As noted earlier, the spate of recent changes in nonprofit organizations have
resulted in the increased replacement of volunteers with professional employees for the
delivery of services (Reed & Howe, 1999; Salamon, 1995; Smith & Lipsky, 1993). Also, in
relation to changes in the sector, employees of nonprofit agencies have become the
frontline providers of many essential public services previously undertaken by government
(Smith & Lipsky, 1993). According to Smith & Lipsky (1993), “the staff of nonprofit
agencies are the new street-level bureaucrats” and the new “civil servants” who implement
government policies and provide government services at the street level (p. 13).
Consequently, the importance of employees as the primary human resource of nonprofit
agencies is central to the effectiveness of programs, services, and to the accomplishment of
the overall mission of nonprofit agencies.