Financing Nonprofits: Putting Theory into Practice is based on the premise that nonprofit finance is fundamentally different than corporate or public-sector finance. In the nonprofit world, mission determines the kinds of services or goods an organization provides, and those services and goods in turn confer various benefits on the constituents who receive them, regardless of whether they pay for those services or not. Nonprofits also generate income from endowments, grants, fees, and/or the sale of merchandise. The resulting income mix, while not subject to the daily ups and downs of the market or the whims of shareholders or politicians, is nevertheless volatile and must be continually monitored and adjusted.

Edited by Dennis R. Young, director of the Nonprofit Studies Program at Stanford University and a former president and founding CEO of the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise, Financing Nonprofitsis divided into three sections. Section One looks at sources of income that can support nonprofit operations and the circumstances under which each is appropriate, and includes chapters on individual giving, institutional philanthropy, government funding, fee income and commercial ventures, membership income, investment income, and volunteer resources. Section Two deals with longer-term sources of capital for development and programming, including collaboration and barter, in-kind gifts, illiquid assets, and debt. And Section Three examines the nuts and bolts of nonprofit financial management, with chapters on endowments and other assets, income portfolios, and financial health.

Each chapter is organized into a similar format: Introduction, Patterns and Trends, Theory, Extending the Knowledge Base, Improving Practice, and Conclusion. Most chapters are studded with case studies, tables, and figures illustrating key points, and the Improving Practice section of each chapter also includes a set of diagnostic questions that nonprofit managers can use to assess how well the principles outlined in that chapter apply to their organization's unique circumstances.

Young closes the book by providing a synthesis that brings the various aspects of nonprofit finance into a common framework. Underpinning that framework is the notion that the income streams of any nonprofit are driven by the mutual interests of the nonprofit and its stakeholders constituents, funders, board, and staff.

Financing Nonprofits is a comprehensive, high-level examination of the theory underlying nonprofit finance and, in addition to nonprofit CEOs, CFOs, and trustees, should be of interest to scholars and students of nonprofit finance.