On the one hand, the strength of nonprofit and philanthropic activity is its breadth. The nation's 1.2 million nonprofits address an extraordinary sweep of societal needs, from storefront clinics to cancer research, from the air quality of a small town to the astrophysics of the universe. Nothing is too small, and few things are too large, for the efforts of nonprofits.
On the other hand, that very strength is itself an emerging weakness. Proliferation of organizations has led to duplication, replication, and fears of inefficiency. The growth of philanthropy has not kept pace, and many (perhaps most) nonprofits find increasing competition for resources. In an economic crisis, such as that of 2008-2009, severe resource constraints make the social price of inefficiency exceedingly high.
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