An organization can expand participation while reproducing inequality, serve a public purpose while earning income and work with government while criticizing it. Unit 1 begins with these tensions and builds the concepts we need to interpret them.
About two and a half hours in total, in four lessons of 25 to 40 minutes each, plus a short quiz.
We first place civil society alongside the state, market and family, then ask how to decide which organizations belong in the nonprofit sector. With those boundaries in view, we compare economic, social and political explanations for why nonprofit sectors emerge and why they differ across countries.
1.1 Civil society. How can the same organization build participation and reproduce inequality?
1.2 Defining the sector. Would a cooperative, temple group or social enterprise count as a nonprofit?
1.3 Economic explanations. What problems do nonprofits solve that markets and governments may leave open?
1.4 Social and political explanations. Why do nonprofit sectors look different across countries?
The four lessons move from description to explanation. By the end, you should be able to choose a definition and a theory because they fit a question, rather than because either seems universally correct.
When you have finished the four lessons, take the Unit 1 quiz. It has ten multiple-choice questions, gives feedback on every answer, and you can take it as many times as you like. No sign-in or email address is needed.
This ten-question quiz gives your score and feedback immediately. No sign-in or email address is needed, and you may retake it as often as you like.
If you are following the applied track, this is a good point to choose your organization and start its profile. Complete Part 1 (organizational profile) and Part 2 (social impact) of the project template. The Project page explains how to choose an organization and where to find information.