In recent decades, a number of large, complex human services and public health organizations have developed, which are becoming known as the Fourth Sector. This chapter defines the Fourth Sector, and its large, complex, nonprofit organizations, many of them members of the Alliance for Children and Families. It explores a case study that provides in-depth information about this organization and the work of the Alliance to support the complex organizations among their members. The Fourth Sector presents a unique partnership opportunity for government and must be viewed as a strategic management partner, and operations entity at the state, regional, and national levels. Hillside family of agencies (HFA) strives to improve every aspect of the organization, from business, financial, and human resources to service delivery to youth and families. Through the evolution, and implementation of the strategic intent and data-driven outcomes to inform practice, services are improved on a continual basis.

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book defines the competencies needed by leaders to create change in the 21stcentury nonprofit sector. The target audience includes students who desire to become nonprofit leaders, current nonprofit leaders, faculty who teach about the nonprofit social sector, and policy makers seeking to create social change through legislation. The book helps to readers to identify, lead, and manage social change through ethical business practices, the application of business principles within the nonprofit sector, and the creation of social change via policy. The impact of the nonprofit sector on the U.S. economy is substantial. The book then presents a new and vigorous model, one that urges nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to see themselves as successful business enterprises and to utilize the same methods of efficiency, impact, financial rigor, entrepreneurship, and critical evaluation as the business world.

Influential leaders from each of the sectors public, private, and nonprofit in every region of the world have issued a call for leadership within and across sector boundaries, boundaries that have inhibited economic and social wealth creation in times of great need. The United Nations has worked to identify critical areas of focus and investment: extreme poverty and hunger; primary education; gender equality and female empowerment; child mortality; maternal health; eradication of HIV/AIDs, malaria, and other diseases; environmental sustainability; and global partnerships for development. Like many large organizations public, private, and not-for-profit Wharton has developed a set of seven leadership competencies to which it devotes significant resources and programs. The seven competencies that constitute the Wharton dimensions of leadership are influence, emotional intelligence, teamwork, communication, decision making, diplomacy, and organizational awareness. This chapter provides case studies that illustrate successful succession planning through leadership development; Ashoka: innovators for the public; Eisenhower Fellowships (EF).

For nonprofit agencies, there are generally two ways of growing: organically, which takes longer and is more detailed, or through strategic partnerships with other nonprofits. This chapter focuses on a wide range of strategic partnerships. Few nonprofits in the sector, other than hospitals and insurers, enter into strategic partnerships, and far fewer merge or affiliate with other nonprofits. The Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), however, is one of the rare nonprofit health and human service organizations that has been engaged in mergers and affiliations in the past 20 years. Environmental factors such as increased organizational competition or decreased foundation or donor funding encourage nonprofits to contemplate mergers. Nonprofit mergers provide a variety of benefits including the opportunity for expanded social impact. Merged nonprofits can roll together annual audits, combine insurance programs, and consolidate staffs and boards. Mergers and affiliations are one way that organizations are attempting to temper competition.

This chapter discusses the state of the nonprofit social sector in the 21st century, provides a historical perspective of the sector’s development in the United States, and considers its size and the legal framework in which it operates. It explores overview of the health, status, and contributions of nonprofits in the United States and discusses how the sector going forward must be more open to and adept at strategic partnerships if it hopes to maintain and expand its impact on social services in America. The nonprofit world is changing, and the future success of the more than 1.6 million nonprofits will be defined and dominated by strategic alignments and partnerships. The online journal edition and launch event were a huge success, with more than 300 nonprofit leaders in the room who all wanted to understand the spectrum of partnerships, how to do partnerships themselves, and what lessons others had learned.