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What do nonprofit organizations seek? (And why should policymakers care?)

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  • Arthur C. Brooks

    (Syracuse University)

Abstract

The objectives of nonprofit managers are not immediately apparent. Indeed, nonprofits may seek to maximize their level of service or their budgets, or they may have undefined or unstable objectives. This paper presents a theoretical model of managerial objectives that yields testable hypotheses, which I test using 2001 data on 190,000 American nonprofits. While there is substantial variation between different types of nonprofits, they generally approach a service maximization objective, but maintain fundraising budgets that are insufficient to meet this objective. These findings have significant implications for policy and nonprofit management. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

Suggested Citation

  • Arthur C. Brooks, 2005. "What do nonprofit organizations seek? (And why should policymakers care?)," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(3), pages 543-558.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:24:y:2005:i:3:p:543-558
    DOI: 10.1002/pam.20114
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Henry Hansmann, 1981. "Nonprofit Enterprise in the Performing Arts," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(2), pages 341-361, Autumn.
    2. Carolyn J. Heinrich, 2000. "Organizational form and performance: An empirical investigation of nonprofit and for-profit job-training service providers," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(2), pages 233-261.
    3. Cragg, John G, 1971. "Some Statistical Models for Limited Dependent Variables with Application to the Demand for Durable Goods," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 39(5), pages 829-844, September.
    4. Anup Malani & Tomas Philipson & Guy David, 2003. "Theories of Firm Behavior in the Nonprofit Sector. A Synthesis and Empirical Evaluation," NBER Chapters, in: The Governance of Not-for-Profit Organizations, pages 181-216, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Weisbrod, Burton A. & Dominguez, Nestor D., 1986. "Demand for collective goods in private nonprofit markets: Can fundraising expenditures help overcome free-rider behavior?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 83-96, June.
    6. Susan Rose-Ackerman, 1982. "Charitable Giving and “Excessive†Fundraising," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 97(2), pages 193-212.
    7. Khanna, Jyoti & Posnett, John & Sandler, Todd, 1995. "Charity donations in the UK: New evidence based on panel data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 257-272, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Neha Sharma & Sripad K. Devalkar & Milind G. Sohoni, 2021. "Payment for Results: Funding Non‐Profit Operations," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(6), pages 1686-1702, June.
    2. Valentinov, Vladislav, 2009. "Managerial nonpecuniary preferences in the market failure theories of nonprofit organisation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 36(1/2), pages 81-92.
    3. Laura E. Grant, 2021. "Does the introduction of ratings reduce giving? Evidence from charities," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(3), pages 978-995, July.
    4. Vladislav Valentinov, 2009. "The German Gemeinwirtschaftslehre: Implications for modern nonprofit economics," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 3(2), pages 186-195, June.
    5. Christoph Starke, 2010. "Serving the Many or Serving the Most Needy?," FEMM Working Papers 100002, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Faculty of Economics and Management.
    6. Christoph Starke, 2012. "Serving the many or serving the most needy?," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 365-386, December.

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