Fostering a Civic Revival.

Nonprofit organizations have a pivotal role to play in fostering a new era of progressive reform, according to an opinion piece written by E. J. Dionne Jr., a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. The article, which appeared in The Chronicle of Philanthropy (April 6, 2000), was adapted from Dionne's essay, "The Vitality of Society Rests on the Nonprofit Sector," published by Independent Sector, Washington, D.C. The following excerpts are reprinted with the permission of Dionne and Independent Sector.

"Independent sector organizations are tied to our nation's 'progressive' tradition, which goes back over a hundred years. It is not simply a tradition of using government for positive ends, though that is very much a part of it. It is also a tradition that calls for continuing reform of government. And it is a tradition that lays heavy stress on the forms of community and civility organized independently of government.

"We are on the verge of an era of reform similar in spirit to the social rebuilding that took place 100 years ago. But for that to truly occur, three large changes in our national life are required. The first is a new civility in our politics. Civility...is about embracing conflict and difference and managing them constructively. The nonprofit sector can provide a model for how we might grope our way back to more civil politics.

"Secondly, a new progressive era will require a new engagement with democratic government. A certain skepticism about the power of government is deeply embedded in our tradition, and it is a constructive thing. But a complete cynicism about our capacity to do things--whether in the civic realm or in government--is not in our tradition. It is a cynicism we need to combat. We need to work our way toward a more constructive view of government and of our civic capacities.

"Finally, this new progressive era will require a rebirth and reconstruction of the communities and organizations that constitute civil society. That is the work of the independent sector. One of the most powerful things [this sector] can do is remind us that not only do we have a desire to rebuild our country and our community--we have an obligation to do it."