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14 - Nonprofits as Facilitators of National Self-development

from Part III - New Directions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

By
Ada Ordor
Edited by
Eva Witesman  and
Curtis Child
Eva Witesman
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University, Utah
Curtis Child
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University, Utah
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Summary

This chapter introduces a self-development theory of the nonprofit sector, informed by alternative development and basic-needs theory. The theory presented in this chapter suggests that nonprofit law plays a role in creating a legal framework that allows people to participate in the improvement of their own lives and communities through self-development. With a nonprofit-friendly legal environment in place, individuals have greater economic incentive to work within their own communities to create organizations that help individuals, families, and communities to meet their own needs. This paradigm stands in contrast to views of nonprofit organizations as facilitators of rescuing behavior, in which one group of people seeks to uplift another. Based on cases in Nigeria and South Africa, this paper describes the role and importance of nonprofits in facilitating the development of individuals, institutions, and communities from within.

Keywords

self-developmentnonprofitscivil societyNGOsalternative developmentpublic spheregrassrootslegal pluralismNigeriaSouth Africa
Type
Chapter
Information
Reimagining Nonprofits
Sector Theory in the Twenty-First Century
 , pp. 273 - 290
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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