Getting services to people in need often relies on partnerships between government and nonprofits, but reporting requirements can be too onerous

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David C. Campbell, University of California, Davis

(THE CONVERSATION) Many Americans celebrate philanthropic donations to privately run institutions of all kinds – from Boys and Girls Clubs to church-sponsored charities – while bemoaning big government.

But they may not realize how heavily nonprofits, especially those providing services for people in need, rely on the public sector for their budgets.

Beginning as early as the 1930s and accelerating during the 1960s, many important social services in the U.S. have been largely funded by government but delivered by privately run nonprofits operating job training programs, health clinics, child development centers, etc.

By the late 1970s, nonprofit social service agencies received almost half their funding from local, state or federal governments. That share gradually grew to over 60% by 2010 and has remained near that...