Nonprofits and Civic Engagement

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2005.00484.x
• Author: Jeffrey M. Berry
• Date: 01 September 2005
• Published date: 01 September 2005

568 Public Administration Review •September/October 2005, Vol. 65, No. 5

Jeffrey M. Berry

Tufts University

Nonprofits and Civic Engagement

There are approximately 800,000 501(c)(3) nonprofits large enough to register with the federal

government. Add churches, foundations, and nonprofits too small to register, and the number is

far higher than that. The potential for nonprofits to engage their clients and members in commu-

nity affairs and public policy making is, in theory, enormous. Yet, perversely, nonprofits are

regulated by the federal government in such a way that discourages the involvement of their

followers in the public policymaking process. This is a problem, not simply because we social

scientists believe civic engagement is a good thing, but because these regulatory standards sharply

skew public participation. Although middle- and upper-class individuals have many organiza-

tions that engage and mobilize them, nonprofits usually are the only organizations that work on

behalf of the poor, those without health insurance, immigrants, the disabled, and most other

marginalized constituencies. Put bluntly, federal law works against the participation of the most

disadvantaged in society.

By many accounts, the very foundation of American de-

mocracy is eroding. A recently released study of civic en-

gagement commissioned by the American Political Science

Association concluded that “[c]itizens participate in public

affairs less frequently, with less knowledge and enthusi-

asm, in fewer venues, and less equally than is healthy for a

vibrant democratic polity” (Macedo et al. 2005, 1).1 Whether

by measures of social interaction (Putnam 2000), direct par-

ticipation in civic organizations (Skocpol 2003), or rates of

voting (Patterson 2002; Wattenberg 2002), American de-

mocracy appears to be headed in a downward spiral.

The ominous trends are all the more discouraging be-

cause there is every reason to believe that participation

should be increasing. In a modern, affluent society with

an increasingly educated citizenry, one might expect that

Americans would want to take advantage of the many op-

portunities to become involved in their communities. Theo-

ries of postmaterialism suggest that in a country such as

ours, people search for meaning in their lives and try to

contribute to the greater good through community and

charitable activity. The enemy seems to be us. Generally

speaking, government policies have not made participa-

tion more restrictive. The rate of voting, though up in 2004,

has declined since the 1950s even as it became easier to

register and cast a ballot.

At least in one area, however, government policy is re-

sponsible for strongly discouraging civic engagement.

Through its law on charities, the federal government re-

strains participation in the policy-making process by non-

profit organizations, their boards, their members, and their

clients. This is no small matter, as nonprofits are the orga-

nizations that must mobilize and represent the poor and

disadvantaged in society if they are to have a voice in the

political system. The sections that follow will explore in

detail how the government inhibits civic engagement

through nonprofits. First, the law on charities will be out-

lined and some of the theoretical issues relating to the in-

volvement of nonprofits in politics will be explored. Sec-

ond, to support the argument here, survey data from a

national sample of nonprofits will be analyzed. These data

demonstrate the chilling effect of government regulation

on civic engagement. The third and final section will con-

sider the implications of our findings and offer some rec-

ommendations to enhance the role of nonprofits in facili-

tating civic engagement in America.

The Growth Sector

We live in an age of nonprofits. The nonprofit sector

encompasses an enormous range of organizations, includ-

Jeffrey M. Berry is the John Richard Skuse, Class of 1941 Professor of Politi-

cal Science at Tufts University. His research and teaching interests focus on

interest groups, policy making, and grassroots advocacy. His most recent

books are

Surveying Nonprofits: A Methods Handbook

(Aspen Institute, 2003)

and

A Voice for Nonprofits

(with David F. Arons, Brookings Institution, 2003),

which received the Leon Epstein Award from the Political Organizations and

Parties section of the American Political Science Association. E-mail:

jeffrey.berry@tufts.edu.