A Commentary on Nonprofit Policy Development and Reform: The City and County of Denver’s Investment in the Wellbeing of the Nonprofit Sector

Governments and nonprofits partner with one another to provide services, with governments typically the funders of services and nonprofits the deliverers of these services. The City and County of Denver, similar to cities around the country, rely on nonprofits to provide vital services to their communities for a multitude of reasons. For Denver, this is particularly evident in the extensive annual funding that the City and County provides to nonprofits. However, even as they receive government funding for their service delivery, nonprofits regularly report significant challenges in their partnerships with government. This commentary reviews the current state of Denver’s nonprofit sector and its government-nonprofit partnerships, and suggests process and policy recommendations to strengthen the nonprofit sector and its partnerships with government.