Nonprofits in a Time of Turbulence: Challenges and Opportunities

We have entered a period of turbulent economic and political change. Internationally, slower growth coupled with youth unemployment and rising inequality have driven a renewed interest in social policy. In the US, the preferred policy approach since the 1990s has been to move away from cash assistance to direct service provision spurring demand for nonprofit services at the local level (Smith 2015, “Managing Human Service Organizations in the 21st Century.” Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership, & Governance 39 (5):407–411). Recently, however, we have observed a power backlash against trade, immigration and economic insecurity that is reshaping politics and bringing about significant cuts in social service programs and health care at a time when the need is high. Fiscal scarcity will no doubt create an additional burden for nonprofits working with communities in need. In Canada, the federal government is moving in the opposite direction with greater investment in the social policy fields, including healthcare, childcare, housing and poverty reduction initiative. These investments will mean a greater flow of resources to the nonprofit sector, but the government has been clear that in exchange they want to tie funding to results and performance.