Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

THE NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP AND

DEMOCRACY CURRICULUM

LESSON 1
The Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations in
Advancing Social Justice and Fostering Democracy

By

James V. Riker, Ph.D.

Developed with the support of the

David and Lucile Packard Foundation

THE UNION INSTITUTE

CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY
NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP AND DEMOCRACY PROJECT
WASHINGTON, D.C.

December 2001

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

The Nonprofit Leadership and Democracy Project

LESSON 1
The Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations in
Advancing Social Justice and Fostering Democracy

CONTENTS

PART I: The Recipe for Lesson 1: Overview and rationale for the lesson, the
key concepts and issues for debate, the learning objectives, background
information on the significance and relevance of the lesson to learners, and how
to tailor the materials to diverse audiences.

PART II: Nonprofit Leadership and Democracy Lesson: The lesson

examines the theoretical and historical roles of nonprofit organizations in
promoting social change in the United States. It consists of two parts: Session
1 focuses on how nonprofit organizations foster democracy and contribute to
social justice, and explores the challenges and opportunities that nonprofit
organizations confront. Session 2 provides an analytical framework for
examining the relationships between nonprofit organizations and social
movements, and the main arenas of action for nonprofit advocacy.

PART III: Menu of Enrichment Activities: Activities include stories and

narratives of nonprofit leaders, case studies and research on social justices
issues, simulations and role plays for a mock town hall meeting, exercises in
developing an effective advocacy strategy and resource guide.

PART IV: Resources for Nonprofit Leadership: Recommended readings

on the theoretical and historical roles of the nonprofit sector, and various social
movements from the civil rights, environmental, labor and women’s
movements.

PART I. THE RECIPE FOR LESSON 1

This lesson provides instructors and facilitators with a suggested recipe for
the lesson – that is, the ingredients for stimulating new perspectives and
critical thinking in current and future nonprofit leaders about the mission and
strategic vision of the nonprofit sector. It presents the overall rationale,
learning objectives, significance and relevance of the suggested lesson plan. The
recipe approach offers flexibility for making the lessons available to multiple
audiences (e.g. academic, practitioner). For instance, instructors can shape and
tailor the lessons to the specific levels (e.g., undergraduate, graduate,
practitioner) and experiences of their learners.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

A. Overview and Rationale for Lesson 1

This opening lesson sets the political, economic and social context for
understanding the theoretical and historical roles of nonprofit organizations in
promoting social change in the United States. This section presents the content
of Lesson 1 for use with learners and practitioners. It lays out the main topics and
issues to be covered in two sessions of 75-90 minutes each.

Session 1 examines the concepts of democracy and social justice, highlights the
main arenas of action for achieving justice and democracy, and challenges
learners to discuss and analyze what constitutes substantive, meaningful progress
in each area.

Session 2 focuses on the historical roles of nonprofit organizations within the

context of broader social movements. It provides a narrative overview of the
trajectory of particular social movements and the role that nonprofit
organizations played in these efforts. The purpose is to rediscover the
inspirational moments and to renew the original visions and capture the intent
behind them that led to the creation of many nonprofit organizations and their
engagement in broader social movements for social, economic and political
change. Several key social movements have stimulated debate and action about
democratizing the rules and practices governing the economy, society and
government.

Learners will use the concepts and framework presented in the first session to
analyze the social movement discussed in the second session and place them in
the context of contemporary initiatives to promote social justice and democracy.
Special emphasis will be given to understanding the historical roles and
theoretical possibilities that nonprofit organizations, both working alone and as
part of social movements, can play in reconfiguring power relations, i.e., the rules
and practices of the economy, society and government sectors.

B. Introduce Key Concepts and Points of Debate

To focus and initiate each lesson, key concepts are defined from different
perspectives as a basis for initiating discussion and points of debate about how to
understand, apply and adapt these concepts based on each learner’s thinking and
life experience. Handouts of key concepts for the lesson will be given to learners
to review and discuss. The purpose is to provide a fundamental knowledge base
and to stimulate debate about different perspectives on the main concepts and
ideas presented in the lesson.

C. Learning Objectives for Lesson 1

Lesson 1 addresses all of the following four core capacities for nonprofit leaders.
The lesson’s primary emphasis is on developing nonprofit leaders’ capacities to

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

engage in strategic analysis, in participatory research, and in public issue

advocacy that promotes positive social change.

Core Capacities for Nonprofit Leaders Addressed in Lesson 1

Strategic Participatory Innovative Public Issue

Analysis Research Civic Advocacy
Action
Lesson 1 üü üP ü üP

This scale represents the level of intensity in a lesson devoted to each core capacity.

The specific learning objectives for the learner and/or practitioner within
Lesson 1 include:

1. Knowledge Building, Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking

a. Enhance learners’ knowledge of key factors affecting nonprofit

organizations (NPOs’) work on social justice and democracy.

b. Provide learners with an understanding of key concepts (i.e., nonprofit

organizations, democracy, social justice, social movements) and points of
conflict.

c. Enable learners to think critically about what constitutes meaningful

progress on social justice and democracy.

d. Enhance learners’ understanding about nonprofit sectors’ (and leaders’)

role as an advocate for disempowered groups, and the strategies for
addressing and overcoming institutional manifestations (i.e., social
structures, distribution of resources) of social injustice.

e. Stimulate thinking and reflection about the relationships between

nonprofit organizations and social movements, and the implications for
nonprofits’ mission, strategies, operations, and practice.

2. Skills Development

a. Sharpen learners’ analytical, political and strategic skills for effective

nonprofit advocacy and action on social justice and democracy.

b. Enable learners’ to assess the potentials and requirements for building and
sustaining a collective effort to address problematic social and political
conditions.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

c. Apply different approaches to nonprofit advocacy and action according to

the particular context, such as organizational, economic, political and
social resources and skills at the community, state and national levels.

d. Enhance learners’ appreciation of the need to work with, listen to, and take
account of the perspectives of diverse constituencies and stakeholders,
regardless of their economic, race, or gender status.

3. Attitudes and Expectations

a. Develop learners’ appreciation and respect for the values of social justice
(e.g., equity, inclusion, empowerment) and democracy (e.g., access,
inclusion and participation, voice).

b. Encourage self-reflection of one’s own ethical and political beliefs.

c. Respect and be sensitive to differences in values, norms and attitudes of

individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

d. Shift learners’ expectations to develop creative and innovative strategies

and solutions to social justice and democracy.

D. Significance and Relevance of the Lesson

Why should learners and practitioners care about these issues?

1. The lesson develops critical thinking about the processes and dynamics of
social change in the United States.

2. The lesson provides a depth of analysis, experience and tools to guide

nonprofit leaders’ actively engaged in social justice and democracy.

E. How to Tailor the Lesson to Diverse Audiences

The curriculum is designed to provide a fundamental base of knowledge and

experience on nonprofit leadership. The flexible combination of the recipe for
the lesson and menu for enrichment activities will enable instructors to
tailor lessons for different organizational settings and diverse audiences. This
array of possible options will enable the instructor or facilitator to take an active
role in shaping the scope, content, format and complementary activities for a
lesson and/or set of lessons that can be adapted to suit specific audiences from
undergraduate and graduate students, to practitioners.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

F. Possible Sequencing Options for Lessons by Themes

In addition, to expand on and enable further in-depth treatment of the themes

and issues introduced in this opening lesson, this lesson can be mixed, matched
and sequenced with other lessons in multiple ways according to themes or
audiences, for instance. Lesson 1 is seen as a pivotal part of a broader set of
lessons focused on the two themes of building democracy and advancing social
justice. Possible sequencing options by themes include:

· Nonprofit Organizations’ Role in Building Democracy:

Lessons 1, 4, 6, 7

· Nonprofit Organizations’ Role in Advancing Social Justice:

Lessons 1, 5, 8, 9

· “Tool Kit” for Effective Leadership – Summary of Nonprofit

Organization Leadership and Strategic Vision Issues:
Lessons 2, 3, 10

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

PART II. NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP AND DEMOCRACY LESSON 1

The Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations in

Advancing Social Justice and Fostering Democracy

SESSION 1: Introducing Key Concepts about Nonprofit

Organizations’ Roles in Advancing Social Justice and Fostering
Democracy (Estimated time: 90 minutes)

HANDOUT 1.1: Key Concepts – Actors and Strategies

Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit organizations are private, voluntary organizations that promote the
public interest. Implicit is a concern for a broader social purpose and mission to
address unmet public needs not effectively fulfilled by either the market or
government. The primary focus is on nonprofit organizations as defined as
501(c)3 and 501(c)4 organizations in the United States tax code.

Social Movement
A social movement is the shared activities of diverse actors comprised of
individuals, nonprofit and other social organizations to mobilize citizens at all
levels of society to influence politics broadly, and ultimately to achieve genuine
social change as it concerns the rules, processes and practices of society, the
market, or the government.

Organizing
Organizing is a primary strategy that nonprofit organizations and social
movements use for collective action to bring together people and groups to take
action on social justice issues at multiple levels. It may take various forms from
creating local institutions, to national political organizing, and popular
mobilization of people at the grassroots.

Advocacy
Advocacy is a primary strategy used by citizens to influence the public decisions
affecting their lives at the community, national and international levels. Advocacy
takes many forms from personal action to collective efforts at lobbying. Public
issue advocacy is citizen political action focused on influencing the policies,
programs and practices of governments, corporations and nonprofit organizations.

Coalition-building
A coalition is a set of actors (e.g., nonprofit organizations, foundations, labor
unions) that coordinate shared strategies and tactics to influence decision-making
concerning the public interest and social policy broadly.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

A. How Nonprofit Organizations Contribute to Building

Democracy

HANDOUT 1.2: Discussion of Different Conceptions and

Perspectives on Democracy and Social Justice

Democracy

1. Democracy Is a Series of Informed, Ongoing Public Dialogues about

Accountable Governance. The challenge is to give people the capacity to
reproduce these public dialogues about what constitutes accountable governance
in their communities and organizations. We have so few good models.
2. Democracy Is a Process, Not a Product.
3. Democracy Is the Work of the People. What you work in creating, you have a
stake in. People create a democracy through joint work in shared civic activities.
4. Democracy Means Empowerment: Nonprofits should not act solely on behalf of
the people, but instead focus on empowering people to act for themselves.
5. Democracy Is Inclusive and Ensures Voice: Democracy means including people
affected by problem, especially the disenfranchised and powerless, in all phases
of work and ensuring them a voice in the decisions that affect their lives.
6. Democracy Is Participatory and Ensures People a Stake in the Process.
Democracy is when people have a sense of ownership of the process and fully
participate in it. Nonprofit organizations should also focus on restoring a sense
of efficacy to the people.
7. Democracy Means Self-Governance: Democracy is when people can self-
organize to make decisions about their own affairs.

Social Justice

1. Social Justice Is Righting Injustices: Social justice means redressing current and
past wrongs and inequities.
2. Social Justice Is What Is Right for Society. But, the Fundamental Question Is:
Who Decides? The terms and standards for social justice change over time,
groups, and place.
3. There Must Be a Place Where People Learn What Social (In)Justice Is.
4. Social Justice Means Acting for Equity: Equity is when people have the same
opportunities for resources.
5. Does the Concept of Social Justice Presume Universal Standards?
6. There Are Many Dimensions of Justice: not just economic, but legal, political,
social, environmental, etc.
7. One Should Evaluate Social Justice Based on:
a. Social structure: A just social structure allows all to flourish and thrive.
b. Distribution of All Goods and the Relationship to the Social Structure.
8. Are Shared Values a Precondition for Social Justice? If it is a democratic
process, people only need to share the values for dialogue and exchange.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

B. How Nonprofit Organizations Foster Democracy

Many nonprofit organizations regularly struggle with the issue of how to foster
and deepen democracy within the communities that they serve. The challenge is
how to make democratic practice a fundamental part of nonprofit organizations’
mission, strategy and operations. What are the underlying values for democratic
practice? How can nonprofit organizations actively engage with the community
and enable all citizens to have a voice in decision-making that affects their lives?
How can nonprofit organizations build responsive institutions and processes that
enhance and sustain democratic participation at the local, state and national
levels?

Nonprofit organizations contribute to democracy in several important and

overlapping ways:

· Advocacy Role: As an advocate and catalyst for disenfranchised peoples,

nonprofit organizations enable and empower people to activate and realize
their voice in the decisions that affect their lives. As advocates, nonprofit
organizations work on behalf of people to help them (a) access resources;
(b) inform or influence decisions; and (c) express their needs and
concerns.

· Educational Role: As an agent for building the capacity of people to

analyze, reflect and act on their own behalf, nonprofit organizations seek
to inform, educate and empower people through a wide range of strategies
and activities.

· Mediating Role: As a mediator between public and private interests,

nonprofit organizations seek to promote dialogue, exchange, conflict
resolution among members of society.

· Mobilizing Role: As defenders of the public interest, nonprofit

organizations seek to mobilize people to take collective action on critical
social justice issues.

· Participatory Role: As the need for public input on key social issues
arises, nonprofit organizations seek to develop participatory mechanisms
and processes that engage all people in the decisions affecting them at all
levels of public (e.g., as citizens, consumers) and private life (e.g., as
workers, volunteers).

· Service Provider Role: As important social needs remain unmet,

nonprofit organizations provide essential services to specific publics and
communities.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

· Accountability Role: As agents for accountability, nonprofit

organizations monitor and influence the practices and policies of
government, business and other nonprofit actors. In the process,
nonprofit organizations seek to build transparent and accountable
democratic institutions.

C. How Nonprofit Organizations Contribute to Social Justice

Bearing in mind differing perspectives on social justice, how do nonprofit

organizations contribute to social justice? Some of the ways that nonprofits do
include:

· Acting as Advocates for Equality – Nonprofit organizations, acting

individually as well as collectively as part of broader social movements,
have been effective proponents and advocates for equality on the basis of
race, gender, disability or representation. Their work has focused on
securing rights for disenfranchised peoples in the public and private
spheres.

· Defining Basic Human Needs – Nonprofit organizations address

basic human needs of all people to be full and productive members of
society. This work ranges from defining basic levels of access to primary
health care to the standards for affordable housing and a living wage.

· Serving as a Voice for Justice – Nonprofit organizations raise

fundamental issues for debate about injustice and the values that should
guide the building of a just society, such as racial and economic justice.

Discussion Questions: As a nonprofit leader, you are asked to address the

following fundamental questions:

1. What constitutes meaningful progress on social justice and democracy?

2. What criteria, measures and indicators should be used to gauge whether

progress is occurring on these issues?

3. What are the institutional and political barriers that prevent democracy
and social justice from flourishing in our communities and society?

4. What structures, if any, are antithetical to democracy and social justice?

What examples can you give to support your analysis?

5. How can a more supportive political environment be created that

recognizes and acts on these issues?

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

D. Challenges and Opportunities that Nonprofit Organizations

Confront, and that Affect Their Approaches and Activities

1. Economic Realities

Nonprofit organizations increasingly operate in an unfavorable economic

environment where the impact of market practices can distort their
commitment to its broader mission. For instance, the high cost of living, low
wages, welfare reform and other economic policies have severely undercut the
likelihood that grassroots community people and volunteers can participate in
nonprofit organizations’ activities.

· To learn more about how nonprofit organizations actively engage in

advancing social justice, see Lesson 5.

· To learn more about how nonprofit organizations are mobilizing for

economic justice through living wage campaigns, see Lesson 6.

· To learn more about how the issues of representation, race and class
dynamics plays out in the case of the environmental justice movement,
see Lesson 8.

· To learn more about how nonprofit leaders have advanced social

justice through grassroots activism and national coalition-building in
the case of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), see Lesson 9.

2. Political Realities

Nonprofit organizations operate in an increasingly unfavorable political

environment where Congress has enacted tax and political regulations that
limit their advocacy rights. Many nonprofit organizations are finding it
increasingly difficult to influence political decision-makers who are seeking
funds for their re-election. Despite these challenges, some nonprofit
organizations are developing innovative and effective approaches to
advancing social justice and fostering democracy that reach out to and engage
disempowered and disenfranchised people in their communities.

· To learn more about the theoretical possibilities and opportunities for

nonprofit organizations to advance social justice and foster democracy,
see Lesson 1.

· To learn more about the role of nonprofit organizations in fostering

political and economic democracy, see Lesson 4.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

·To learn more about the role of nonprofit organizations in promoting

campaign finance reform, see Lesson 7.
3. Organizational Issues

As nonprofit organizations renew their mission and practice, they face the
multiple organizational challenges of reinvigorating their leadership role,
addressing internal democratic practice and accountability, and reassessing
their relationships with funding organizations, government agencies, and
their communities. Nonprofit leaders seek to be responsive to existing and
new social needs in the communities and to strengthen their organization’s
capacities to address them.

· To learn more about the dynamics affecting nonprofit organizations’

survival and viability – such as funding (who sets the agenda) and
advocacy rights, see Lesson 2.

· To learn more about how to promote the accountability and

responsiveness of nonprofits organizations (NPOs), see Lesson 3.

· To learn more about tools and resources for sustaining the strategic
vision and leadership of nonprofit leaders, see Lesson 10.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

SESSION 2: An Analytical Framework for Understanding the

Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations in
Advancing Social Justice and Fostering Democracy
(Estimated time: 90 minutes)

A. Examine the Relationships between Nonprofit Organizations

and Social Movements

What roles have nonprofit organizations played in broader social movements for
social justice and democracy? This lesson examines the relations between
nonprofits organizations and social movements in important historical initiatives
for social change in the United States such as the Civil Rights, environmental, and
women’s movements. Each of these social movements has had a significant impact
on changing the political discourse and strategies of nonprofit organizations as
they work collectively to address critical social and political issues.

Dimensions of issues and arenas of social action

All social justice and democracy issues, and thus nonprofit advocacy, have
economic, political and social dimensions. In democratic countries all societal
rules – or the absence thereof – that regulate political, economic and social
activities ultimately are governed by political decisions. Depending upon their
characteristics, however, different issues are primarily political, economic and
social, and advocacy activities therefore occur in one of these three arenas.

As shown in Table 1 below, the economic arena focuses on the rules and
practices of the market economy, the political arena on the rules and practices
of the political system, and the social arena on societal rules and practices
outside the economic and political realms. Each of these arenas presents
different opportunities and challenges to nonprofit advocacy, and each has
different measures of meaningful progress and successful advocacy work.

Table 1: Main Arenas of Action for Nonprofit Advocacy by Issue Area

Main Arena of Action Social Movements/Issue Area*

Economic – focus on the
rules and practices of the
market economy
Political –focus on the rules
and practices of the political
system and government
programs
Social – focus on the rules
and practices of society (in
relation to race and gender)
· Union Movement (1930s)
· Environmental Movement
(1970s-1990s)
· Welfare Rights Movement
(late 1960s-early 1970s)
· Civil Rights Movement
(late 1950s-late 1960s)
· Women’s Movement (“2nd
Stage:” 1960s)

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Note: These movements and issue areas are listed in these categories here for
illustrative purposes.

EXERCISE 1.1: Analyzing particular social movements and nonprofit

organizations

By using the conceptual framework outlined above in Table 1, you are asked to
identify other historical and contemporary social movements and issue areas for
analysis. Your analysis of specific social movements should be guided by the
following discussion questions.

Discussion Questions:

1. What was the primary arena of action for the movement? To what
degree was the movement affected by or reside in other arenas?

2. How did the different arenas of action shape the movement’s strategy
and activities?

3. How did the missions and constituencies of leading nonprofits involved

in the movement constrain their particular organizational strategies
and operations?

Practitioners: How do your organization’s mission and

constituencies constrain its particular organizational strategies and
operations?

4. If the movement led to the creation of new nonprofits, why did this
occur?

Practitioners: To what extent did your organization emerge from a

social movement?

5. What constituencies were not represented by the nonprofits that played

key leadership or mobilization roles? Why not?

Practitioners: What constituencies are not represented by your own

and/or other nonprofits playing key leadership or mobilization roles?
Why not?

6. What nonprofits with leadership/mobilizing potential did not play

important roles in the movement? Why not?

7. What were the leadership factors that led to these movements’ success?
Do these lessons apply across various social movements? Why or why
not?

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

8. How do the concepts of social justice and democracy relate to the work
and mission of particular nonprofit organizations?

Practitioners: How do these concepts relate to the work and mission

of your organization?

9. What principles guide that organization’s work on social justice and

democracy?

Practitioners: Do you have principles that guide your organization’s

work on social justice and democracy? What are they?

10. Practitioners: What implications does this discussion have for the
future work (i.e., mission, governance, strategy, practice) of your
organization?

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PART III. MENU OF ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES: Lesson 1

To complement the lesson sessions, a menu of enrichment activities offers

additional options for achieving the specific learning objectives and needs of .
These enrichment activities use a range of pedagogical approaches and
techniques to engage learners and practitioners actively in the learning process.
This menu is illustrative of possible ways that activities can be mixed and
matched according to the interests and needs of learners and practitioners.

These enrichment activities offer creative, interactive strategies for learning

about social justice issues and the role that citizens and nonprofit organizations
play in bringing about change from the community to the national levels. They
offer multiple ways to plug learners into a wider array of social justice issues
drawing on experiential perspectives of nonprofit leaders and practitioners.

1. Stories and Narratives of Nonprofit Leaders (e.g., videos, readings,

guest presentations)

Cold Anger: A Story of Faith and Power Politics (1990). By Mary Beth
Rogers, Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press.
This book draws on the first-hand organizing experience of Ernie Cortez,
Southwest Regional Director of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). This
account provides a social justice perspective on defending the public interest
and advocating for the common good based on experiences in organizing local
communities.

Interview with Fannie Lou Hamer (1983). New York: William Greaves
Production, National Black Archives, Video, 51 minutes.
In a gripping on-camera interview, Mrs. Hamer talks about the values she
learned from her parents, her experiences growing up in the Deep South and
the radicalizing events that led her to risk her life in the struggle for human
rights in America. The program includes archival footage of the Civil Rights
protests and of the historic Democratic Convention of 1968.

The Women and Organizing Documentation Project Video (2000). The

Union Institute, Center for Women, Washington, DC, Video, 32 minutes.
Presents the first-hand experiences of five women activist leaders engaged in
organizing and advocacy for social justice on a diverse range of issues.
Web site: www.wmm.com/catalog/pages/c536.htm

2. Case Study Method

The main emphasis here is to use the case study method to expose learners to real
problems taken from various experiential settings as the basis for reflection and
critical thinking about different approaches to problem solving and action on
social justice issues.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

a. PREPARE CASE STUDIES ON SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES: Prepare a

case study about a historical social movement or contemporary social justice
issue (see the list of recommended resources in Part IV, pages 33-36). You
should first examine the issue, and then act with you colleagues as a group to
make a decision on the issue. Why is the issue considered to be a social justice
issue? What is the most appropriate process for engaging the community in the
decision-making concerning this issue?

· Understand and frame the problem: Why is it a social justice issue?

How is the issue framed? (e.g., the siting of a hazardous waste facility in
the community; racial profiling practices of police).

Recommended Reading:

Gamson, William A. (2000). Framing Social Policy. The Nonprofit

Quarterly, 7(2), December.
Web site: www.nonprofitquarterly.org/advocacy/framing.php

· Develop critical research questions and procedures: For

example, what are the possible uses of the proposed hazardous waste site
in the community? How are decisions made about land use? What zoning
bylaws exist? What are the costs and benefits of different choices? What
are the priorities for our community?

· Gather, organize, and interpret critical information to

understanding this social justice issue: For example, conduct a
telephone interview with the appropriate city officials to obtain
information on zoning or land-use requirements and the public process for
decision-making in the community.

· Propose alternatives and make choices: You should provide a

rationale to justify your choices. You will then present your decision in the
form of a proposed resolution to the city council. All participants are asked
to vote on the merits of the proposed resolution. Why did the proposed
resolution pass or fail? What were the key factors?

Recommended Reading:

Candaele, Kelly, and Peter Dreier. (2000). LA’s Progressive Mosaic:

Beginning to Find Its Voice, The Nation, August 21-28, 2000. Web site:
http://past.thenation.com/issue/000821/0821candaele.shtml

b. GUIDED GROUP DISCUSSION WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE LEADERS:

Invite social justice leaders to work with groups of students as they research the
issue. Why did leaders frame the issue in the way they did? How did they organize
and engage the community in the process? Provide leaders with background

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

information and the research questions students have developed. Ask them to
spend time with small groups in informal discussion.

c. CLASS MEETING: Hold a class discussion, examining the different

perspectives on the social justice issue presented in the case study. Encourage
learners to ask questions and to present their own interpretation and analysis of
the pivotal factors that led to successful impact and outcomes on the issue.

3. Simulations and Role Plays

A range of collaborative activities involving simulations and role plays are

proposed to help develop the conceptual comprehension, problem-solving and
critical thinking skills of learners.

a. MOCK TOWN HALL MEETING: Organize a mock town hall meeting at

which learners will participate as citizens. Select a group of learners to act as the
council, modeling it after the main players described in the case study’s
community. Ask learners to re-examine their issue and develop a short paragraph
stating and explaining their position.

Arrange the classroom to represent a community or town hall meeting room.

Create an area where other citizens can stand while making their statements. If
time permits, various council groups in the classroom may present more than one
issue.

The council presents the issue at the beginning of the meeting. Learners then
speak to the issue as citizens. Ensure that all learners have a chance to speak and
allow time for questions and discussions once students have presented their
statements.

b. CLASS DISCUSSION: Ask learners to consider what their rights, duties and
responsibilities are as individuals in the community. They may discuss the
following questions and record responses in their journals:

· What are your rights as a citizen of this community?

· What are your duties and responsibilities as a citizen?

· As a citizen, do you have a duty and obligation to serve a broader social

purpose, such as promoting social justice and fostering democracy?
Why or why not?

4. Exercises and Practica

You are a director of a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote and

advance social justice in your community. Given the need for action in your
community, you are asked to engage in the following activities.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

a. GROUP RESEARCH ON SOCIAL JUSTICE: Form a small group and

select a social justice issue for joint research. Each member of the group should
identify and collect relevant information about the issue. You should identify
sources of information, including newspaper articles, minutes and transcripts of
public meetings, and online resources (e.g., web sites of key groups, press
releases, reports, etc.) that provide relevant background information, and
personal interviews with officials, community members, or leaders of nonprofit
organizations. You should identify whether any existing nonprofit organizations
are engaged in advocacy for any of these issues. If appropriate, you should contact
the relevant advocacy groups for information.

You should organize your research to address the following questions:

· What is this social justice issue about?

· How do the key institutions and the media characterize this social
justice issue?

· How do citizens and nonprofit advocacy groups characterize and frame

this social justice issue?

· What alternative perspectives and solutions will best advance social

justice and deepen democracy on this particular issue?

· What criteria and indicators should nonprofit leaders use to evaluate

whether progress is being made on this social justice issue?

b. DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY STRATEGY: Based on your

research, prepare a presentation on a social justice issue. Each group is asked to
develop an advocacy strategy to influence decision-making around the issue.
Also, you should discuss various advocacy techniques and develop an overall
strategy or plan to influence the main decision-making institutions.

Forms of Advocacy:

· Grasroots organizing and activism – The focus is on building the

capacity of grassroots people to bring about change through collective
action. Grassroots people develop the skills, analysis, resources to become
organized, identify issues, and develop activities toward addressing those
issues.

· Policy research and monitoring – The focus is on monitoring and

evaluating the impacts of policies and programs on the intended target
groups and seeks to inform and improve the performance and
responsiveness of key actors and institutions.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

· Public interest litigation – The emphasis is on legal reform to ensure

protection of key rights and opportunities for disadvantaged groups;

· Coalition-building – This advocacy strategy focuses on building

relationships among a key set of actors toward a shared analysis of a
problem and some commonly defined strategy and joint action to address
it.

· Campaigns are coordinated activities among groups to influence the

behavior and policies of key actors such as business, government or other
institutions.

· Public policy advocacy and lobbying – This focuses on changing,

informing public policy at the local, state or national level. The emphasis
here is on influencing policy by either involving professional advocates to
target advocacy toward political leaders and/or mobilizing grassroots
community people to target their advocacy toward political leaders and
institutions.

The actual tactics that groups may employ include: letter writing, using local
media, such as phone-in radio or TV shows, rallies and demonstrations, personal
conversations with officials, and press conferences.

c. TAKING ACTION: You are asked to form groups according to your research
and position on an issue. Each group prepares a plan of action on how to build
support for action the issue. Groups should discuss their positions and list the
supporting evidence. Each group should discuss how they have framed the issue
(by differentiating between key facts and opinions) in order to build support for
their position. You should consider the various advocacy methods that nonprofit
organizations and community groups use to influence decisions.

You should include the following items in your group’s plan of action:

· An overall statement that clearly sets out, explains, and frames the
social justice issue.

· Position statements that analyze and propose possible actions on the

social justice issue.

· Statements from officials and citizens that support your position.

· Information from your research that supports your position.

· The leading critiques of your group’s position and your response to

those critiques.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

Exercises:

1. Compare and contrast the main arenas of action – economic, political, and
social – for nonprofit advocacy. What main arena or arenas does your
organization engage in and why?

2. How important is the political arena to achieving success on your particular

issue area?

3. What strategies for advocacy were effective in making progress on a particular

social issue?

4. What criteria should be used to evaluate effectiveness and impact?

a. PRESENTATION TO OFFICIALS: Arrange for learners to present their

folders to officials engaged in the social justice issue. They may make a brief
presentation or send a letter and folders to officials of the main target institution.
Ask learners to evaluate the outcome and effectiveness of their actions.

b. ADVOCACY RESOURCE GUIDE: Ask learners to brainstorm how citizens

can take part in nonprofit advocacy and influence decision-making at the local
level. Compile their ideas into a guidebook for local action. Each learner can
prepare a brief overview of effective strategies and tactics, documenting
experiences from the field, to be compiled into a regularly updated advocacy
resource guide.

c. ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT REPORTS: Ask learners to consider

how citizens are responsible for ensuring that government meets their needs.
Learners can prepare reports evaluating the government's success in meeting
their needs. The report may address various issues: the needs of citizens in their
community, how the decision-making process operates, the role that nonprofit
played in effective advocacy and strategies that they used, and the responsiveness
of government to addressing citizens' needs. Learners prepare brief presentations
from their reports and share their knowledge and insights with their groups.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

PART IV: RESOURCES FOR NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP

A. Suggested Readings

1. Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofits in Advancing Social

Justice and Democracy

a. Theoretical and Historical Roles of the Nonprofit Sector

Alford, Robert R. (1992). The Political Language of the Nonprofit Sector, In:
Richard M. Merelman, ed., Language, Symbolism and Politics, Boulder, CO:
Westview Press, 17-50.

Berresford, Susan. (1996). Perspective: What Nonprofits Can Do. Community

Jobs, p. 8, 10, March.

Bielefeld, Wolfgang. (1994). What Affects Nonprofit Survival? Nonprofit

Management and Leadership, 5:19-36.

Burns, Stewart. (1990). Social Movements of the 1960s: Searching for

Democracy. Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers.

Clotfelter, Charles T., ed. (1992). Who benefits from the nonprofit sector?
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Clotfelter, Charles T., and Thomas Ehrlich, eds. (1999). Philanthropy and the
Nonprofit Sector in a Changing America. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Press.

Gardner, Deborah S., ed. (1998). Vision and Values: Rethinking the Nonprofit
Sector in America. A Report for the Nathan Cummings Foundation. New Haven,
CT: Yale University, Program on Nonprofit Organizations.

Hall, Peter Dobkin. (1994). Historical perspectives on nonprofit organizations. In

R. D. Herman and Associates (Ed.), The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit
Leadership and Management, pp. 3-43. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Publishers.

Hall, Peter Dobkin. (1992). Inventing the Nonprofit Sector: and Other Essays on
Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Nonprofit Organizations. Baltimore, MD:
Johns Hopkins Press.

Lehning, Percy B. (1998). Towards a Multicultural Civil Society: The Role of

Social Capital and Democratic Citizenship, Government and Opposition,
33(2):221, Spring.

Minkoff, Debra C. (1997). Producing Social Capital: National Social Movements

and Civil Society, American Behavioral Scientist, 40(5):606-619, March/April.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

O’Connell, Brian. (1996). A Major Transfer of Government Responsibility to

Voluntary Organizations: Proceed with Caution, Public Administration Review,
56(3):222-225.

Powell, Walter W., and Elisabeth S. Clemens, eds., (1998). Private Action and
Public Good. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Salamon, Lester. (1995). Partners in Public Service: Government-Nonprofit

Relations in the Modern Welfare State. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins
University Press.

Salamon, Lester M. (1997). Holding the Center: America’s Nonprofit Sector at a

Crossroads. A Report to the Nathan Cummings Foundation. New York: Nathan
Cummins Foundation.

Salamon, Lester M. (1999). The Nonprofit Sector at a Crossroads: The Case of

America. Voluntas, 10(1):5-23.

Salamon, Lester M. (1999). America’s Nonprofit Sector: A Primer. New York:

The Foundation Center, 2nd Edition.

Wolch, Jennifer. (1999). Decentering America’s Nonprofit Sector: Reflections on

Salamon’s Crises Analysis, Voluntas, 10(1):25-35.

Young, Dennis R. (1999). Complementary, Supplementary, or Adversarial? A

Theoretical and Historical Examination of Nonprofit-Government Relations in
the United States. In: Nonprofits and Government: Collaboration and Conflict.
Elizabeth T. Boris and Eugene C. Steuerle, (eds.). Washington, DC: The Urban
Institute, pp. 31-70.

b. The Labor Union and Populist Movements

Bronfenbrenner, Kate, Sheldon Friedman, Richard Hurd, Rudolph A. Oswald,

and Ronald L. Seeber, eds. (1998). Organizing to Win: New Research on Union
Strategies. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University ILR Press.

Clemens, Elizabeth. (1997). The People’s Lobby: Organizational Innovation and

the Rise of Interest Group Politics in the United States, 1890-1925. Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press.

Cohen, Lizabeth. (1990). Making a New Deal. New York: Cambridge University
Press.

Goldfield, Michael. (1987). The Decline of Organized Labor in the United States.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

Goodwyn, Lawrence. (1978). The Populist Movement. New York: Oxford

University Press.

Piven, Frances Fox, and Richard A. Cloward (1979). Poor People’s Movements:
Why They Succeed, How They Fail. New York: Vintage Books.

Zieger, Robert (1995). The CIO, 1935-1955. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North
Carolina Press.

c. The U.S. Environmental Movement

Dowie, Mark. (1995) Losing Ground: American Environmentalism at the Close

of the 20th Century. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press.

Dunlap, Riley, and Angela Metig. (1992). American Environmentalism: The U.S.
Environmental Movement, 1970-1990. Philadelphia, PA: Taylor & Francis.

Hays, Samuel P. (1987). Beauty, Health, and Permanence: Environmental

Politics in the U.S., 1955-1985. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Natapoff, Sasha. (1989). Stormy Weather: The Promise of the U.S.

Environmental Movement. Washington, DC: Institute for Policy Studies.

Paehlke, Robert. (1989). Environmentalism and the Future of Progressive

Politics. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Petulla, Jospeh M. (1980). American Environmentalism: Values, Tactics,

Priorities. Texas A & M University Press.

Sale, Kirpatrick. (1993). Green Revolution: The Environmental Movement, 1962-

1992. New York: Hill and Wang.

d. The Civil Rights Movement

Branch, Taylor. (1999). Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-1965.
New York: Simon & Schuster.

Dittmer, John. (1995). Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi.
Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press.

Goldfield, Michael. (1997). The Color of Politics: Race and the Mainsprings of
American Politics. New York: The New Press.

Lewis, John. (1998). Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement. New
York: Simon & Schuster.

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 Lesson 1: Theoretical and Historical Roles of Nonprofit Organizations

McAdam, Doug. (1982). Political Process and the Development of Black

Insurgency, 1930-1980. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

McAdam, Doug. (1988). Freedom Summer. New York: Oxford University Press.

Morris, Aldon. (1984). Origins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities
Organizing for Change. New York: Free Press.

Payne, Charles. (1995. I’ve Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition
and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle. Berkeley, CA: University of California
Press.

e. The Women’s Movement

Feree, Myra Max (1994). Controversy and Coalition: The New Feminist
Movement. New York: Maxwell MacMillan International.

Gelb, Joyce, and Marian Lieff Palley. (1982). Women and Public Policies.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod. (1998). Faithful and Fearless: Moving Feminist

Protest Inside the Church and Military. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press.

Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod, and Carol McClurg Mueller. (1987). The Women’s
Movements of the United States and Western Europe. Philadelphia, PA: Temple
University Press.

Mansbridge, Jane. (1986). Why We Lost the ERA. Chicago, IL: University of
Chicago Press.

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