Great Readings in Nonprofit Management

This curated bibliography brings together seminal theoretical essays, landmark empirical studies, and critical monographs in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropic Studies. These texts represent milestone intellectual breakthroughs that formulate the economic, sociological, political, and strategic paradigms of the social sector.

Foundations of Civil Society, Philanthropy, and Voluntary Action

Title Author(s)
Democracy in America (Vol. II, Book II, Ch. 5: "Of the Use Which the Americans Make of Public Associations in Civil Life") Alexis de Tocqueville
The Gospel of Wealth Andrew Carnegie
The Role of Nonprofit Enterprise Henry Hansmann
Toward a Theory of the Voluntary Non-Profit Sector in a Three-Sector Economy Burton A. Weisbrod
Of Market Failure, Voluntary Failure, and Third-Party Government: Toward a Theory of Government-Nonprofit Relations in the Modern Welfare State Lester M. Salamon
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Robert D. Putnam
Inventing the Nonprofit Sector and Other Essays on Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Charity Peter Dobkin Hall

Organizational Theory, Governance, and Institutional Dynamics

Title Author(s)
The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields Paul J. DiMaggio and Walter W. Powell
Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards Richard P. Chait, William P. Ryan, and Barbara E. Taylor
Nonprofits for Hire: The Welfare State in the Age of Contracting Steven Rathgeb Smith and Michael Lipsky
The Looking-Glass World of Nonprofit Money: Managing in For-Profits' Shadow Universe Clara Miller
The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle Ann Goggins Gregory and Don Howard
Measuring Social Change: Performance and Accountability in a Complex World Alnoor Ebrahim

Philanthropy, Power, and Democratic Critiques

Title Author(s)
Just Giving: Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better Rob Reich
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence (eds.)
Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World Anand Giridharadas
Strategic Giving: The Art and Science of Philanthropy Peter Frumkin
Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance Edgar Villanueva

Strategy, Social Innovation, and Systems Change

Title Author(s)
The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship J. Gregory Dees
Collective Impact John Kania and Mark Kramer
Philanthropy's New Agenda: Creating Value Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer
How Nonprofits Get Really Big William Foster and Gail Fine
Innovation and Scaling for Impact: How Effective Social Enterprises Do It Christian Seelos and Johanna Mair
Making Nonprofits Work: A Report on the Tides of Nonprofit Management Reform Paul C. Light