Nonprofit Organizations and Welfare-to-Work

Summary

This article analyzes recent empirical studies of welfare-to-work programs implemented by nonprofit organizations as a first step in understanding potential shifts in the political, social, and economic environments of nonprofit organizations in a post-welfare era. Using the political economy as a conceptual framework, the literature review suggests that nonprofits are experiencing organizational change- and frequent turbulence-on four key dimensions: interorganizational relationships, mission and philosophy, resource dependencies, and target populations. The article first analyzes each dimension, then draws implications of the changes for social work managers, practitioners, educators, and researchers. Findings suggest that emergence of new organizational and interorganizational forms may require nonprofit managers to focus increased attention on external relations in order to build new collaborations and partnerships, and to develop innovative outcome measures as tools to capture program success in complex organizational arrangements.

Key Words:

• Nonprofit management
• organizational change
• welfare-to-work
• social policy implementation
• social environment