The United States Nonprofit Sector as an Alternative Delivery System

The purpose of this thesis project is the exploration of the nonprofit sector in the United States. In the course of my research, I came to a comprehensive definition of the nonprofit sector, illuminating its foundation, manifestations, and infrastructure in relationship to the whole of the U.S. bureaucracy. I supported my analysis by illustrating the advantage of nonprofit organizations in several areas, asking penetrating questions about their standards of quality, mission, effectiveness, and efficiency. A concentration upon the case study of nonprofit education allowed me not only to discover the inner workings of a nonprofit organization, but it also provided a vehicle through which the theories concerning nonprofit organizations were applied and evaluated. My honors thesis enabled both my advisor and myself to come to a more thorough understanding of the nonprofit sector and its effect upon public policy