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BRIAN O'CONNELL is founding president of INDEPENDENT SECTOR, the national coalition of voluntary and philanthropic organizations. He has also served as president of the National Council on Philanthropy and as executive director of the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations and of the National Mental Health Association. He also chaired the organizing efforts for the National Committee on Patients' Rights, the National Assembly of Voluntary Health and Welfare Organizations and CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. He is also the author of eleven books, including Board Overboard (1996), People Power (1995), Volunteers in Action (with Ann Brown O'Connell, 1989), Philanthropy (with Robert Payton, Michael Novak, Peter Dobkin Hall, 1988), Philanthropy in Action (1987), Our Organization (1987), The Board Member's Book (1985), America's Voluntary Spirit (1983), Values (1978), and Effective Leadership in Voluntary Organizations (1976).O'Connell is currently professor of public service at The Lincoln Filene Center for Citizenship and Public Affairs at Tufts University.

• Foreword by John W. GardnerPrefaceAcknowledgementsThe AuthorIntroduction: The Significance of Voluntary Action in AmericaPart One: The Beginnings of INDEPENDENT SECTOR1. Serious Challenges to Nonprofit Organizations in the 1960s and1970s2. Searching for a Course3. The Organizing Effort4. The Birth of INDEPENDENT SECTOR and the Defining FirstYearPart Two: The Power of Association5. The Strength of Coalition: A Quintessential Example6. Battles and Cooperation with Government7. Telling the Sector's Story8. Fostering Research on the Sector9. Promoting Effectiveness, Openness,and Accountability10. Making the Most of the Meeting GroundPart Three: Lessons and Afterthoughts11. Building, Energizing, and Maintaining Large and DiverseCoalitions12. Hopes Not Realized and Other Regrets13. A Personal View of the FutureAppAndixes:A. Roster of Charter MembersB. The Start-Up FundersC.1995 Membership RosterD. Board Mambers 1980-1995E. Staff Mambers1980-1996