Survival of the Nonprofit Spirit in a For-Profit World

Abstract

The author contends that nonprofit organizations can find more ap propriate administrative values in the traditions of the voluntary sector itself than in the competition-based management approach inherent in private sector administrative theory and practice. He argues that administration in the voluntary sector should be mission based and mission driven; be grounded in the historical traditions of altruism, compassion, and philanthropy; remain sensitive to the key value of volunteerism and to the phenomenon of the volunteers them selves ; continue to act as mediating structures between the individual, the community, and the public and private organizations of modern society; emphasize cooperation and collaboration over conflict and competition in the administration of sector organizations; and develop and practice a type of leadership compatible with the values and differences inherent in the independent sector.