Category: NPF

The Future of Nonprofit Regulation: A Special Double Issue of Nonprofit Policy Forum

Nonprofit Policy Forum (NPF), which is hosted at the Schar School’s Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise, is pleased to announce the release of a special double issue devoted to a critical, understudied topic: The Future of Nonprofit Regulation in the U.S. This double issue of NPF, with an introduction by special issue editors Cindy Lott and Elizabeth Boris, brings together 15 research articles and commentaries originally presented by scholars and practitioners at a symposium at the Urban Institute in 2024 and then updated for publication by NPF in January 2026.

As Co-Editor-in-Chief Alan Abramson notes in his preface, “That the U.S. nonprofit sector has been severely buffeted by the sudden regulatory and other changes imposed by the Trump administration beginning in January 2025 only adds to the relevance and timeliness of this expanded coverage.”

Co-Editor-in-Chief Mirae Kim also contributed to the issue with her article, “Bounded Rationality: The Role of Knowledge of Regulations in Nonprofits’ Engagement in Policy Advocacy,” co-authored with Lewis Faulk and Heather MacIndoe. The study examines why only 31% of 501(c)(3) organizations engage in lobbying and advocacy despite being legally permitted to do so. The findings highlight a key insight: limited regulatory knowledge remains a primary barrier to nonprofit policy engagement.

Please check out the special double issue on nonprofit regulation HERE.

Nonprofit Policy Forum invites papers for two upcoming special issues

Nonprofit Policy Forum (NPF) invites papers for two upcoming special issues. The first is entitled Nonprofits, Public Policy, and Migration Crises. The second is dedicated to the theme of the 11th International ERNOP Conference, Philanthropy and Crises: Roles and Functioning of Philanthropy in times of Societal Upheavals. More information is provided below.

Special Issue on Nonprofits, Public Policy, and Migration Crises

Special Issue in Nonprofit Policy Forum

Nonprofits, Public Policy, and Migration Crises

Guest Editors: 

  • Anna Domaradzka, University of Warsaw 
  • Shawn Flanigan, San Diego State University 
  • Tania Haddad, American University of Beirut

Call for Papers:

Nonprofit Policy Forum invites papers for a special issue on Nonprofits, Public Policy, and Migration Crises. Crises of migration draw attention in many parts of the world, but are overlooked with dire consequences in others. Since the beginning of the Russian War in Ukraine in February 2022, over 11 million people have left Ukraine, and 7 million are internally displaced (UNHCR, August 2022). Images of Afghans clinging to planes evacuating Kabul prior to the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021 were only the most recent event in one of the largest protracted refugee situations in the world (UNHCR 2022). Eleven years after the onset of the Syrian civil war, 13 million Syrians still live as refugees or are internally displaced, the majority living in extreme poverty (UNHCR 2022). Migrant arrests on the Mexico-U.S. border exceeded 2 million for the first time in 2022 (Washington Post, 2022), with migrants fleeing not only repressive government regimes but natural disasters, poverty and food scarcity, and high levels of crime and gang violence. While migration crises driven by climate change, poverty and crime may receive less media coverage than those driven by war, the human toll is devastating. Yet crises of migration are not always viewed sympathetically, and in many countries around the world migration has become a controversial political issue and a rallying point for voters and political movements. 

Nonprofits, NGOs, and other civil society actors participate in and are affected by migration crises in a variety of ways. For example, nonprofits advocate for and against public policy related to migration at national, international, and sometimes local levels; participate in policymaking and governance collaborations related to migration policy and services for migrants; and work with communities to implement initiatives responding to migration crises, or to implement services for migrants. This special issue explores the relationship between nonprofits (or NGOs or other civil society actors), public policy, and migration crises. We use the term “migration crises” here to capture situations of vulnerable migration that include refugees and internally displaced persons, but might also include other individuals who do not technically qualify for refugee status but are migrating at risk and in vulnerable circumstances. Questions to be addressed in this special issue may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • What roles do nonprofits or other civil society actors play in policymaking or governance schemes related to migration, particularly migration crises? For example, what is the role of nonprofits in advocating directly to policymakers or engaging voters and others to be active in supporting or opposing migration initiatives? How does the role of civil society vary around the world, or what are the global dimensions of refugee governance?
  • What is the role of foundations in funding initiatives that support or oppose migration? And how do foundation and other funding priorities affect the ability of nonprofits to respond and adapt to migration crises?
  • How do policies governing the nonprofit sector affect organizations’ abilities to respond and adapt to migration crises?
  • What are the roles of nonprofit organizations and/or other civil society actors vis-a-vis the state in migration crises, (perhaps especially in situations where the state itself may have had a role in precipitating the crisis?) 
  • How do nonprofits working in migration crises balance advocacy and service delivery? • What are the humanitarian and social justice implications of nonprofits’ advocacy, governance, or implementation activities?
  • As nonprofits engage in policy advocacy, what is the relationship between strategy and context? What strategies might work in particularly challenging or intractable political contexts? 
  • What is the impact of migration crises (e.g. mass emigration) on nonprofits themselves?

The special issue will be comprised primarily of research articles, but may also include one or more research note, policy brief, commentary, case study, interview, or book review. Instructions for submissions are available on the NPF website.

Timeline:

  • 02/15/2023: Optional deadline to submit 500-1,000 word abstracts to the guest editors for initial feedback.
  • 08/15/2023: Deadline for full papers (prior abstract submission not required) to be submitted for peer review via NPF’S online submission portal. Please indicate that your submission is intended for the Migration Crises SI.

For any questions, please contact: 

Shawn Flanigan, San Diego State University, [email protected]

Special ERNOP Conference issue: Philanthropy and Crises

ERNOP Special Issue in Nonprofit Policy Forum

Philanthropy and Crises: Roles and Functioning of Philanthropy in times of Societal Upheavals

Guest Editors: 

  • Gojko Bežovan, University of Zagreb
  • Marta Rey-García, University of A Coruña (UDC)
  • Michaela Neumayr, Vienna University of Economics and Business

Call for Papers:

We are pleased to announce that a special issue of Nonprofit Policy Forum will be dedicated to the theme of the 11th International ERNOP Conference. Scholars who will present their papers at the 2023 ERNOP conference at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, in which we will focus on the roles that philanthropy in its different forms can play during and after crisis and social upheavals, are invited to submit their full papers for the special issue. The journal is open access and has no publication charges.

Philanthropy plays a key role in times of crisis. Philanthropic initiatives are often the first to engage when a crisis emerges and the last that remain when a crisis ends. Climate change created action by groups in society that were not traditionally considered philanthropic; the COVID crisis already saw the birth of many philanthropic initiatives and the war in Ukraine sparked generosity in Europe that might be – in absolute terms – unprecedented in history. However, at the same time, and within the context of societal upheavals, philanthropy is also criticized for being ineffective, its particularism, its elitism, and even as agents of influence by unwanted entities. Traditional forms of philanthropy are considered outdated by some and replaced by alternative forms like impact investing or informal and ad hoc giving through online and mobile platforms.

Against the background of these crises and developments, we invite papers to take stock not only of the roles that philanthropy in its different forms can play during and after social upheavals, but also of the crisis that certain forms of philanthropy may face. Questions to be addressed in this special issue may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • How does philanthropy develop during crises and how can philanthropic behavior be sustained when a crisis fades away? To what extent does this vary depending on individual, organizational or national contexts?
  • How come a societal phenomenon that is defined as ‘private action for the public good’ and literally is translated as ‘love for mankind’ often must deal with negative perceptions in the public opinion?
  • How can philanthropic organizations and initiatives remain better connected with their constituents and societal stakeholders in times of crisis?
  • To what extent is philanthropy able to overcome its shortcomings and can it live up to its potential? What is needed to make philanthropy live up to its potentially catalytic capacities in contexts of societal unrest?
  • What can we learn from history of the role that philanthropy can play in transforming our society to address the crises of tomorrow?
  • What is the relevance of alternative sources of philanthropy like donating data, online volunteering and informal giving platforms and to what extent can this be used by philanthropic organizations in face of the crisis affecting more traditional, predigital forms of giving?

The special issue will be comprised primarily of research articles, but may include one or more research note, policy brief, commentary, case study, interview, or book review. Instructions for submissions are available on the NPF website: https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/npf/html?lang=en

Timeline:

Please take note of the following guidelines and working timeline:

  • 02/12/23: Abstract/proposal submission deadline for ERNOP 2023 conference: https://ernop.eu/conference2023/
  • 06/04/23: Optional deadline to submit full conference paper to the guest editors for initial feedback through the ERNOP Conference system.
  • 10/12/23: Deadline for full papers (prior conference paper submission not required) to be submitted for peer review via NPF’S online submission portal. Please indicate that your submission is intended for the ERNOP special issue.

Please contact the guest editors with any questions:

  • [email protected]: Gojko Bežovan, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law, Department of Social Work, Croatia
  • [email protected]: Marta Rey-García, School of Economics and Business, University of A Coruña (UDC), Spain
  • [email protected]: Michaela Neumayr, Institute for Nonprofit Management, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria

More information about the journal

NPF publishes original, high-quality research and analysis from all scholarly disciplines and all parts of the world that address important public policy issues affecting nonprofits, philanthropy, and social enterprise. A double-blind peer review process is used to select papers for publication.

NPF is published quarterly by De Gruyter, Inc. in open access format and is fully available at www.degruyter.com/loi/npf Open access is made possible by NPF’s generous institutional sponsors: the Humphrey School of the University of Minnesota; the Urban Institute; the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences of Case Western Reserve University; and the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA). NPF’s editorial board consists of leading scholars from 20 different countries in Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia. The journal is included in the Emerging Science Citation Index (ESCI) and is searchable in the Web of Science Core Collection.

Articles published in NPF address a broad range of nonprofit public policy issues. Subject areas include but are not limited to: government tax, spending, and regulatory policies related to nonprofits and philanthropy; nonprofit advocacy and lobbying; other aspects of nonprofit-government relations; social enterprise and sector boundary issues; global/cross-national NGO issues; and developments in policy fields such as health care, social justice, the environment, education, and the arts that affect nonprofits.

NPF invites research papers of 5,000-8,000 words as well as shorter special features such as policy briefs, commentaries, case studies, interviews, and book reviews. Proposals for special issues are also welcome. More detail on how to submit manuscripts to NPF is available on NPF’s website, www.degruyter.com/loi/npf.

We are very pleased to become NPF’s co-editors-in-chief as of July 2021, and thank founding editor Dennis Young and managing editor Linda Serra for their excellent work in establishing a terrific foundation for NPF in its first decade of publication.

Alan Abramson, Mirae Kim, and Stefan Toepler
Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University
Co-Editors-in-Chief, Nonprofit Policy Forum (as of July 1, 2021)

NPF’s first webinar discussed nonprofit get-out-the-vote (GOTV) initiatives.

The Nonprofit Policy Forum (NPF) hosted its first webinar on October 4th, featuring a timely discussion of nonprofit get-out-the-vote (GOTV) initiatives. The webinar included an excellent panel of researchers and nonprofit leaders who brought a wealth of knowledge and insights to the conversation.  

The panel was anchored by Kelly LeRoux, Julie Langer, and Samantha Plotner, who discussed their article “Nonprofit Messaging and the 2020 Election: Findings from a Nonpartisan Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) Field Experiment,” which was recently published in NPF. They explained that the most important takeaway from the study was that nonprofit GOTV activities impacted voting patterns. When nonprofits engage in this work, they help remedy the participation gap and promote higher turnout among under-represented voters. 

Brian Miller, from Nonprofit VOTE, then discussed additional research that complements the findings of LeRoux, Langer, and Plotner. He provided insights on the scale of nonprofits involved in nonpartisan voter engagement activities, explaining that roughly 1 in 5 nonprofits are doing this work. He ended by discussing how nonprofits can align GOTV activities with their mission. He shared links to the following reports that provide more information on these topics: 

Vivian Zhang, from the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC), then rounded out the conversation by discussing the work she and her colleagues do to ensure Chinese American communities in Chicago have the tools and knowledge they need to be informed, engaged voters.  

The Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise and NPF thank all the panelists for sharing their insights and providing a rich conversation that connected research and practice!