Sustaining Nonprofit Performance: The Case for Capacity Building and the Evidence to Support It

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S U S TA I N I N G N O N P R O F I T PERFORMANCE The Brookings Institution established the Center for Public Service in 1999 to answer three simple questions: what is the state of the public service today, how can the public sector issue a more compelling invitation to serve, and how can the public sector be a wise steward of the talent it recruits? The Center for Public Service espouses the simple belief that effective governance is impossible if public agencies, be they government or nonprofit, cannot compete for their fair share of talent in an increasingly tight labor market. Interested in more than basic research, the center aims to develop and disseminate pragmatic ideas that, if put to the test, will improve the odds that more talented Americans will enter the public service. As part of this effort, the Center for Public Service has set forth an aggressive agenda to include a series of publications and reports, conferences, and other public events in order to encourage young Americans to enter the public service and to instill in all Americans a greater sense of confidence and integrity in that service. As with all Brookings publications, the judgments, conclusions, and recommendations presented in the studies are solely those of the authors and should not be attributed to the trustees, officers, or other staff members of the institution. Paul C. Light brookings institution press Washington, D.C. SUSTAINING NONPROFIT PERFORMANCE TheCaseforCapacityBuilding andtheEvidencetoSupportIt Copyright © 2004 THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 www.brookings.edu All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Light, Paul Charles. Sustaining nonprofit performance : the case for capacity building and the evidence to support it / Paul C. Light. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8157-5226-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8157-5225-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Nonprofit organizations—United States—Management. 2. Organizational effectiveness. I. Title. HD62.6.L545 2004 658.4'01—dc22 2004012674 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper used in this publication meets minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials: ANSI Z39.48-1992. Typeset in Sabon with Myriad display Composition by Cynthia Stock Silver Spring, Maryland Printed by R. R. Donnelley Harrisonburg, Virginia ...