There are an estimated 10 million non-governmental organizations (NGOs) worldwide. If NGOs were a country, they’d have the fifth-largest economy in the world. The nonprofit sector in the United States alone contributed more than $930 billion to the economy in 2014. Given the volume and complexity of civil society organizations around the world, a substantial ecosystem of support organizations have emerged over time to enable, strengthen, and evolve their work. These support organizations, also known as “infrastructure organizations,”provide essential services such as strategic planning; evaluation, assessment, and feedback; board and staff development; data and research; legal services; business modeling; and support for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. They form a much-needed backbone for work on our most critical global challenges, enabling changemakers to be more effective in their efforts to build a better future.
It is hoped that this analysis is useful for understanding the funding context within which funders and infrastructure organizations operate, that it will inform the funding practices surrounding infrastructure organizations going forward, and that it serves as inspiration for future research on how to better support the pursuit of social good.
(Photo credit: Foundation Center)
