Topical issues of development of socially oriented non-profit organizations

In the context of new economic realities, attention to the sector of socially oriented non-profit organizations has increased significantly. In particular, the country’s leadership has ordered the executive authorities to form effective tools for the use of resources of these organizations in order to improve the quality of life of the population and implement the social policy of the state at the federal and regional level. The purpose of the present paper is to study the current situation concerning socially oriented non-profit organizations in the region, as well as to identify problematic aspects in their activities, since the execution of their tasks is not possible without taking into account the current condition of these organizations. With the use of formal and logical methods of research, we consider theoretical approaches explaining the causes of the emergence and functioning of non-profit organizations. We conclude there exists an underlying concept of “public good” that unifies key theories, and the work of non-profit organizations is aimed at providing people with this “good”. The paper consists of two blocks. The first one, based on the data of official statistics, analyzes the change in the number of registered socially oriented non-profit organizations and the number of employees in the sector by federal districts from 2012 to 2016. Uneven development in the regions is revealed. The second block reflects the results of a sociological analysis of the expert survey, which was attended by 35 leaders of socially oriented non-profit organizations of the Vologda Oblast. The study showed that in modern conditions the sector under consideration is not in the best situation in the region. The key problems hindering the development are as follows: weak financial and economic base of most organizations and lack of labor resources and highly qualified personnel. The results of the study can be used by public authorities when working out the directions and programs for the development of the sector of socially oriented non-profit organizations. The next stage of work will be to study the causes of different levels of development of socially oriented non-profit organizations in Russia in the territorial context, comparing the data with the experience of foreign countries.