Sara Melendez is president of the INDEPENDENT SECTOR, a U.S. national coalition of nonprofit organizations, foundations and corporations. In this article, Melendez highlights the vast contributions of the nonprofit sector and its invaluable role in building civil societies.

The role of the philanthropic, nonprofit sector in creating and maintaining civil society is a much discussed topic worldwide. The nonprofit sector has become the focus of increased attention in emerging democracies, where dictatorships of the left and right had repressed any expressions of dissatisfaction. Their citizens are now learning to live in and participate in democracy, and scrambling to provide for their own basic needs in a market economy. In the United States, recent actions to reform the social welfare system have focused attention on the nonprofit sector.

This fundamental shift in how basic needs of the citizens of the United States, and the even more dramatic change in political systems around the world, are causing a great deal of discussion. Is there a need for a nonprofit sector in a civil society? What role does that sector fill in the society, and how? Is its value to society sufficient return for the tax-exempt status and other protections it receives? Are those protections necessary to its effective functioning? In order to address these questions from an American perspective, we must look at the historical role of volunteerism and civic involvement in American society.

HISTORICAL ROLE

There has not been a movement for social change in this country, nor an effort to protect the rights of any segment of society, which has not had its roots in the nonprofit sector. A major strength of the American nonprofit sector is its diversity.

The colonists who first came to these shores in the 17th and 18th centuries seeking religious and political freedom, or simply a better economic future, became early models of civic involvement. Every family that participated in a barn-raising, took in a group of travelers for the night or helped to deliver a baby in a neighbor's cabin, was laying the strong foundation of civic involvement.

The Founding Fathers themselves distrusted a powerful, central government and believed strongly in individual enterprise and freedom. They saw volunteer effort as one check on big government and they encouraged the formation of free associations to build schools, put out fires, hire law enforcement officers and help out their neighbors in need.

Since those early times, generations of Americans have stepped forward in various ways to serve as the watchdogs and guardians of citizen rights. The abolitionist movement of the 19th century, for example, sought to make America live up to the spirit of its Constitution by acknowledging the right to freedom of all humans. In the early 20th century, women gained the right to vote for the government which made the laws governing them as well as men. And more than 30 years later, African Americans followed their lead and demanded their own liberation from the discrimination and oppression which had kept them in second-class citizenship a century after their emancipation.

More recently, environmentalists have worked toward improving the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink. Other advocates have worked to control handguns and keep drugs, alcohol and tobacco out of the hands of children.

This is the work of the nonprofit sector in civil society. It is part of the structure and culture of many communities to care for the needy and to enrich the lives of people, particularly in instances when government cannot or does not fill the need.

SAFEGUARDING DEMOCRACY

The American national landscape is replete with nonprofit organizations -- conservative, liberal, religious, social, legal -- which are the self-organized, self-motivated champions of democracy in a society where the bureaucracy might (and occasionally does) become a steamroller of the powerful flattening the powerless.

While charity work and helping out those in need have been fundamental activities of the independent, nonprofit sector, the organizations and people in it have played another equally important role in the development of society and democracy.

The nonprofit sector provides a voice for those who otherwise would be voiceless. It strives to influence public policy on behalf of portions of the population who without it would have no influence. It works ceaselessly to ensure that no one sector, because of money or power or social standing, gets more of a place at the table than any other. The American Civil Liberties Union, for example, which strives to protect the letter of the Constitution in all areas of American life, is but one of many advocacy groups which have risen out of the need to see that all citizens are heard and their rights protected.

ENRICHING LIVES

In addition to providing services and strengthening democracy, nonprofit organizations enrich people's lives.


Nonprofit, voluntary hospitals and medical schools have saved lives, and improved the quality of life through medical research and educating health-care professionals. Nonprofit health advocacy groups have worked to increase access to health care and to improve the quality of health services for rich and poor alike. For example, the American Red Cross, which has aided millions across the world in times of disaster and tragedy, grew out of the valiant efforts of dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly.

Our lives are enhanced and made safer by the selflessness of such volunteers as firefighters, block parents, Neighborhood Watch groups and clean-up committees.

Imagine communities without orchestras, choirs, theaters, bands, libraries, museums -- most of which are maintained by donations of time and money from individuals and groups who believe that the arts should be accessible and affordable to all.

TEACHING YOUTH TO CARE

In the second half of the 20th century, each generation has learned about philanthropy and private, voluntary citizen action by watching their parents and other adults participate in such activities. Research done by INDEPENDENT SECTOR, a U.S. national coalition of foundations, corporations and nonprofit organizations, reveals that young people who engage in group activities through their houses of worship, schools or youth groups are more likely to engage in volunteer activities. And young people who learned to give and volunteer from their parents are more likely to continue such practices as adults.

In recent years, many schools in the United States have implemented voluntary service programs, where students give back to the community by volunteering and reflecting on what they learn from their experience. This is citizen-building at the grassroots level.

A MULTI-FACETED SECTOR

The role of the nonprofit sector in a civil society is thus multi-faceted: protector of rights, enricher of lives, advocate for the voiceless, nurturer of youth, guardian of the future, watchdog for the environment, haven for the destitute.

If government had to provide all of the services that the nonprofit sector provides, it would be more costly. In addition to revenues from contributions, fees and services, nonprofits depend on the contributed labor of millions of volunteers.

Another important feature is the relative independence and freedom from interference by government that has characterized the nonprofit sector. Government does not decide or regulate what causes or problems organizations and individuals tackle, or what they do about them. This freedom is essential for organizations and individuals to be effective advocates for people and causes. This sometimes requires criticism of government and lobbying. Guaranteed freedom of speech and assembly is critical to this effort and has resulted in remarkable accomplishments on behalf of Americans and the voiceless around the world.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Civil society requires constant vigilance and work. Once created, it requires high levels of maintenance. The need for services to those less fortunate than ourselves grows greater as governments reduce their size and budgets. The necessity for humane and just policies in light of reduced government roles increases the need for advocacy on behalf of the powerless. This role falls to the nonprofit sector, even as some seek ways to limit its role of advocate and dilute its influence.

By developing successive generations of volunteers, philanthropists, organizers and dreamers -- citizens who will see life not only as a privilege but also a responsibility, and who will view compassion as not only an admirable quality and a duty -- the nonprofit sector can advocate, for the needs of the poor and the rich alike, private action for the public good. The result is the strengthening of civil society and democracy.

The formerly communist and right-wing totalitarian countries are discovering the value of the philanthropic, nonprofit, independent sector in strengthening democracy and building civil society. They turn to this sector in the United States for guidance and experience. It would be a pity if we let this unique sector which has been so essential in building civil societies, be diminished in its scope and effectiveness. The culture of voluntary citizen action might well become our most valued asset in the 21st century.

Issues of Democracy
USIA Electronic Journal, Vol. 3, No. 1, January 1998