Mapping the non-profit sector in the United States: implications for research

The need for a national typology of the US non-profit sector has long been recognised. A typology which could better define and describe the variety and diversity of non-profit organisations by type or major function will serve numerous research and public policy uses. This article describes the essential elements of the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE), developed over almost a decade after extensive consultation with agencies in the non-profit sector and the United States government. The article reports an initial analysis of the classification of nearly one million non-profit organisations in the US, and comparisons are made with earlier estimates inDimensions of the Independent Sector. Based on these findings, changes are proposed to this biennial statistical profile of the US non-profit sector. The importance of developing national typologies of non-profit organisations is discussed as a basis for comparative international research.     

On scale and scope and the history of the non-profit sector in the United Kingdom

This article argues that Alfred Chandler's analysis of the British firm cannot be transposed to the very different context of non-profit organisations in Britain. Both in relation to charitable non-profit organisations and mutual benefit organisations, Chandler's theory of the development of firms does not help explain organisational development. The main thrust of the argument is that the explanation for the smaller size of charitable non-profits in Britain than in America is largely institutional and partly socio-cultural; the explanation does not lie in any failure in Britain to adopt new techniques of management and organisation. With mutual benefit non-profits, a rather different account is presented. ‘Mutuals’ which had a strong fraternal element were relatively more successful in Britain than in America, although there is less difference between the two countries with regard to ‘non-fraternal’ mutuals. Once again, it is argued that institutional and socio-cultural factors—rather than the factors identified by Chandler—account for this. I wish to thank Desmond King for his helpful comments on an earlier version of this essay.     

Defining contracts between the state and charitable organisations in national accounts: a perspective from the UK

This paper explores the issues inherent in defining contracts for service delivery between the state and charitable organisations, and in differentiating them from grants. It begins by making the point that there is no one correct definition of a contract; rather, it is a function of its purpose. It then details our work in developing a definition of a contract within the national accounting tradition, as part of a study of the contribution of charitable organisations to the GDP of the United Kingdom. The paper ends by drawing some general conclusions from this experience.     

Tax-based research and data on non-profit organisations

Tax-exempt, non-profit organisations represent a significant and growing sector within the US economy. Between 1975 and 1990, assets of tax-exempt organisations increased in real terms by over 150 per cent while the revenue increased by over 227 per cent. This compares to a growth in real GDP of 52 per cent over the same period. A variety of tax policy issues on tax-exempt organisations and the non-profit sector can be addressed using several sources of data collected by the IRS from federal information and tax returns of exempt organisations. The Statistics of Income (SOI) Division, using sample data, conducts studies of many of the different components of the tax-exempt sector, including non-profit charitable organisations, organisations exempt under sections 501(c)(4)-(c)(9), private foundations and 4947(a) charitable trusts, and the unrelated business income of tax-exempt organisations. Income statement, balance sheet and other financial data, as well as a great amount of non-financial information, are collected in these SOI studies. The primary purposes of this article are: first, to document the role of the non-profit sector in the US economy and the evolving growth and change within the sector from the mid-1970s through to the present; and, second, to describe the ongoing SOI studies of tax-exempt organisations, the products and services available through SOI, and the future statistical plans at SOI for data collection and analysis of tax-exempt organisations and the non-profit sector.     

A puzzlement: health-related organisations in the Nonprofit Almanac

Conclusion Data systems created with one purpose inevitably have shortcomings when used for other purposes, so it is not surprising that a database compiled from informational tax returns has serious flaws when used to compile a statistical picture of the non-profit sector. The two-digit NTEE level of aggregation that is published in theAlmanac conceals many problems that appear when the IRS-based data are broken down to the three-digit level.Identification of the problems in the NTEE and in the use of the IRS data is a necessary step toward their correction. At this point, it is clear that the IRS-based numbers in theAlmanac should be regarded, at best, as rough approximations and as a starting point for additional work. My assessment of theAlmanac suggests that, at least as far as health care is concerned, the NTEE needs revision. Correcting the problems with the IRS data will be much, much more difficult.I am grateful for assistance from Steve Noga, Chris Toppe and Virginia Hodgkinson at Independent Sector.     

Communicating philanthropy: The media and the voluntary sector in Britain

Whether in looking for resources or doing their work, voluntary and charitable organisations have always needed to publicise their existence. However, major changes in the role and funding of the sector in Britain have meant that the issue of publicity has gained particular salience. This article discusses these changes and provides preliminary findings from a large-scale investigation into media and public attitudes towards voluntary and charitable activity. It explores how voluntary activity is reported by mainstream news media, and how these presentations are framed by media professinal's perceptions of, and value judgements about, different types of voluntary action. This article is based on research funded by the ESRC (Grant Reference R000 23 3193) and the Home Office. The analysis draws on collaborative work with Peter Golding and Alan Radley. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the inaugural conference for the International Society for Third Sector Research, in Pécs, Hungary, July 1994.     

Measuring the US non-profit sector: a progress report

The input-output model currently used for estimating the size, scope and dimensions of the non-profit sector in the US economy is based on the SIC system. Unfortunately, this system is inadequate to provide detailed information on the non-profit sector. In response, we developed a classification system — the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) — to define and measure the sector more accurately. This article describes the relationship between the SIC-based measures and the NTEE based measures, and reports on current efforts to link the NTEE system with tax data bases maintained at the Internal Revenue Service.Virginia Hodgkinson is Vice President for Research at Independent Sector, Washington, DC, 20036.Murray Weitzman is a Senior Research Consultant at Independent Sector.     

Some thoughts on the validity of estimates of charitable giving

There is but a single source of widely-accepted estimates of charitable giving in the United States, and that isGiving USA, an annual publication of the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy. This paper examines the validity of those estimates and raises questions that imply a need for further research in this area.Despite the improvements in the quality of the estimates over the years, there remain conceptual, empirical and procedural problems of which all users of the numbers should be aware. The conceptual problems are largely a matter of definition, and it is argued that grants by private foundations should be excluded from the total because foundations themselves are charitable recipients of funds from the rest of society and their inclusion results in double-counting. The empirical problems arise from defects in much of the data from the tax files that are used as sources of information for making the final estimates; some of those defects are spelled out in detail. The procedural problems stem from the lack of comprehensive information about the amounts of charitable giving from individual donors; in making its estimates,Giving USA relies primarily on an econometric equation, some of the variables in which are questionable.     

Altruism, ideological entrepreneurs and the non-profit firm

Ideology and altruism are central to understanding the non-profit charitable sector. This paper addresses three questions. Why do people make charitable gifts? Why do they usually give to non-profit organisations? When can non-profits run by committed ideologues compete with profit-oriented entrepreneurs in the provision of services? the altruistic motives of individuals and the ideological commitments of entrepreneurs come together to support charitable organisations. The non-profit form provides a weak guarantee that gifts are not being syphoned off as profits. Furthermore, independent non-profits can often better reflect donors' desires than public agencies constrained by majoritarian claims, and ideological entrepreneurs can use the non-profit form to reify their beliefs without being accountable to profit-seeking investors. A non-profit organisation can only survive, however, if it can attract money and customers. Sometimes its ideological character will facilitate both tasks. Non-ideological customers may, nevertheless, patronise an ideological non-profit if the entrepreneur's commitment helps to guarantee high quality.     

Overall evaluation of economic theories

This article evaluates economic theories of the non-profit sector by their ability to enlighten our understanding of the scope of inquiry, the determinants of the size and scope of the non-profit sector, and the behavioural responses of donors, volunteers, paid staff and non-profit organisations to changes in their external environment. Adherence to a non-distribution constraint has proven to be a useful way of delimiting economic analysis of non-profit organisations, but more attention should be paid to alternatives. Economists have been less successful at developing usable distinctions between voluntary action and exchange. The size and scope of the sector appear to be determined by entrepreneurial supply factors, donations (which in turn are influenced by tax policy, governmental spending, fund-raising, and the quality and mixture of organisational outputs, commercial or charitable), commercial activities, capital supply, the supply of labour (paid and volunteered), the marketability of outputs, and the distribution of consumer characteristics. Variations of James's (1983) model have proven useful to predict the reaction of non-profits to exogenous changes. I thank Symposium participants, especially Mark Schlesinger, Paul DiMaggio, Anne Preston, Avner Ben-Ner and Helmut Anheier for helpful suggestions.     

Altruism and culture as social products

The historical core of the independent sector is comprised of churches, charitable organisations and higher education. What distinguishes these and other independent sector organisations from the governmental and commercial sectors is the fact that participation in the independent sector is free from state compulsion and not for the purpose of monetary gain. The independent sector is a modern development which could not have occurred without the disestablishment of religion. Disestablished churches have given rise to secular charities, higher education and other independent sector organisations in the United States. The independent sector is the arena in which cultural production and altruistic activities with a distinctive moral quality take place. Participation in the independent sector is the only mechanism for status legitimation in a democractic society with no compulsory state religion or traditional forms of authority.     

Examining the links between beliefs and institutional emergence

Although the study of institutions is one of the longest standing sociological topics, numerous recent studies have revisited questions about the genesis of new institutions and institutional domains. In this review, I argue for increased attention to the role cultural beliefs play in the emergence of new institutions. I highlight three substantive research areas where sociologists have demonstrated a relatively independent causal effect of beliefs on the genesis of new institutions: (a) studies of states and state institutions; (b) studies of emergent markets; and (c) studies of the charitable aid sector. I conclude by highlighting promising avenues for future research on beliefs and institutional emergence.     

Financial Sustainability Within UK Charities: Community Sport Trusts and Corporate Social Responsibility Partnerships

The change in political leadership in the UK in 2010 has created financial uncertainty and instability for many third sector organisations. In a shifting funding landscape, it is clear that an over-reliance on Government funding is a risky strategy and that there is a need to diversify and seek out alternative sources of revenue. This article considers the impact of political change on the financial sustainability of community sports trusts associated with Premier League and Football League clubs in England. It explores sources of revenue through the analysis of financial statements, revealing that on average community sports trusts receive a significant proportion of income from grant funding whilst sponsorship income is relatively small. The article goes on to discuss the potential for community sports trusts to diversify revenue streams by developing social partnerships that address the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agendas of commercial organisations. It illustrates that although commercial sponsorship can provide benefits including the provision of additional funding that can enable financial stability, key issues include the balance of power, the impact on organisational flexibility, whether there is a need to restructure, and the development of long-term partnerships. Although the findings from this article are focused on a particular type of charity, given the importance of CSR partnership income for the charities sector they may also have broader implications for other charitable organisations.     

Show me the way to the next worthy deed: Towards a microstructural theory of volunteering and giving

Using the data from a survey undertaken in the United States in 1992, this article examines the effects of altruism, self-interest and social ties on motivations to give and volunteer, as well as the effects of volunteering on definitions of life goals. Social ties with non-profit organisations were good predictors of both the value of charitable contributions and the time volunteered for charitable causes. The level of prior philanthropic activism and social connections with philanthropic institutions had an effect on life goals. Altruism and the desire for self-improvement had effects on volunteering, but not on giving. Utilitarian motives (expected career advancement) had no observable effects on volunteering or giving. Based on those findings, a general microstructural model of philanthropic behaviour is proposed. A version of this paper was presented at the 1995 Annual Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.     

How to Code a Million Missions: Developing Bespoke Nonprofit Activity Codes Using Machine Learning Algorithms

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) codes have become the primary classifier of nonprofit missions since they were...     

The Deportation of Germans from the Netherlands 1946–1952

Between 1946 and 1948 Dutch authorities planned to deport all 25,000 Germans from the Netherlands. This article is based on an analysis of parliamentary debates and newspaper reports. It offers a new explanation for why these deportations were stopped. A concerted effort from the press, clergy and charitable organisations provided arguments to change policies, however the Minister of Justice did not defend changes in policy by copying any of these arguments. He phrased his policy in terms of success: policies had been fine-tuned, not fundamentally changed. Within a relatively short period (between 1945 and 1948) the discourse changed from revenge to pity. Papers pointed out that if the Dutch continued to deport all Germans they were no better than the Gestapo.     

Factors impacting donors’ intention to donate to charitable crowd-funding projects in China: a UTAUT-based model

The new and increasingly popular tool of crowd-funding is widely used by non-profit organizations in China to raise money online for their charitable projects. In order to use this tool effectively, it is essential to understand donors’ motivations for supporting charitable projects. This study investigates the impact of performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI), facilitating conditions (FC), sense of trust, and experience expectation on donors’ intention to donate to charitable crowd-funding projects, using a research model based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model. Empirical data were collected through a survey, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze 316 responses from users of the Tencent charitable crowd-funding platform in China. The results indicate that SI, sense of trust, EE, and PE significantly affect donors’ intention to donate to charitable crowd-funding projects. The impact of FC and experience expectation on donors’ intention is also positive; however, it is not very strong. Finally, this paper presents suggestions for how to increase users’ intention to donate money on charitable crowd-funding platforms.     

Charity Care in Crisis: Reclaiming a Lost Professional Ethic

Abstract

The concept of “charity care” is a fundamental principle in the practice of medicine. This paper examines the origins of the construct charity, the expansion of charitable care during the Middle Ages, and its gradual secularization throughout the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. The paper then highlights the transformation of Almshouses, Infirmaries and Dispensaries into charitable institutions of medical science in the nineteenth century with the birth of progressivism during the early twentieth century. A conceptual model is then presented that depicts the erosion and qualitative changes in charity care as a result ofthe corporatization of health care over the course of the last century. The construct of charity care is now in crisis. The medical profession has gradually disassociated from its obligation of charitable care as an ethical precept for the practice of medicine. The paper ends with a challenge to reclaim and renew the importance of charity in the provision of health services.     

Looking Back and Moving Forward: The Research Agenda on the Global Governance of Mixed Migration

There is no international regime to comprehensively govern transnational migration in all of its facets. But scholars and policymakers acknowledge and study the existence of the global governance of migration. Though most have focused on disaggregating the global governance of migration into its separate regimes (refugees, labour, travel, etc.), I argue here that much of this architecture addresses the phenomenon of mixed migration. I define the global governance of mixed migration as involving a range of legal regimes impinging on actors simultaneously; shared understandings about the nature of mixed migration, including motivations and drivers; and the existence of different bilateral, regional and global arrangements for addressing the phenomenon. I critically review the interdisciplinary research agenda on the global governance of mixed migration, covering its emergence over the last twenty years, its broad empirical and conceptual dimensions, the major debates and promising directions for future research.