Powered by Coalition The Story of Independent Sector

by O'Connell, Brian; Gardner, John W.

• ISBN13: 9780787909543
• ISBN10: 0787909548
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-05-13
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

A detailed account of how and why the diverse groups of INDEPENDENT SECTOR came together, what it has taken to keep them together, and what they have been able to achieve through collaboration.

Author Biography

BRIAN O'CONNELL is founding president of INDEPENDENT SECTOR, the national coalition of voluntary and philanthropic organizations. He has also served as president of the National Council on Philanthropy and as executive director of the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations and of the National Mental Health Association. He also chaired the organizing efforts for the National Committee on Patients' Rights, the National Assembly of Voluntary Health and Welfare Organizations and CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. He is also the author of eleven books, including Board Overboard (1996), People Power (1995), Volunteers in Action (with Ann Brown O'Connell, 1989), Philanthropy (with Robert Payton, Michael Novak, Peter Dobkin Hall, 1988), Philanthropy in Action (1987), Our Organization (1987), The Board Member's Book (1985), America's Voluntary Spirit (1983), Values (1978), and Effective Leadership in Voluntary Organizations (1976).O'Connell is currently professor of public service at The Lincoln Filene Center for Citizenship and Public Affairs at Tufts University.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix	(4)
John W. Gardner
Preface	xiii	(4)
Acknowledgments	xvii	(2)
The Author	xix
Introduction: The Significance of Voluntary Action in America	1	(10)
Part One: The Beginnings Of INDEPENDENT SECTOR	11	(60)
1 Serious Challenges to Nonprofit Organizations in the 1960s and 1970s	13	(8)
2 Searching for a Course	21	(14)
3 The Organizing Effort	35	(20)
4 The Birth of INDEPENDENT SECTOR and the Defining First Year	55	(16)
Part Two: The Power of Association	71	(84)
5 The Strength of Coalition: A Quintessential Example	73	(11)
6 Battles and Cooperation with Government	84	(22)
7 Telling the Sector's Story	106	(15)
8 Fostering Research on the Sector	121	(13)
9 Promoting Effectiveness, Openness, and Accountability	134	(14)
10 Making the Most of the Meeting Ground	148	(7)
Part Three: Lessons and Afterthoughts	155	(36)
11 Building, Energizing, and Maintaining Large and Diverse Coalitions	157	(17)
12 Hopes Not Realized and Other Regrets	174	(8)
13 A Personal View of the Future	182	(9)
Appendixes	191	(34)
A Roster of Charter Members	193	(6)
B The Start-Up Funders	199	(2)
C 1995 Membership Roster	201	(16)
D Board Members 1980-1995	217	(6)
E Staff Members 1980-1996	223	(2)
Bibliography	225	(4)
Index	229