In the nonprofit sector, there is increasing emphasis on governance reform. The Foundation Center’s second edition of The 21st Century Nonprofit: Managing in the Age of Governance explores key concepts – accountability, transparency, and responsibility – at the heart of effective governance and looks at the main challenges facing directors and managers of nonprofit organizations today.

“This new edition paints a portrait of the leadership of nonprofit organizations at a time when the driving force behind change is the need for sound governance,” said author Paul Firstenberg. “It is largely about our evolving expectations of nonprofit management, and the forces driving change.”

The 21st Century Nonprofit opens with an examination of the pivotal role played by boards of directors in organizational governance, setting the tone of an organization as well as its rules. A special chapter is devoted to the strategic issues facing nonprofits during times of recession and severe economic downturn.

The new edition details significant improvements in management practice in recent years and posits that nonprofit organizations can be run professionally without undermining their charitable purpose. It describes how new expectations for nonprofit management are affecting the kind of training and experience people interested in working in nonprofits need to acquire.

Firstenberg has extensive experience in philanthropy as an executive, trustee, advisor, author, and teacher, including as chancellor for planning and development of Tulane University, financial vice president of Princeton University, COO and trustee of Children’s Television Workshop (Sesame Street), and an officer of the Ford Foundation. He now lectures at the Baruch College School of Public Affairs.

The 21st Century Nonprofit is available for purchase at the Center’s Marketplace.