David Bronkema, the worldly, well-traveled director of International Development at Eastern University, kicked off the Track 2 courses of the Institute 2010 with a very informative overview of non-profits with his class, Toward a Systemic Understanding of Social Services. He began the class with an interactive activity, turning the question of what social services are back to the participants to define. We came up with a long, working list of different types of social services, from legal aid to educational services to medical clinics to food banks, before discussing the various motivations for starting these different types of social services. Bronkema then discussed the definition of the non-profit, independent, or third sector in comparison with the private, for-profit sector, and the government sector.
His overview of the history of non-profits was very interesting. Bronkema discussed the origins of non-profits, which largely sprang up initially for religious reasons, as well as the barriers to social services’ effectiveness. Finally, he went over funding, a key part of the management of non-profits, and the dynamics it produces, underlining how politics or structures of power are involved at every level. Bronkema’s wide coverage of non-profits was a great way to get the Institute started, and to give all participants a common understanding of the Independent sector they do or will be working with in the future.
