The Influence of Business on Nonprofit Organizations and the Complexity of Nonprofit Accountability

Abstract

The ultimate test of accountability for a nonprofit organization is whether its leadership can responsibly interpret, and honestly and energetically promote, the organization’s mission, even when environmental, stakeholder, and governance pressures make other paths more comfortable and secure. The degree to which nonprofits have become entwined with the business sector in recent years has brought new urgency to this challenge. Here, the risk is that contemporary nonprofit leaders, under tremendous financial and social pressures and eager to make their institutions economically successful are led, perhaps inadvertently, to compromise their missions. This risk is illustrated here with cases from private universities. Recommendations are offered that would strengthen nonprofit leadership and accountability practices.

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