Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise

Author: Kristina Podesta

‘Reimagining’ Nonprofits: It’s Time to Bring Equity and Justice to Philanthropy

This summary is reposted from the Schar School of Policy and Government’s Latest News page.

Nonprofit scholar Angela M. Eikenberry, second from left, is flanked by the professors at the Schar School’s Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise. From left, Alan Abramson, Mirae Kim, and Stefan Toepler. Photo by Buzz McClain/Schar School of Policy and Government

“What if our nonprofit organizations and our research brought about emancipation, transformation, equity, and justice? What if our nonprofit organization workplaces brought out the best in us? What if our research supported these goals?”  

Those were the questions asked earlier this month by Angela M. Eikenberry, a professor at the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska Omaha and a past president of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), which advances the field of nonprofit and philanthropic research by providing a forum for scholars, educators, and practitioners.

Eikenberry was the guest of George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government and its Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise. Her April 10 talk at Mason’s Mason Square campus invited listeners to “reimagine” the way the nonprofit sector and philanthropy could operate.

The following are highlights from the presentation, Reveal, Repair, and (Re)Imagine: Reframing Philanthropy Theory and Practice:

  • Eikenberry pointed out the need for nonprofit and foundation leaders and scholars to examine current philanthropic systems and view them through a critical lens. Pulling on nonprofit scholarship, such as research by Bowling Green State University scholar Abhishek Bhati, Eikenberry explored the ways philanthropy has perpetuated histories of colonialism, paternalism, and other systems of oppression—pointing to the need for continued research into the intended or unintended consequences of current philanthropic structures.
  • Eikenberry explored ways philanthropy and nonprofit scholars can work to change systems and repair damages caused by current systems of power. She pointed to organizations doing this work, including the U.K.’s grant-making Edge Fund that seeks to end imbalances of wealth and power by rethinking grant-making systems.
  • Eikenberry ended by encouraging participants to ask big, bold “what if” questions that go beyond current philanthropic practices and to re-imagine the role nonprofit researchers can play to develop the kinds of systems and structures needed to get there.

For more information about the Schar School’s highly ranked nonprofit studies, see this site.

Center leaders celebrate 50 years of ARNOVA and NVSQ with contributions to a NVSQ special issue

Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the first publication of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ), and its host association, ARNOVA, celebrated its 50th anniversary the year before. To celebrate these anniversaries, ARNOVA and NVSQ published a special issue of the journal, with the goal of assessing the state of research and future directions for the nonprofit, philanthropy, and civil society fields. Center leaders, Alan Abramson and Stefan Toepler, each contributed to the special issue, with Abramson and his colleagues looking back at the history of ARNOVA and Toepler and his colleagues looking ahead to new ways of analyzing relations between nonprofits and governments. The abstracts and links to these works can be found below.

A History of ARNOVA at Fifty

By Brenda K. Bushouse, Gregory R. Witkowski, and Alan J. Abramson

Abstract: To mark the 50th anniversary of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), this article reviews the association’s history, from its 1971 founding by a small group of scholars interested in voluntary action to the current association of more than 1,000 members who study a broad range of nonprofit, civil society, voluntary action, and philanthropic topics. To inform the history, we recorded oral histories and reviewed the ARNOVA collection of historical records at the Ruth Lilly Archives and internal files provided by ARNOVA. Our article is divided into three important junctures of change: 1971–1989, the founding period; 1990–2006, the golden era of philanthropic support; and 2007–2020, a maturing field and strategic directions. Through our analysis, we identify recurring themes and tensions and how ARNOVA navigated through a changing environment and growing field. We conclude the article with forward-looking questions.

Beyond the Partnership Paradigm: Toward an Extended Typology of Government/Nonprofit Relationship Patterns

By Stefan Toepler, Annette Zimmer, Katja Levy, and Christian Fröhlich

Abstract: This article takes a fresh look at nonprofit/government relations in the context of both the partnership literature on collaboration and the closing space literature on repression. Following the Weberian ideal-type approach, we develop a heuristic tool for nuanced analyses of relations between the sectors in comparative research that is applicable in diverse political regime settings. We integrate foundational conceptions of Salamon, Young, and Najam to develop our framework, which we then illustrate with the cases of Russia and China. While repression is not necessarily the predominant characteristic of nonprofit–government relations in authoritarian regime settings, the reduction of intersectoral relations to collaboration strategies common in Western contexts also falls short of capturing the full complexity of the relationship. Rather than trying to establish national patterns, researchers need to remain sensitive to the coexistence of multiple government/nonprofit relationship types, affecting various parts of the nonprofit sector differently.

REGISTER NOW! The 15th Annual Community Partnership Forum will be held on May 2

Culture is Key:
Workplace Culture
as Competitive
Advantage

Presented by the 15th Annual
Community Partnership Forum

SAVE THE DATE

Join us May 2 to explore the topic of building a better workplace culture as the wisest investment in your organization’s future. A vibrant organizational culture that supports an employee-centric work environment offers a unique and sustainable, competitive advantage.


Join leaders across the business, government, and nonprofit sectors to hear more about top workforce trends and how your organization can thrive when it comes to the talent war and driving results.

Details

  • Tuesday, May 2, 2023
    9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
    George Mason University – Arlington Campus

Topics of Discussion

  • Hybrid work environments
  • Workplace flexibility
  • Equity initiatives
  • Engaging employees
  • And more!

Students can register for free by emailing [email protected].
All other participants can register here!

Share this post:

The Center marks the inaugural Social Sector Infrastructure Week with three new reports

Nonprofits and other parts of the U.S. social sector need a healthy support system in order to thrive. How is that support system—or infrastructure—doing? I’ve been pleased to work with colleagues from the Urban Institute and George Mason University on an extensive study of social sector infrastructure: what it is, how it’s financed, its current state, and what it needs to do its work in the years ahead.

Dr. Alan Abramson, Founding Director of GMU’s
Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise

February 27 – March 3 marked the first ever Social Sector Infrastructure Week. The Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise participated in the week by releasing three new reports in partnership with the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy. The new reports represent the second phase of the joint project and examined the state of this vital infrastructure, its financing, and the ways it might need to evolve for the future. They join three reports from the first phase of the project, which focused on developing an expansive definition that captures the full breadth of the social sector and its infrastructure. All six reports are available on the Urban Institute website and are linked below.

Phase one reports
Phase Two Reports

Please join us on April 10 for a talk by nonprofit scholar Dr. Angela M. Eikenberry

Hosted by George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government
at its Mason Square (Arlington) campus

REVEAL, REPAIR, AND (RE)IMAGINE:
REFRAMING PHILANTHROPY THEORY AND PRACTICE
Guest speaker Dr. Angela M. Eikenberry
Monday, April 10, 2023, 10:30am-Noon

Register Now!
About the Speaker

Angela M. Eikenberry, PhD, is a professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She was awarded the D.B. and Paula Varner Professorship, in recognition of her outstanding research. Dr. Eikenberry’s work has been featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and “The Takeaway” and in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. She recently co-edited a textbook on nonprofit management: Reframing Nonprofit Management: Democracy, Inclusion, and Social Change (Melvin & Leigh, 2018). Dr. Eikenberry is a Fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration.

Abstract of the Talk

Applying a critical perspective can help us to think differently about the work we do in the philanthropic sector and how we do the work to alleviate oppressions and bring about just futures. This presentation draws on several research projects and practice examples to make an argument for using a critical perspective to reframe our research and practice in the philanthropic field through: revealing unexamined assumptions and, unintended consequences; making visible previously invisible systems of power and oppression; repairing or changing these systems of power and oppression; and (re)imagining better futures towards emancipation, transformation, equity, and justice.

Details

Date: Monday, April 10, 2023

Time:10:30am-12pm

Location: Mason Square (Arlington) Campus, Room 113, Van Metre Hall, 3351 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA.  Van Metre Hall is a short walk from the Virginia Square metro station; parking is available in a garage under Van Metre Hall by entering off of Kirkwood Drive.  To find the garage, you can enter “Founders Way North, Arlington” in Google Maps.

Food: Light refreshments and coffee will be provided