Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Elizabeth T. Boris on Civil Society

The past several decades have seen unprecedented growth in the scope and complexity of relationships between government and nonprofit organizations. These relationships have been more fruitful than many critics had feared and more problematic than many advocates had hoped. Nonprofits and Government is the first comprehensive, multidisciplinary exploration of nonprofit–government relations. The second edition of this important book is fully updated and includes two new chapters. The authors address a host of important issues, including nonprofit advocacy, direct regulatory and tax policy, the conversion of nonprofits to for-profits, clashes in government interaction with religion and the arts, and international nonprofit–government relationships. Practitioners, researchers, and policymakers alike will benefit from the authors’ wide-ranging discussion.

The essays in this collection grew out of the 14th Emerging Issues in Philanthropy Seminar, "Charities' Response to Disasters: Expectations and Realities," held on December 2, 2005. Authors discuss the strengths and weaknesses of charities’ responses to the Gulf Coast hurricanes, lessons learned from previous disasters—the September 11th attacks and the Asian Tsunami—and how well those lessons were applied. Authors note the need to have realistic expectations of charities' role in disaster relief and rebuilding, given the resources of the charities—particularly small local secular and faith-based agencies—and their inability to control the content or amount of voluntary assistance. The critical role of government in coordinating and leading disaster response efforts is a major theme.

The dynamic relationship between government and nonprofits changes in response to shifts in society, politics, and policy. Sometimes complementary, sometimes adversarial—and sometimes both—the collaboration is vital to developing and maintaining civil society. Practitioners, researchers, and policymakers alike will benefit from the authors' wide-ranging discussion of major policy issues, including a comparison of nonprofit and government resources, regulatory and tax policy, advocacy, devolution, value-based clashes in religion and the arts, nonprofits and for-profits, and international perspectives.

The basis for this report is a survey of approximately 1,100 religious congregations in Washington, D.C. Approximately 25 percent of these congregations completed the questionnaire. This study measures the service capacity of religious congregations and their ability to respond to fluctuating demands and resources from the community. Congregations were queried about community services and programs they offer, sources of funding for services and programs, capacity to meet increasing needs of the community, demographics of clientele and geographic area served, financial resources, and staffing patterns. The survey results are presented in tables and charts and described in accompanying text.