Managing a Nonprofit Organization [Kindle Edition]

For anyone considering going into the non-profit field as a manager or thinking about starting a non-profit organization, " Managing A Non-Profit Organization in the Twenty-first Century" must be on their required reading list. Non-profits are organizations which sit in between the profit and public sectors. Such an organization requires a different type of management style. Thomas Wolf takes the mystery out of the management of non-profits and clearly shows how they must be organized and adaptable to the changing environment of public need. Wolf's text serves as a standard as to what a non-profit should be and how it can avoid various pitfalls. For example, corporations have went through the period of downsizing. Many non-profits have not followed the lead and have ended up duplicating programs that are no longer needed and have caused stagnation in the organization. Non-profits have also come to the point where they no longer serve the need for which they were originally founded but are unable to effectively go out of business. Those above examples are some of the many issues addressed in the text. If you are ignorant about the nuts and organizational bolts of non-profits this is the book for you. Are you trying to start a non-profit organization? If so Wolf's work sets out the guidelines which will help ease your initial attempts. Is your non-profit becoming a dysfunctional entity? If so, the text provides you with the diagnostic tools to get to the source of the problem. I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to get a basic understanding of the non-profit sector.

This book is comprehensive and informative and a benefit to both novices and experts in the nonprofit field. Thomas Wolf's use of case studies allows the reader to understand his ideas through real world examples. This work kept my interest from beginning to end and has encouraged me to continue my research. As I continue to pursue my interests in the nonprofit industry I will return to this book again and again for insight. Its breakdown into workable chapters that outline key factors to nonprofit management (such as: board designation and effectiveness, financial management and fund raising, and accountability and sustainability) and use of discussion review questions at the end of each chapter make it easy to use as a reference. He also provides managers with guidlines to use in managing their nonprofit organization.

I use this as the only text for an undergraduate nonprofit management course. It is easy to read and easy to understand, but not simplistic. The book covers the basics and provides enough information to get an overview of the main functions of a nonprofit organization.