Beyond the Public Safety Net: The Role of Nonprofits in Addressing Material Hardship of Low-Income Households

Research on material hardship mostly takes the public policy perspective, whereas the role of nonprofits in addressing household material hardship is largely ignored. This study uses data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine what sources (government or nonprofit) households facing material hardships turn to for material assistance. Contrary to the common assumption that nonprofits play an increasing role in service provision after welfare reform, the data do not show a significant growth in service areas related to household material hardship. In the areas of comparison, government outweighs nonprofits in providing material assistance to low-income households, even without counting major public assistance programs. However, several findings show that nonprofits play a supplementary role in social service provision. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.