlier, it seems as if religious organizations and social service npo’s are quite interrelated as they often work together to achieve similar goals. All in all it comes down to creating a better society by helping those in need. The continuance of the government’s large role in funding these organizations will be vital in keeping the status quo. It will be interesting to see what kind of shifts in government funding will take place in the future. Will these organizations become more self dependent if the government is forced to cut back funding? Will we see an increase in for profit activities within npo’s? This could cause problems in the business climate as they are known to have some unfair advantages over private businesses doing similar activities. No matter what the future holds, social service nonprofit organizations will continue to be a major factor in our society, as they have been for decades.

First Post

My name is Marc Rogers and this is my introductory post for the PPPM 280- Non Profit Sector blog. The purpose of this blog is for me to put forth my input and feelings on the material that we will be reading throughout the course. Before I discuss the first readings I will share a few things about myself. I am 21 years old and a junior at U of O. I am majoring in Geography and minoring in both Business and pppm. The minor in pppm lead me into taking this course. I was more interested in other aspects of the minor so I really don't know anything about the non-profit sector, but I am definitely interested to learn. I'm really into sports so hopefully I will be able to learn about the involvement of non profit organizations in athletics.

Going in to this class I knew very little about the nonprofit sector. I had heard of it, but had no idea of the size and significance that it entailed. The first 2 chapters of Non-Profit Nation really opened up my eyes to this. I was extremely surprised to see how far the Non Profit Sector’s reach extends, as it touches just about every aspect of society. It seems as if no matter what you are interested or what is important to you, there is a non-profit organization that relates to it. I had never thought of things such as fraternities and clubs as being considered non-profit organizations. The one that really jumped out to me was the professional football league npo’s. I am an avid sports fan so this immediately caught my interest. What was really surprising was that only professional football associations were listed and other professional sports were not. The number of nonprofit organizations was also fairly astounding to me, as 1.5 million are registered within the U.S and this does not even count the many more that are unregistered. I wasn’t surprised to learn that religious organizations make up the largest percentage of nonprofit organizations because the tremendous role and influence of religion in our society is quite evident; as you see churches just about everywhere you go.

What I found to be really interesting was the impact of historical events on the non-profit sector. Things such as social and political movements and wars have really shaped the sector into what it is today. For example, after world war 2 the American Economy boomed as a result of diminished competition from Germany and Japan (there countries were obliterated), which resulted in higher disposable incomes for Americans, thus allowing them to give more money to charitable organizations . It is also interesting that rate of charitable contributions has increased with younger and older people, yet decreased with the middle aged working class adults. This, obviously, is most likely a result of the poor state of the economy.

Another interesting point is how activities that are known to be performed within the nonprofit sector were not always this way. In earlier centuries governments and businesses would provide charitable services and how the roles that these sectors play today were different at different points in time. For example, government builds roads but in the past this was voluntary or done by a private business. It will be interesting to see how these roles shift going forward. I was also surprised to see just how much voluntary and donation related activity there is in this country. The statistic that said that 90 percent of Americans donate money to charity really jumped out at me. I had no idea so many households did this as it really doesn’t seem that like this is true to me. I wouldn’t mind doing a small study and asking various households if and how much they donate.

The theories that relate different social science fields to the nonprofit sector were also very interesting to me as I enjoy social science related topics. It helped me relate to the topic more easily. So far the Non Profit sector has sparked my interest and I am eager to learn more.