Charity, Philanthropy, Public Service, or Enterprise: What Are the Big Questions of Nonprofit Management Today?

“Nonprofit sector” issues, both in public discourse and pedagogy, are too narrowly cast as problems confronting public‐serving nonprofits and grant‐making foundations. Consisting also of membership organizations, educational institutions, and political pressure groups, the sector constitutes a major force in society which, in its interactive entirety, might better be termed a “social economy.” This social economy both influences and is shaped by public administration, and it is now very much under public scrutiny. The author raises seminal questions that challenge the mission, management, and resources of this critical sector of society.