Government-reliant SPOs

Many SPOs, especially those in the social services where benefits are redistributive in nature, or in such fields as relief and development, criminal justice or environmental protection where benefits are widespread and public in character, depend heavily on government support through programs that have been enacted via a political process which in principle at least, reflects a public consensus. Such organizations may not be able to charge for their services because of their public goods character, and they may be hampered by serious free rider problems if they try to subsist on philanthropy. This chapter will illuminate the rationale for government- derived support and will offer examples of SPOs where a government-reliant income portfolio prevails. Understanding the opportunities for government support requires an appreciation of the complex, multifaceted relationships between SPOs and government. Broadly speaking these relationships fall into three categories – supplementary, complementary and adversarial (Young and Casey, 2016). In particular, SPOs often supplement with their own resources the public services that might otherwise be provided by government. Alternatively, SPOs may work in complementary fashion to help deliver services that government pays for. Finally, SPOs may advocate for government to develop new programs and government may oversee or regulate services provided by SPOs. Each of these kinds of relationships reflects ways in which government can help finance the work of SPOs.