Policy lessons for strengthening nonprofits (original) (raw)
Related papers
2005
For environmental reasons, we have printed the full research report in limited quantities. If you require further copies, please download the PDF vesion from our website: www.partnerships.gov.au iii Contents Contents List of figures and tables iv Acknowledgements v Executive Summary vii Giving Australia has been a large, multifaceted research effort spanning almost eighteen months. Through the completion of surveys and participation in interviews and group discussions, more than 10,000 people have contributed to the information presented in this report. In addition to key researchers, management and administration personnel acknowledged below, the project has also benefited from input ranging from senior representatives from peak national bodies through to volunteers. Each is acknowledged here with many thanks.
Policy Trends in the Australian Nonprofit Sector
There has been a large growth in nonprofits in Australia over the past 30 years. This paper will chart some of the key current policy trends that have helped shape the sector. The huge investment in the nonprofit sector by government, particularly since the mid 1990s coincided with a strong ideological shift to a neoliberal economic agenda. There was a concerted effort to bring nonprofits under the control of government policy. This has lead to greater competition among nonprofits, the growth of large charities at the expense of small local organisations, and a greater emphasis on adopting business models. Those nonprofit organisations that provide a community development role have been particularly under threat. However while much of the nonprofit world in Australia is increasingly driven by neoliberal, business oriented demands, another alternative phenomenon is emerging, particularly among young people and largely out of the gaze of public scrutiny. As fast as the state finds a way of controlling the productive energy of the nonprofit sector, the sector itself finds a way of curtailing that control, or of creating new ways of operating that go beyond existing structures and rules of operating. The nonprofit sector in Australia has a significant role to play in a number of sectors, notably community (social) service, health, education, the environment, arts, and sport, to name a few. There are an estimated 600,000 nonprofit organisations in Australia, of which about two thirds are small, unincorporated organisations with no legal standing, but which nonetheless play an important role in the life of civil societies in Australia (McGregor-Lowndes 2014, 1). This paper will chart some of the key current policy trends that help shape the sector, and examine the broader socioeconomic forces that shape government policy,
Current Trends in Australian Nonprofit Policy
Nonprofit Policy Forum, 2016
There has been a large growth in nonprofits in Australia over the past 30 years. This paper will chart some of the key current policy trends that have helped shape the sector. The huge investment in the nonprofit sector by government, particularly since the mid 1990s coincided with a strong ideological shift to a neoliberal economic agenda. There was a concerted effort to bring nonprofits under the control of government policy. This has lead to greater competition among nonprofits, the growth of large charities at the expense of small local organisations, and a greater emphasis on adopting business models. Those nonprofit organisations that provide a community development role have been particularly under threat. However while much of the nonprofit world in Australia is increasingly driven by neoliberal, business oriented demands, another alternative phenomenon is emerging, particularly among young people and largely out of the gaze of public scrutiny. As fast as the state finds a w...
Researching giving and volunteering in Australia
Australian Journal of …, 2006
The giving of time and money, mainly to private nonprofit organisations is not trivial, but in Australia has been little studied. This article introduces a special issue of the Australian Journal of Social Issues which draws on data collected in the largest study of giving and volunteering conducted in Australia hitherto. It seeks to establish terminological guidelines and reviews past Australian research on giving and volunteering, arguing that there has been a disproportionate interest in volunteering. It seeks to put to rest some common myths about giving and explores whether the increase in giving and volunteering can be attributed to government policy. It concludes by introducing the other papers in the collection. * By law, for an organisation to be a charity it must be independent of government. The position is muddied by the ATO which considers public universities to be charities, despite the view of governments and most university staff that they are part of the public sector.
2009
Kym MaddenThe Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (CPNS) is a specialist research and teaching unit at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. It seeks to promote the understanding of philanthropy and nonprofit issues by drawing upon academics from many disciplines and working closely with nonprofit practitioners, intermediaries and government departments. The mission of the CPNS is ‘to bring to the community the benefits of teaching, research, technology and service relevant to philanthropic and nonprofit communities’. Its theme is ‘For the Common Good’. The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies reproduces and distributes these working papers from authors who are affiliated with the Centre or who present papers at Centre seminars. They are not edited or reviewed, and the views in them are those of their authors. A list of all the Centre’s publications and working papers is available from
The rise of Big Charity in Australia
If the trajectory of agglomeration and amalgamation of organisations is allowed to run its course over the next two decades, I fear we will see a welfare arms race in which the lion's share of government funding will go to super-sized welfare businesses, some of which will be 'for-profit' in nature, and the smaller, community-based and faith-based organisations will be marginalised or left completely undone...This is a world in which these large Not for Profit organisations, for all intents and purposes, function and look little different from similar-sized 'for-profit' organisations. Tony Nicholson, Executive Director Brotherhood of St Laurence (2014) Abstract The Australian nonprofit sector has grown in both size and policy salience. It is well-recognised that the nonprofit sector speaks with many voices, however, it is also possible that some voices are more equal than others. We argue that gains in voice and public leverage have mainly accrued to a group of l...
Introduction to Special Issue of NVSQ: Nonprofits and Public Policy
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2018
Throughout the world, nonprofit organizations face an increasingly turbulent environment. This includes greater competition for resources, partly because of constrained public budgets; new regulatory policies; rising demands for a broader scope of community services; growing social fragmentation along racial, ethnic, or religious lines, and escalating inequality. Pivotal to many of these challenges is the intricate and complex interactions that have emerged between nonprofits and government in the formulation and implementation of public policy. Many nonprofit agencies, especially in the social and health services, receive extensive direct and indirect government financing, yet nonprofits also serve as key representatives of citizen and community interests in the policymaking process. At the same time, public policy increasingly emphasizes accountability and transparency in the delivery of services, with many policy fields, such as health and social services, facing sharply higher levels of regulation and government oversight. Given the importance of public policy for the role of nonprofits in society, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ) sponsored this special issue in the interest of supporting cutting-edge research on the relationship between public policy and nonprofit organizations. The collection of articles included here builds directly on a series of four symposia sponsored by ARNOVA and financially supported by the Gates Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the C.S. Mott Foundation. NVSQ issued a call for proposals in late 2016 with a deadline of early 2017.
Western Australia's Not-for-profit Landscape 2020: The Second Report on WA Charities
Public Choice: Public Goods eJournal, 2020
This study was funded and undertaken by Professor David Gilchrist, convener of the Not-for-profits UWA Research Team at the University of Western Australia. The Not-for-profits UWA Research Team is a multi-disciplinary academic group focusing on developing research outcomes that are intended to meet the needs of Australia’s Not-for-profit and charitable organizations, policy makers, governments and commentators. These research outcomes are intended to be industry-ready — that is, they are tools and commentary that are based on high quality research while being focused on implementation and practical supports.
The Nonprofit Sector : Toward an International Scope
2008
We are becoming a more globalized citizenry. With technological advancements, we are more aware of the events around the world. Internet capabilities allow donors to make donations to nonprofit organizations in developing countries. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation directs grants to global development and global health (www.gatesfoundation.org). With all this international nonprofit development, can it be predicted which countries are more likely to have more nonprofit organizations? This study outlines some of the research on the factors that are present in countries with a strong nonprofit sector. It follows with a brief regression analysis suggesting that, while this factors may be present, they are not a predictor to how many nonprofit organizations will develop.
Shared services: lessons from the public and private sectors for the nonprofit sector
Australian Journal of …, 2008
The Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (CPNS) is a specialist research and teaching unit at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. It seeks to promote the understanding of philanthropy and nonprofit issues by drawing upon academics from many disciplines and working closely with nonprofit organisations, practitioners, intermediaries and government departments. CPNS's mission is "to bring to the community the benefits of teaching, research, technology and service relevant to philanthropic and nonprofit communities".