A History of the American Nonprofit Sector

This book presents a history of the American nonprofit sector. It covers the seminal 1819 Supreme Court decision that Dartmouth College was a private nonprofit corporation and therefore independent of government control. The rise of the sector in the twentieth century is presented through exemplars of four different kinds of nonprofits, efforts at professionalization, and early initiatives in management training. During the twenty-first century, external communication has become central for nonprofits, including lobbying and public reporting. In a more light-hearted vein, the image of American nonprofits in pop culture is analyzed through their depiction in movies.

The book’s subject matter is at the intersection of multiple academic fields, including nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, American history, political science, management history, business administration, public administration, and organization theory. It can be used as a textbook, by advanced researchers, and by academic libraries interested in the American nonprofit sector or in US history.