Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly current issue

"Looking for a Few Good Women": Volunteerism as an Interaction in Two Organizations

Taylor, T., Mallinson, C., Bloch, K. — 2008-07-26

A substantial body of research examines volunteerism via surveys of individual volunteers or volunteer organizations. The authors argue that researchers must expand this conceptualization of volunteering to include the interactive process between the volunteer and the organization. Using structuration theory as a guiding framework, the authors examine how volunteers' behavior is both shaped by and also affects the way in which two organizations are structured. In this comparative case study, the authors utilize participant observation, interviews, and archival analysis to illustrate this interaction in two organizations, a no-kill cat shelter and a resource organization for women who partner with women. They find that the character of the labor process, and specifically whether it entails the expenditure of emotional labor, leads to either burdensome or rewarding volunteer experiences. The authors further underscore the importance of examining emerging trends in "episodic volunteering" and shifts in nonprofit organizations toward more bureaucratized business forms.

Diaspora Philanthropy in an At-Risk Society: The Case of Coptic Orphans in Egypt

Brinkerhoff, J. M. — 2008-07-26

This article seeks to answer two questions: How can the potential gains from diaspora philanthropy be extended beyond individual households and sustained beyond one generation? And how can these gains be mobilized for poverty alleviation, justice, and development, especially in at-risk countries? Following reviews of potential diaspora contributions and the parameters of at-risk societies, the case of Coptic Orphans is presented. Coptic Orphans provides a model for channeling remittances to meet the subsistence and development needs of the poorest of the poor and sustaining these contributions beyond the first generation. It illustrates how diaspora organizations can effectively navigate the social and legal challenges of operating in an at-risk society. Finally, it suggests that diaspora organizations may increasingly overcome voluntary failures to become a significant sector in the international development arena.

Government Funding and Nonprofit Organizations

Luksetich, W. — 2008-07-26

In this article, the author tests whether there is a simultaneous relationship between the number of nonprofits and government funding of nonprofit activity and whether the fundraising efforts of nonprofits are the means by which nonprofits affect the grants available to them. Estimates of the model are consistent with the proposition that government grants and contracts (program revenues) received by nonprofits are strong determinants of the number of nonprofits in a state. They lend support to the argument that nonprofit fundraising activities have an independent effect on the availability of the grants and contracts; however, although the number of nonprofit organizations per state has a similar effect on grants to nonprofits, they do not have an effect on the contacts they receive.

Serving Workers in the Human Services: The Roles of Organizational Ownership, Chain Affiliation, and Professional Leadership in Frontline Job Benefits

Haley-Lock, A., Kruzich, J. — 2008-07-26

A growing body of research has sought to understand forces shaping firms' approaches to employee compensation and the impacts of job benefits on both organizational performance and worker well-being. One such line of work has documented advantages from employers adopting generous compensation practices, as evidenced by more successful worker recruitment and retention. Little of this work, however, has attended to benefits provided within nonprofit and public human service settings or to low-level workers. Drawing on a sample of Wisconsin nursing homes, this study addresses this gap by examining the roles of ownership, chain affiliation, and professional leadership in compensation provided to nursing assistants. Results indicate that public and nonprofit ownership and chain membership are positively related to benefit levels. Workers fare unexpectedly less well with professional directors in for-profit and public settings but better within professionally led nonprofits.

Charity Brand Personality: The Relationship With Giving Behavior

Sargeant, A., Ford, J. B., Hudson, J. — 2008-07-26

Charity brands have been found to assist income generation by enhancing donor understanding of an organization and what it stands for. Despite an increasing interest in this topic, few studies have addressed the dimensions of such brands and sought to explore the link (if any) with donor behavior. The authors report the results of a large-scale postal survey of donors to nine national nonprofits and conclude that traits associated with benevolence, progression, and conservatism are incapable of distinguishing between the study's participating brands. Traits associated with emotional engagement, service, voice, and tradition are capable of serving as the basis for differentiation and are also linked to facets of individual giving behavior.

The Importance of the State: Political Dimensions of a Nonprofit Network in Oaxaca, Mexico

Neal, R. — 2008-07-26

This article examines a network of nonprofit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, and other social and political actors in Oaxaca, Mexico. Analyses indicate that NGOs are more connected to government authorities than to any type of nonstate organization. Results also suggest that NGOs located in municipalities where support was the highest and lowest in the 1994 to 2001 elections for the long-ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional were best connected to the government. The size of Indigenous populations located around the NGOs also appears to have had an impact on NGO connectedness to the government. These results offer support for social origins theory, which acknowledges the impact of social—political environments on the development of NGO sectors.

Private Voluntary Organizations Engaged in International Assistance, 1939-2004

McCleary, R. M., Barro, R. J. — 2008-07-26

U.S.-based private and voluntary organizations (PVOs) play an important role in international assistance. To assess this role, the authors constructed a new data set that covers more than 1,600 secular and religious PVOs that registered with the U.S. federal government between 1939 and 2004. In the post—World War II period, major revenue patterns are the rise of Evangelical PVOs, decline of Jewish PVOs, and rapid growth of secular PVOs from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. The authors analyze the determinants of changes in PVO size, gauged by real revenue. They focus on the interplay between public revenue (from the federal government, international organizations, and other governments) and private revenue. Specifically, they investigate whether funds from the federal government and other public entities serve as a magnet for subsequent private support.

Using Lessons From Public Affairs to Inform Strategic Philanthropy

Sandfort, J. — 2008-07-26

Although private, institutional philanthropy can be an engine of significant social change, often this possibility is not realized. This article creates a new framework to inform philanthropic strategy built from lessons gleaned from decades of public affairs research. Drawing on what is known about social change movements, government relationships with nonprofits, and nonprofit management, key questions help foundation staff develop and hone their strategy. A flexible framework for private investment in human services fields is developed and implications for practice and future research are considered.

Book Review: Charity Law and Social Inclusion: An International Study, by Kerry O'Halloran. New York: Routledge, 2006. 437 pp. $44.95

Pollak, T. H. — 2008-07-26

Book Review: Fighting for Our Lives: New York's AIDS Community and the Politics of Disease, by Susan Chambre. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2006. 262 pp. $24.95

Grettenberger, S. — 2008-07-26

Book Review: Social Science for What? Philanthropy and the Social Question in a World Turned Rightside Up, by Alice O'Connor. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2007. 179 pp. $22.50

Magat, R. — 2008-07-26

Book Review: Nonprofits & Technology: Emerging Research for Usable Knowledge, edited by Michael Cortes and Kevin M. Rafter. Chicago: Lyceum, 2007. 212 pp. $32.95

Balser, D. — 2008-07-26

Book Review: Nonprofit Organizations: Challenges and Collaborations, by Alfred Vernis, Maria Iglesias, Beatriz Sanz, and Angel Saz-Carranza. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. 172 pp. $42.50 (hardcover)

Lee, Y.-j. — 2008-07-26

Book Review: Thoughtful Fundraising: Concepts, Issues, and Perspectives, edited by Jill Mordaunt and Rob Paton. New York: Routledge, 2007. 220 pp. $44.95 (soft-cover)

Sowa, J. E. — 2008-07-26

Book Review: A Dictionary of Nonprofit Terms and Concepts, by David Horton Smith, Robert A. Stebbins, and Michael A. Dover. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007. 337 pp. $35.00

Jeavons, T. — 2008-07-26

Book Review: Politics and Volunteering in Japan: A Global Perspective, by Mary Alice Haddad. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 218 pp. $80.00 (hardcover)

Raskoff, S. A. — 2008-07-26