Whither the Turn? The Ambiguous Nature of Nonprofits' Commercial Revenue

Abstract

According to popular accounts, the nonprofit sector has become increasingly commercialized in recent years. This article reviews the empirical literature on the commercialization trend and discusses why it is regarded as significant by scholars of civil society. It then provides fresh analyses of nonprofit revenue streams and concludes that, contrary to conventional wisdom, there has not been a “commercial turn,” if this is to be understood as a new material reliance on earned, non-donated income by nonprofit organizations throughout the sector.