Hello world!

The purpose of my blog is to explore, educate, and enlighten readers about the nonprofit sector and the challenges these organizations face to fulfill their vision and mission.  In future posts I will write about specific nonprofit organizations, positive community impacts directly associated with nonprofit organizations, and ways for individuals to become involved with nonprofit organizations.  This blog directly connects with the PPPM 280: Introduction to Nonprofit Sector course I am currently enrolled because the purpose of the course is exposure to the nonprofit sector. I will share my thoughts, experiences and expand on the information presented in the course.
Who the heck am I and why am I writing this blog?  Currently, I am employed at a not-for-profit financial organization and am on the Board of Directors of a local nonprofit organization.  Making a difference in my community is a big priority in my life.  It is important for me to be able to lay my head down on my pillow at night and feel good about my contributions for the day.  I am taking this course to learn more about the nonprofit sector and to discover future opportunities.  I am most interested in the challenges that nonprofit organizations encounter.  I am also curious about the inefficiencies that exist within this sector.  Are there ways for these organizations to better themselves through increased collaboration…increase their buying power?  Better utilize volunteer efforts through a shared database of volunteers?  Increase fundraising initiatives through partnerships?  From the outside it appears many nonprofit organizations are “fighting” for a similar cause and competing for the same resources (donations, volunteers) as stand alone organizations and may be able to better maximize their efforts through increased collaboration.  Is my observation fact or a myth?  I hope to uncover answers to these questions in the following weeks and provide insight to you!
This week we were asked to read the first two chapters in a book titled:  Nonprofit Nation: A New Look at the Third America written by Michael O’Neill.  In the following weeks I will provide thoughts, questions, and hopefully answers pertaining to the readings from the book.  The goal of my thoughts regarding the book will be to avoid a boring, dry summary of all the details in the particular chapters but rather to extrapolate interesting tidbits and ask a few thought provoking questions related to the reading with the hope that you will respond and provide additional insight from your perspective and experiences.  One of the best ways to learn is through sharing experiences!!
Chapter 1 provided an overview of the nonprofit sector including definitions, types of organizations, revenue, and some interesting statistics.  I did not realize how big the U.S. nonprofit sector is as illustrated from page 12:

•    Accounts for 5 to 10 percent of the nation’s economy
•    Generates revenue that exceeds the gross domestic product (GDP) of all but six foreign countries: Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and China
•    Accounts for 8 percent of the nation’s noninstitutional civilian employees

Chapter 2 essentially asks the question:  Why do nonprofit organizations exist?  Why are people so compelled to volunteer?  Why do the activities fall into the nonprofit sector and not a different sector? The chapter explores several theories surrounding the nonprofit sector.  Ideas like religious diversity, humanitarian motivation, and “the anthropological perspective explains the existence and behavior of voluntary associations as a response to certain needs that seem to be met more effectively outside family, kinship, and governance structures” (p. 37).  The chapter concludes by stating there is no “grand unified theory” that will completely encompass the nonprofit sector.  What are your thoughts about the theories surrounding the nonprofit sector?  I sincerely hope you will become an active participant of this blog!

I hope you enjoyed reading the first of many posts to come exploring the world of the nonprofit sector.