Governments see nonprofit agencies as an alternative mechanism for delivering public services. Activists see voluntary organizations as instruments of change. Analysts see community organizations as sources of trust and social cohesion. Despite these heady expectations, we know remarkably little about the nonprofit sector in Canada. In this book a group of scholars responds to the need for basic research in this field, exploring the scope of the nonprofit sector, the diverse roles that such organizations play, and their relationships with both government and the private sector.

Nonprofit sector in Canada: an introduction /Michael Hall and Keith G. Banting -- Distinctive trajectories: homecare and the voluntary sector in Quebec and Ontario / Jane Jenson and Susan D. Phillips -- Religious nonprofits: social service provision by congregations in Ontario / Femida Handy and Ram A. Cnaan -- After government cuts: insights from two Ontario "enterprising nonprofits" / Raymond Dart and Brenda Zimmerman -- Hand-in-hand: when accountability meets collaboration in the voluntary sector / Susan D. Phillips and Katherine A. Graham -- The nonprofit sector in Manitoba: a baseline survey / Laura K. Brown, Elizabeth S. Troutt and Attah K. Boame -- Advocacy from the margins: the role of minority ethnocultural associations in affecting public policy in Canada / Audrey Kobayashi.