The Future of the Voluntary Agency in a Mixed Economy

Abstract

The growing reliance of voluntary nonprofit organizations on governmental funds ties their future to the fate of the welfare state. A mixed, three-sector, social service economy has blurred organizational differences and made a more rational division of responsibility unlikely. This article suggests that the traditional roles of voluntary agencies can still be reformulated to suggest a more realistic view of their distinctive areas of competence and vulnerability. To avoid goal deflection in the future, the author concludes that voluntary agencies must cope effectively with the dilemmas of entrepreneurialism and vendorism.

The double‐edged sword of social service contracting: Public accountability versus nonprofit autonomy

“…The nonprofit sector is the prominent contracting option for socia2 services the federal government restricted states from using federal funds to contract with voluntary agencies to deliver personal social services (Kramer, 1985). Citizen preferences are also an important influence on service delivery choices.…”

“…It has an array of institutional arrangements from which it may choose-internal production as well as contracts with other governments, for-profit firms, or nonprofit organizations. Indeed, the possibilities of contracting were underscored by the Title XX amendments in the mid 1970s that encouraged contracts with nonprofit organizations (Kramer, 1985). Graddy (1986, 1991) have developed a model of the local government's production decisions that frames the organizational choices for social service delivery.…”

The 990 return: Beyond the internal revenue service

“…Getting maximum mileage out of available resources became more critical, facilitating acceptance of economic efficiency criteria. This trend has been further stimulated by the burgeoning commercial activity evident in the sector today As competition for donations and grants intensifies, many organizations are turning toward fee-for-service income and, in some cases, unrelated business ventures to remain viable and growing (Grcanbjerg, 1993a; Kramer, 1985; Salamon, 1989;Skloot, 1987). A degree of financial control is essential in order to compete effectively in the marketplace, again adding to the accountability demands.…”

“…Simultaneously, the growing number of nonprofit organizations seeking a shrinking number of government dollars has led to unmet funding needs and stepped-up efforts to fill the gap with individual and corporate donations, and additional grants and contracts (Bush, 1992; Hodgkinson, 1989; Kramer, 1985; Skloot, 1987). As the ratio of requests to rewards continues to climb, funding sources, including government agencies, individual and corporate donors, and grantmaking organizations, aye likely to more critically scrutinize funding requests, as defensible rationales for these sensitive and important decisions must be provided.…”

NGOs and Environmental Public Goods: Institutional Alternatives to Property Rights

“…Researchers first noted the strong relationships present between the public and non-profit sectors. The non-profit sector in the USA is heavily dependent on government funds (Fox, 1987;Kramer, 1985). Often the non-profit sector serves as a vendor to government, producing public (and sometimes private) goods with public money, but doing so in the private sector.…”