In Order to Form a More Perfect Environment for NPOs

If all goes well, on October 16 and 17 of this year, 500 soup kitchen staffers, Republican think-tankers, bowling league captains, and other nonprofit representatives will join forces to make a big noise about America’s Third Sector.  They’ll gather in Washington, DC for the first-ever Nonprofit Congress, brainchild of Audrey Alvarado, executive director of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations.  I interviewed Dr. Alvarado about the origins and aims of this ambitious effort …

WHITE COURTESY TELEPHONE:  How did the Nonprofit Congress come into being?

AUDREY ALVARADO:  In the fall of 2004, I queried my national colleagues about the possibility of having a joint national meeting. There had been some talk and encouragement from both funders and nonprofits to have one large conference for the sector; however, there was little support from my colleagues for the idea.

Shortly after trying to generate interest in a national combined event I met with Robert Egger who runs DC Central Kitchen. He had just published his book, Begging for Change, which challenges some of the current thinking about the purpose and role of nonprofits. We talked about the idea of having a national event where nonprofits and their allies would come to DC for a Congress. We both were concerned with the direction of the nonprofit sector and wondered out loud what the sector would look like if it was united—what kind of power and influence would we have. We were also concerned with the negative press around the sector and the impact that this media attention was having  on the thousands of nonprofits that are doing amazing work in their communities. We both felt like it was time for the sector to unite and exercise a collective voice.

You mention voice, and in fact the tagline for the Nonprofit Congress is “many visions, one voice.”  What are the kinds of things, in your view, that organizations as diverse as the ACLU, the Heritage Foundation, the National Refrigeration Association, and the local soup kitchen might say with one voice?

It is not really a matter of the actual message but rather the role that the nonprofit sector has historically played in stewarding our democracy and raising the voices or the concerns of their constituents.  We, along with many others, see a real need for nonprofits to reclaim their role in advancing civil society by organizing, mobilizing, and encouraging those they serve to speak out and advocate on behalf of their causes.  I suspect that Heritage, ACLU and the NRA would all agree that they want to retain their rights as organizations and individuals to “petition their government” or raise a ruckus when they see the need; as well as to work in effective partnership with the government and business sectors to promote efforts in the public’s best interest.