Why does the good work of the nonprofit sector go unnoticed and under-appreciated?

That question was posed by Paul C. Light, vice president and director of governmental studies at the Brookings Institution, at a recent meeting of more than 100 representatives from foundations, charitable institutions and corporate giving programs from the Baltimore area.

Light noted that we only seem to hear the bad news about nonprofit organizations. Poor oversight, mismanagement or inefficiencies among a handful of organizations cloud perceptions about the entire sector. Commentators such as Bill O'Reilly seem to make a living presenting the nonprofit sector as sluggish, untrustworthy and ineffective.

And, some people apparently are listening to him. In a survey several months after the Sept. 11 tragedies, public confidence in government rose significantly while confidence in the nonprofit sector dropped considerably. Yet both were critical players in the post-tragedy response.

Issues surrounding the handling of funds at prominent charities surely played a role in this drop in confidence. But the drop seems disproportionate to the task we charge these organizations to do: Fill the gap between public and private funding whenever folks need assistance.

On Sept. 11, the Red Cross showed up — they were there helping the injured, assisting the rescuers and easing the public consciousness. The problem is that we all expected that they would be there. They had to be there; surely government could not be the sole responder.

And therein lies the dilemma of the sector: It's charged to handle the tough stuff and fill in the gaps where government can't — feed the poor, provide medical care to the uninsured, provide affordable day care for the working poor, respond to catastrophes.

And somehow nonprofit organizations manage to do all of these great things despite insufficient resources and inadequate infrastructure. In this era of declining public funding, nonprofits are increasingly called upon to assist our community's most vulnerable members.

There are wonderful stories to tell about the nonprofit sector. However, the sector is being challenged as never before. I think that if we expect nonprofit organizations to fill such big gaps in our social safety net then we have to help them rise to meet that challenge by giving them the resources to do so.

In his talk, Paul Light outlined four top priorities for strengthening the nonprofit sector. In doing so, he challenged our community to invest more and more wisely in the nonprofit organizations that we expect will be there to serve us in need.

1)Invest in talent: The nonprofit sector attracts the “best work force in America,” says Light. But because of poor compensation packages — low salaries, limited benefits and practically nonexistent training — and a highly demanding work environment, the nonprofit sector is least likely to retain this talent.

2) Develop a strong leadership base: We are on the verge of a significant leadership crisis because of the aging baby boomers that comprise the majority of leadership positions in the sector. If we don't invest in leadership, who will lead these organizations when my generation has decided to retire?

3) Measuring impact is critical: We must begin to measure and document the impact and tell the story about the good work of the nonprofit sector.

4) Commit to excellence and prepare to persevere: Those who support the nonprofit community must make a commitment to achieving and sustaining excellence. This will require longer-term and bigger investments in the organizations that are doing good work.

Light's remarks were based on research presented in his new book, “Pathways to Nonprofit Excellence.” The research, commissioned by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations — a national funder affinity group — is based on more than 250 in-depth interviews with nonprofit experts and 250 leaders of high-performing organizations from across the nation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Betsy S. Nelson is executive director of The Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, a membership organization dedicated to promoting philanthropy. The Daily Record publishes Nelson's ‘Charitable Giving' column every other week. She can be contacted at 410-727-1205 or bnelson@abagmd.org.