“In the last decades, the activity and influence of nonprofit organizations in almost every country in the world have grown exponentially” as John Casey has written.1 In the United States, with a population of 318 million, there are over 1.5 million registered nonprofit organizations including 1,097,689 public charities, with nonprofit employment representing 10.1 percent of total employment in the United States in 2010. In the United Kingdom, with a population of 64 million (2013), around 166,000 charities are registered with the Charity Commission (2016), with the social sector bigger than the motor industry. I concentrate on these two countries for two reasons; the United States has the biggest and most influential nonprofit sector, while I developed my skills and expertise in the United Kingdom (though also working in Asia and Europe). The United States and United Kingdom also share a wide range of nonprofit organizations, cultural attributes and management expertise.
Managing nonprofit organizations is always exhilarating and sometimes frustrating, as it involves working with people at the same time as guiding their ideas and energy while empowering them. However severe funding cuts since the recession makes this even more testing. Leadership and management skills therefore become more important, yet more demanding. Hence the need for a practical book directed at managers, who may be new to the sector or taking on additional responsibilities, thus needing further skills. I have tried to avoid jargons. Readers will have a wide range of previous experience and knowledge; thus the information and concepts may seem too simplistic for some, but irrelevant for others; hopefully there is something of use for everyone, even though people will have differing points of view from me.
I cover all essential aspects, with useful resources and links. I have mainly used my experience as a manager in the nonprofit sector, but also my time as a volunteer, staffer, fundraiser, trustee, and consultant, and even my time in two local authorities, overseeing community project funding; so as a gamekeeper turned poacher.
—Don Macdonald
July 17, 2017
1 https://js.sagamorepub.com/jnel/article/download/7583/5732)