Impact on Social Change

Excerpted from "Facts & Fallacies", a CAN publication

Many of the most profound social changes in American history have been led by nonprofit organizations.

Although they vary greatly in mission, origin, structure, size and financial means, charitable nonprofit organizations stand as the embodiment of a fundamental national value that emphasizes individual initiative to serve the public good.  Through the flexible mechanism of a nonprofit organization, individuals concerned about a social, cultural or economic problem can come together and take action immediately without requiring or waiting for government to respond.

Americans use nonprofit organizations to mobilize broad public attention to societal problems and needs.  Through nonprofits we merge individual voices into a common cause, making them more effective. We conserve and protect the values of the groups we cherish.  Nonprofit organizations are a vital and important alternative to, and monitor of, government and business.  Nonprofits play a less visible, but increasingly recognized, role of fostering community engagement and civic participation, enhancing the quality of life, and promoting and preserving civic and religious values.

Nonprofits are key players.
Nonprofits are significant actors in the area of environmental protection, human rights, conflict resolution, disaster relief, economic development and religious activities.  They play prominent social, economic and political roles as service providers, advocates, educators, and employers.

Scholars are beginning to document the central role both large and small nonprofits play in creating the "glue" that holds communities together — in being the social capital that allows democratic societies to function effectively. 

Nonprofits bring about major change in our society.
Although there is a dearth of information on the direct and indirect contributions of nonprofit organizations to society, nonprofit organizations have led some of the most profound and important changes in our society:

• Development of the polio vaccine funded by the March of Dimes.
• Transference of high-yield seeds to developing countries by the Rockefeller Foundation.
• The civil rights movement based in the southern black churches and resulting equal rights legislation.
• Growth of regional and off-Broadway theatre.
• The American Red Cross's pioneering work in blood banking and its management of half of the nation's blood supply.
• Relief efforts to starving people by Save the Children and other international relief organizations.
• The anti-smoking campaign that made California a smoke-free state by the Heart, Lung and Cancer Associations.
• Environmental initiatives and programs by the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy and similar groups.
• Social welfare assistance provided by thousands of nonprofits to elderly people, boys and girls, people with AIDS, abused children, unemployed workers, people with disabilities, latch-key kids and low-income families.
• The campaign by Mothers Against Drunk Driving that resulted in dramatically reduced rates of alcohol-related auto accidents and nearly universal awareness of the dangers of drunk driving.
• People with disabilities' increased accessibility to the public sphere through the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• National discussions mobilized by both the right-to-choice and right-to-life movements.
• Increased access for women to equal pay for equal work through the women's movement.