Hello! I am Monica and the purpose of this blog is to share information and my opinions on PPPM 280: Introduction to Nonprofit Sector. I am a sophomore and recently got accepted as an International Studies major. Within the major, my current focus is declared as Environment; however, I am also very interested in numerous other professional concentration areas, such as Diplomacy, Law, and International Relations and International Nonprofit Management. Thus, I am taking PPPM 280 to find out more about the Nonprofit Sector. I have a very general idea of what the nonprofit sector is, but I am hoping this course will expand upon that knowledge as well as help me decide whether or not I want to further pursue coursework related to the nonprofit sector.
My experience with nonprofit organizations is pretty limited. In high school I was a part of the National Honors Society, which required me to volunteer with a number of nonprofits including the local animal shelter and food closet and Project Santa Claus. I also traveled as a People to People Student Ambassador. Although the program is not a technically a nonprofit because they recently joined with a sister program to help market themselves, People to People was started as a nonprofit by President Eisenhower. I traveled as an Ambassador to France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, and the experiences I had during the program were life changing. I realize the potential of nonprofit organizations to effect positive change and that is very exciting and inspirational.
Gaining a historical perspective on the nonprofit sector was much more interesting than I originally imagined. I never realized that it could be traced back to today's most prestigious universities and American history's wealthiest and most famous people. One example is the establishment of free libraries by Ben Franklin. This topic was particularly interesting to me because of its implications for people of moderate means. With access to libraries comes access to literacy for people other than white, male, Anglo Saxon Protestants. With the knowledge that accompanies reading, people had the means to better their lives. Not only were job opportunities opened, but people could also read which rights do and do not exist and have the ability to judge whether or not those rights were being violated. Many other actions in the name of philanthropy lead to such advancement of underprivileged people. Such philanthropy, however, did not come without speculations or controversy.
In a time where charity was not prevalent, many saw the search for charitable donations as begging. Some also saw the upward mobility that philanthropy sometimes facilitated as a threat to their own financial and social status security. In lecture, when Professor Choquette shifted from history and began talking about legislation pertaining to philanthropy, he brought up a modern controversy that surrounds the question of whether or not charitable donations should be taxed.
People had varying opinions on the subject, but I think the fact that people can write off charitable donations in their taxes is a very good thing. Because legislation prevents nonprofits from being able to contribute funds to a candidate’s political campaign, it can be assumed that any donated money is money wisely used, for it will probably help more than it will harm. Bill Gates donates millions of dollars every year to nonprofit organizations around the world in the name of issues like health, development, and education. There is no doubt that his donations haven’t had profoundly positive impacts on thousands, if not millions, of lives. It is possible that, because he has so much money, he would have donated it anyway, but doesn’t a tax cut add that much more incentive? And, yes, the taxable money could have gone to the government for them to use, but many do not trust the government or share the same priorities for use of the money. The nonprofit sector has the potential to effect change at many levels and in diverse areas that the government does not have the resources to address. Thus, I believe that by providing a tax cut for charitable donations, the government supports the potential of the nonprofit by incentivizing donations at both the large and small scale.
Monica, that is interesting that you are an environmental studies major and have a focus on the environment. I have studied environmental policy with my political science major. It is interesting to see the trend towards supranational organizations and multilatealism involved with creating environmental policy on a global level. I am interested to see whether emerging markets such as India, China, and Brazil, willingly participate in these resolutions. I hope to learn more about how non-profits such as NGO's will contribute towards creating government policy on the environment.
ReplyDeleteI agree that non-profits should have tax exemption. However, I feel that some areas of the non-profit sector are more important than others. But rather than say one non-profit is more important than another, pehaps greater regulation should exist, and further rules could classify them. Perhaps, certain areas on an organization could have tax exemption, while others do not. Perhaps, private organizations should be subject to further rules, this if they file for tax exempt status as it is then involving the government.
I agree completely with your last statement that tax deductions do incetivize Americans (and others around the world) to donate to non-profits. It's interesting that you mention Bill Gates and how his contributions have had profoundly positive impacts on so many. This is a strong argument against those who wish to increase excise taxes on non-profits because more money would be taken away from non-profit recipients and instead be sent to the government (God knows where it'll end up...). I enjoyed reading your post! You're a strong writer and I look forward to your next blog.
ReplyDeleteMonica, I'm very glad that we share an appreciation for the environment, it's going to be interesting to see if this class goes into environmental non-profits at all. I found myself agreeing with all of your last paragraph, particularly the importance of incentivizing non-profit donations. It would be interesting to see how a removal of the tax write-off would affect donations.
ReplyDeleteWhen you talked about how people do not often share the same priorities as government I strongly agreed with you. I feel that that is precisely why non-profits are such an important sphere separate from government.
It was a great read, look forward to hearing more from you.
Great job on getting accepted as an International Studies major. Its good that you are focus on knowing what you want to study in. i was also part of the National Honor Society at my high school and we volunteer for local organizations too. Wow, its cool that you have been to so many of countries, its exciting to hear about the places you travel to as an Ambassador. I, too find it interesting that the history of nonprofit goes back to today's prestigious universities and how knowledge is so important for people, so that they can live better lives. I agree how having write off charitable donation is a good thing because of tax cuts. Yeah, it sad that most people don't trust government with their money and I think there needs to be a big change in bureaucracy.
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ReplyDeleteI found your notes on the work of opening libraries at the start of the nonprofit history and its connection to the crucial spread of knowledge to the general public particularly important to note in today's times. The same principles of establishing the needy with the true tools to a functional existence far surpasses the patching-holes-as-they-come approach implemented now. We need to assimilate the those in need rather than simply allow them to consistently stay dependent. I found this particularly true when working with nonprofits focused on combating homelessness, where simply finding them a bed for a night still leaved them on the streets the next.
ReplyDeleteNice job Monica! I'm impressed. Love, dad
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