The latest figures from Independent Sector show that the number of public charities registered with the IRS rose from 546,000 to 964,000 between 1992 and 2003, a 75% increase in a 20 year period. There is an interesting discussion going on about this on another listserv on which I am a member(ARNOVA), and I thought it would be useful to raise it here as well. Clearly, there is no barrier to entry into the nonprofit world, and attrition occurs neither through the direct forces of the market, as in the for-profit world, nor through the rise and fall of political agendas, as in the government sphere. Is this a problem? Are nonprofits doomed to a Malthusian scramble for resources, or are there other solutions out there?
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Read more stories by Perla Ni.