The term nonprofits research is used to describe the academic enterprise devoted to teaching and research on nonprofit organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), voluntary associations, voluntarism and voluntary action, philanthropy, civil society, and related activities. It is a loosely bounded, multidisciplinary, practice-oriented community.
The field has its origins in the 1940s, when F. Emerson Andrews, a staffer at the Russell Sage Foundation, initiated a series of studies of foundations and philanthropy. Institutionally, Sage had a long-term interest in philanthropy as part of the larger problem of social welfare policy. In the 1940s and 1950s, Andrews and his associates produced a series of volumes on philanthropic giving (1950), corporation giving (1952), attitudes towards giving (1953), philanthropic foundations (1956), and government policies towards philanthropy (1968). Andrews also edited the first Foundation Directory (1967), founding editor of Foundation News, and was the first director of the Foundation Center (formerly the "Foundation Library Center").
Following a series of congressional investigations of foundations and "other tax-exempt entities," Andrews persuaded the Sage Foundation to sponsor a conference intended to encourage major scholars to study philanthropy. The conference, which convened in Princeton, New Jersey in 1956, became the basis for funding work by a number of influential historians, most notably the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Merle Curti. One of the leaders of the new interdisciplinary field, American Studies, Curti was well positioned to identify likely candidates for support in their studies of philanthropy. Curti and his students produced a number of studies, including books on international philanthropy (1963), philanthropy and higher education (1965), and the history of charities law (1961).
The enormous proliferation of foundations and other tax-exempt entities in the decades after the second World War helped to fuel new congressional concern about their power, wealth, and impact on national tax policy. Congressional concern pressured the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service to review their policies towards these organizations. These concerns came to a head in debates over tax reform in 1969.
In the face of shocking abuses, leaders of organized philanthropy proved to be scandalously ineffective in defending themselves. In particular, they appeared to be completely unable to grasp the extent to which policy discourse had come to be framed by the language of law and economics. In the wake of the draconian provisions of the 1969 Tax Reform Act, a handful of philanthropy's leaders initiated efforts to produce a body of academic research with which the nation's tax-exempt industries could more effectively defend themselves against outburst of regulatory enthusiasm.
Three groups took the lead in endeavoring to develop serious research on philanthropy, voluntary organizations, and related entities and activities. One, the 501(c)3 group, was a loose network of members of the tax-exempt bar, government officials, and foundation executives who regularly circulated among themselves information on policy and legislation relating to nonprofits. A second was a cluster of consultants and experts attached to John D. Rockefeller 3rd, the Rockefeller brother who had embraced philanthropy and its future as his calling. A third was an association of scholars and practitioners, the Association of Voluntary Action Scholars, organized by sociologist David Horton Smith, which evolved into the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).
John D. Rockefeller 3rd and the Origins of Nonprofits Research
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Sources
Andrews, F. Emerson.
Brilliant, Eleanor.
Hall, Peter Dobkin. 1992. "Inventing the Nonprofit Sector and Other Essays on Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Nonprofit Organizations." Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Mod/* References */ Eugene Fram & Vicki Brown, How Using the Corporate Model Makes a Nonprofit Board More Effective & Efficient - Third Edition (2011), Amazon Books, Create Space Books.
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, or simply a nonprofit, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, as opposed to an entity that operates as a business aiming to generate a profit for its owners. A nonprofit organization is subject to the non-distribution constraint: any revenues that exceed expenses must be committed to the organization's purpose, not taken by private parties. Depending on the local laws, charities are regularly organized as non-profits. A host of organizations may be nonprofit, including some political organizations, schools, hospitals, business associations, churches, foundations, social clubs, and consumer cooperatives. Nonprofit entities may seek approval from governments to be tax-exempt, and some may also qualify to receive tax-deductible contributions, but an entity may incorporate as a nonprofit entity without having tax-exempt status.
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material gain; and with government endeavors that are public initiatives for public good, such as those that focus on the provision of public services. A person who practices philanthropy is a philanthropist.
John Davison Rockefeller III was an American philanthropist. Rockefeller was the eldest son and second child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller as well as a grandson of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was engaged in a wide range of philanthropic projects, many of which his family had launched, as well as supporting organizations related to East Asian affairs. Rockefeller was also a major supporter of the Population Council, and the committee that created the Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
A foundation is a type of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that usually provides funding and support to other charitable organizations through grants, while also potentially participating directly in charitable activities. Foundations encompass public charitable foundations, like community foundations, and private foundations, which are often endowed by an individual or family. Nevertheless, the term "foundation" might also be adopted by organizations not primarily engaged in public grantmaking.
The Philanthropy Roundtable is a nonprofit organization that advises conservative philanthropists and advocates for philanthropic freedom and donor privacy.
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being.
OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector and lobbying firms and may have conflicts of interest. It was created from the 2021 merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP), both of which were organizations that tracked data on campaign finance in the United States and advocated for stricter regulation and disclosure of political donations.
Peter Dobkin Hall was an American author and historian. He was Professor of History and Theory in the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York, and Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations.
Philanthrocapitalism or philanthropic capitalism is a way of doing philanthropy, which mirrors the way that business is done in the for-profit world. It may involve venture philanthropy that actively invests in social programs to pursue specific philanthropic goals that would yield return on investment over the long term, or in a more passive form whereby "social investors" benefit from investing in socially-responsible programs.
Lester M. Salamon was a professor at Johns Hopkins University. He was also the director of the Center for Civil Society Studies at The Johns Hopkins Institute for Health and Social Policy Studies. Salamon has written or edited over 20 books in addition to hundreds of articles, monographs and chapters that have appeared in Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, Voluntas, and numerous other publications. He was a pioneer in the empirical study of the nonprofit sector in the United States, and is considered by many experts in his field to have been a leading specialist on alternative tools of government action and on the nonprofit sector in the U.S. and around the world.
A foundation in the United States is a type of charitable organization. Though, the Internal Revenue Code distinguishes between private foundations and public charities. Private foundations have more restrictions and fewer tax benefits than public charities like community foundations.
Until 1969, the term private foundation was not defined in the United States Internal Revenue Code. Since then, every U.S. charity that qualifies under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code as tax-exempt is a "private foundation" unless it demonstrates to the IRS that it falls into another category such as public charity. Unlike nonprofit corporations classified as a public charity, private foundations in the United States are subject to a 1.39% excise tax or endowment tax on any net investment income.
Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations. It is the product of the February 2019 merger of GuideStar with Foundation Center.
The Commission on Private Philanthropy and Public Needs, better known as the Filer Commission, was formed in 1973 to study philanthropy, the role of the private sector in American society, and then to recommend measures to increase voluntary giving. Organized as a privately supported citizen's board, the Commission came into being through the efforts of John D. Rockefeller III, Wilbur D. Mills, George P. Shultz, and William E. Simon. The selection of participants on the Commission reflected a desire for diversity of experience and opinions and included heads of religious and labor groups, former cabinet secretaries, corporate and Foreign Securities Corporation and President of Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Edwin D. Etherington, Former President of Wesleyan University and Trustee of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Bayard Ewing, Tillinghast, Collins and Graham and Vice Chairman of United Way of America.
Frances Tarlton Farenthold, Past Chairperson of National Women's Political Caucus.
Max M. Fisher, Chairman of United Brands Company and Honorary Chairman of United Foundations.
Reverend Raymond J. Gallagher, Bishop of Lafayette-in-Indiana.
Earl G. Graves, Publisher of Black Enterprise and Commissioner of Boy Scouts of America.
Paul R. Haas, President and Chairman of Corpus Christi Oil and Gas Company and Trustee of Paul and Mary Haas Foundation.
Walter A. Haas Jr., Chairman of Levi Strauss and Company and Trustee of the Ford Foundation.
Philip M. Klutznick, Klutznick Investments and Chairman of Research and Policy Committee and Trustee of Committee for Economic Development.
Ralph Lazarus, Chairman of Federated Department Stores, Inc. and Former National Chairman of United Way of America.
Herbert E. Longenecker, President Emeritus of Tulane University and Director of United Student Aid Funds.
Elizabeth J. McCormack, Special Assistant to the President of Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Inc.
Walter J. McNerney, President of Blue Cross Association.
William H. Morton, Trustee of Dartmouth College.
John M. Musser, President and Director of General Service Foundation.
Jon O. Newman, Judge, U.S. District Court and Chairman of Hartford Institute of Criminal and Social Justice.
Graciela Olivarez, State Planning Officer and Director of Council on Foundations, Inc.
Alan Pifer, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York.
George Romney, Chairman of the National Center for Voluntary Action.
William Matson Roth, Regent of University of California and Chairman of San Francisco Museum of Art.
Althea T. L. Simmons, Director for Education Programs of the NAACP Special Contribution Fund.
Reverend Leon H. Sullivan, Pastor of Zion Baptist Church, Philadelphia.
David B. Truman, President of Mount Holyoke College.
Lucas C.P.M. Meijs a Dutch organizational theorist and Professor Volunteering, Civil Society and Businesses at the department Business-Society Management of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Professor Strategic Philanthropy at the Erasmus Centre for Strategic Philanthropy.
Peter Frumkin is a professor focused in the areas of philanthropy, nonprofit management, and social entrepreneurship. He is currently Academic Director of the Gradel Institute of Charity at New College, Oxford.
Independent Sector is a coalition of nonprofit organizations, foundations and corporate giving programs in the United States. Founded in 1980, it is the first organization to combine the grant seekers and grantees.
Philanthropy in the United States is the practice of voluntary, charitable giving by individuals, corporations and foundations to benefit important social needs. Its long history dates back to the early colonial period, when Puritans founded Harvard College and other institutions. Philanthropy has been a major source of funding for various sectors, such as religion, higher education, health care, and the arts. Philanthropy has also been influenced by different social movements, such as abolitionism, women’s rights, civil rights, and environmentalism. Some of the most prominent philanthropists in American history include George Peabody, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Herbert Hoover, and Bill Gates.
Julian Wolpert is Bryant Professor Emeritus of Geography, Public Affairs, and Urban Planning at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School, where he taught from 1973 to 2005 and chaired the Program in Urban and Regional Planning. He was previously a member of the Regional Science Department at the University of Pennsylvania (1963–73).
The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) was founded and incorporated in 1971 by David Horton Smith, with the help of Burt R. Baldwin, Richard D. Reddy, and Eugene D. White Jr. as the Association for Voluntary Action Scholars (AVAS).
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