Challenges to Philanthropy

Introduction to Social Services Nonprofits

Social Services, also known as welfare service or social work; “Social services include the benefits and facilities like education, food subsidies, health care, police, fire service, job training, and subsidized housing, adoption, community management, policy research, and lobbying”

Social Service Nonprofits, especially private ones, are pivotal in providing social services to the public that the government, or other public resources, may fall short of providing. Some examples of these services can be seen in the following diagram: 


Many of these organizations work to promote the welfare of others. While social service as a whole covers a variety of different areas of expertise, most organizations choose one or two aspects to focus and hone in on to provide professional care and assistance to their clients. The most common social work that social services do usually revolve around family dynamics, assisting vulnerable or disadvantaged children and parents.

According to Robert A. Pinker, professor of Social Administration at the University of London, "...social services have flourished in the 20th century as ideas of social responsibility have developed and spread". (Pinker). Despite the ideas and the basic concept behind social services existing for as long as humanity has been around, only recently has the sector been given a proper name that they could operate off of.

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