Description

Effective non-profit organizations are crucial for the civil society. While developed countries have decades of experience, nonprofits in post-soviet states have started to emerge only after proclamation of independence and market orientation in these counties. Was 20 year period enough to catch the knowledge lag on how to create and run an effective non-profit? Is there still a difference in the way non-profits function in these economies? Dr. Pavlyk did a comparative survey-based study in Ukraine. Like other parts of Soviet Union, Ukraine for decades had only governmental organizations which have never been interested in efficiency. Currently, over three hundred thousand non-profits are officially registered in Ukraine. However, experts estimated that only 2,500 are actively operating. Khrystyna Pavlyk argues that operational environment is still among of the main differences creating the wide gap between non-profits in the developed and post-soviet countries. Most respondents mentioned that they are working in the legal environment which is less favorable than the one existing in developed countries. Assuming that Ukraine is a good representation of other post-soviet economies, her study shows that currently non-profits in these countries are still lagging behind the global trend, by having organization-centered marketing philosophy. This means that services are provided based on funding requirements which organization is capable to meet, and not the needs of society non-profits serve.