Understanding Nonprofit Organizations

"This is the book that I have been looking for in my teaching that incorporates the most comprehensive and up-to-date management aspects and policy issues surrounding the nonprofit scholarly and practitioner community. By addressing current events/trends/movements affecting the field, such as the impacts of the global pandemic, social media, societal/political division; and enhanced societal awareness (social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion), this book will play its pioneering role to lead the discourse and critical thinking much needed at this critical juncture in this field. I commend the book editors’ remarkable job bringing distinguished articles and chapters that critically review, practically resolve, and insightfully comprehend complex issues/challenges facing nonprofits. Nonprofit practices and research evidently evolve and advance thanks to such efforts contributed by dedicated editors and chapter authors of this seminal book."

Bok Gyo Jeong, Department of Public Administration, Kean University

"Understanding Nonprofit Organizations edited by Drs. J. Steven Ott and Lisa Dicke is a wonderful textbook for my nonprofit management class. This book covers all critical aspects of governance and operations of nonprofit organizations and supplements the conceptual discussions with case studies, which is perfect for students learning about nonprofit management. The introductions to each section of the book by the editors summarize and highlight the section’s significance and implications for practice. This book is a great one-stop resource as it compiles literature surrounding the most salient nonprofit management topics that students need to know about. I have been using this book in my graduate class for a long time and will continue using it as it is updated with more relevant nonprofit management topics."

Karabi C. Bezboruah, Associate Professor and Director of PhD programs at The University of Texas at Arlington

"Understanding Nonprofit Organizations provides an effective overview of critical, contemporary challenges facing today’s nonprofit managers and complements that with interesting case studies to highlight these real-world issues. This book helps students and nonprofit managers create more successful, equitable nonprofit organizations. It is a must-read for anyone interested in nonprofit organizations."

Rebecca Nesbit, University of Georgia

"These chapters are written by leading scholars and professionals, people who know their topics very well, and they are organized and presented in a way that brings important clarity to the management of this new generation of nonprofit organizations. We are fortunate to have this valuable resource to inform our work in these exciting and promising times."

David O. Renz, from the Preface to Understanding Nonprofit Organizations, 4th Edition

"Understanding Nonprofit Organizations sets itself apart from other textbooks in seeking to provide the best of both worlds – a consideration of the complexity and challenges of the nonprofit sector from a practical, applied standpoint, and a firm root in the academic literature on the topic."

Christopher L. Atkinson, Assistant Professor, Department of Administration and Law - Public Administration Program, University of West Florida