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 pioneering 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 pioneering 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 non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is an organization dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view. In economic terms, it is an organization using its surplus of the revenues to further achieve its ultimate objective, rather than distributing its income to the organization's shareholders, leaders, or members. Nonprofits are tax-exempt or charitable, meaning they do not pay income tax on the money that they receive for their organization. They can operate in religious, scientific, research, or educational settings.
Philanthropy 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, which are public initiatives for public good, e.g., focusing on provision of public services. A person who practices philanthropy is a philanthropist.
John Davison Rockefeller III was a philanthropist and third-generation member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the eldest son of the philanthropists John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. His siblings were Abby, Nelson, Laurance, Winthrop and David.
A foundation is a category of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that will typically provide funding and support for other charitable organizations through grants, but it may engage directly in charitable activities. Foundations include public charitable foundations, such as community foundations, and private foundation, which are typically endowed by an individual or family. However, the term "foundation" may also be used by organizations that are not involved in public grantmaking.
The Philanthropy Roundtable is a nonprofit U.S. membership organization that advises and serves the interests of philanthropists. Its stated mission is "to foster excellence in philanthropy, to protect philanthropic freedom, to assist donors in achieving their philanthropic intent, and to help donors advance liberty, opportunity, and personal responsibility in America and abroad."
A charitable organization or charity is a nonprofit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being.
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.
Lester M. Salamon is a professor at The Johns Hopkins University. He is 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 be 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. However, 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 generally subject to a 1% or 2% excise tax or endowment tax on any net investment income.
Voluntarism, sometimes referred to as voluntary action, is the principle that individuals are free to choose goals and how to achieve them within the bounds of certain societal and cultural constraints, as opposed to actions that are coerced or predetermined.
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 fd 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.
Nonprofit studies is a multidisciplinary field of teaching and research that focuses on practices of the nonprofit sector and can date back to the 1920s. This area of inquiry examines the management and effectiveness of the nonprofit sector, and has sub-areas of research including administration, marketing, communication, economics, human resources, philanthropy, ethics, law, information technology, social entrepreneurship, grant writing, policy, fundraising, advocacy, volunteerism, data research, and civic engagement.
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 and published author whose research and teaching are focused in the areas of philanthropy, nonprofit management, and social entrepreneurship.
Independent Sector is a coalition of nonprofits, foundations and corporate giving programs. Founded in 1980, it is the first organization to combine the grant seekers and grantees.
Philanthropy has played a major role in American history, from the Puritans of early Massachusetts who founded Harvard College, down to the present day. Since the late 19th century philanthropy has been a major source of income for religion, medicine and health care, fine arts and performing arts, as well as educational institutions.
Foundation Center is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in New York City, New York. The Center’s stated mission is "to strengthen the social sector by advancing knowledge about philanthropy in the U.S. and around the world." Foundation Center maintains comprehensive databases on grantmakers and their grants; issues a wide variety of print, electronic, and online information resources; conducts and publishes research on trends in foundation growth, giving, and practice; and offers education and training programs online and at its five regional hubs and more than 400 Funding Information Network locations.
Julian Wolpert is Bryant Professor Emeritus of Geography, Public Affairs, and Urban Planning at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School, where he taught from 1973-2005 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). He is a graduate of Columbia University (BA) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, MS & PhD (Geography). He served as a US Navy officer from 1956 to 1959. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and AAAS. He has been a fellow at the Russell Sage Foundation, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral and Social Sciences, and the Woodrow Wilson Center and has been a Guggenheim fellow. Wolpert is a nationally cited scholar in the fields of location theory, urban development, migration, public and social services, and the analysis of charity, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector, and has testified before Congress about the regulation of philanthropy. He has challenged conservatives who advocate for charitable rather than public service approaches to social policy. Wolpert served as Vice President, then President of the Association of American Geographers and Vice President of the Regional Science Association and the American Geographical Society and was elected to the American Institute of Certified Planners.
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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