"Under increasing competition from private firms and faith-based organizations, the nonprofit sector's 1.23 million organizations and 11 million employees are facing unprecedented pressure to improve performance. While the sector is awash in ideas for management reform, no one knows which reforms are working and why. As a result, reforms come and go like waves at the seashore, rarely leaving a lasting imprint." "Pathways to Nonprofit Excellence provides data on the impact of recent reform efforts from professionals who have observed them firsthand. Based on interviews with 250 leading thinkers from the worlds of philanthropy, scholarship, and consulting, as well as 250 executive directors of some of the nation's most effective nonprofits, the book illuminates the characteristics of effective organizations." The research reveals that there is no one best way to achieve and sustain strong performance. The professionals interviewed caution nonprofits against pretending to be private firms, governments, or faith-based organizations - even if they behave like them from time to time. In fact, nonprofits must become more nonprofit-like if they are to choose their future.