Non-governmental organisations and philanthropy: The Peruvian case

This article describes the historic evolution of the third sector in Peru, from its emergence during the time the country was under Spanish colonial rule (from 1535 to 1821) until developments in the twentieth century. Using available information, an attempt is then made to appraise the recent and current scope of the topic and the dimensions of the institutions of the third sector. The legal status and tax regimes are discussed. Some organisational forms of survival and solidarity implemented by the grassroots communities are also described. These confer characteristics that may be different from those of other Latin American countries. Finally, relations between the third sector and the state are described.     

Non-governmental organisations and philanthropy: The Colombian case

There have been three distinct phases in the evolution of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Colombia. The first was dominated by foundations supported by the church and by private benefactors attending to society's welfare needs. In the second, associations created and sponsored by the state assisted in the efforts of small, neighbourhood communities, women's groups and labour unions. A final, recent, phase has been dominated by economic development and housing agencies, NGOs' involvement in education centres and community development, and research centres concentrating on social issues. At the current time, corporations, associations and foundations are the legal structures through which NGOs are constituted. Beyond providing these legal structures, the 1991 Colombian Constitution recognises the role of NGOs and establishes that the state has the obligation to support them and to recognise them as legitimate actors in the policy process. Changes currently affecting NGOs in Colombia include their increasingly close links with the state, and difficulties arising from a relative lack of funds from sources promoting international co-operation.     

Non-governmental organisations and philanthropy in Latin America: An overview

This article provides an overview of the emerging non-profit or voluntary sector in Latin America. Specifically, the article addresses the differences and communalities these non-profit organisations have across the region. It concludes by emphasising the huge variety of roles and functions performed by non-profit organisations within and across countries, and their often ambigious position between the private and public realms.     

Non-governmental organisations in international development: trends and future research priorities

North Atlantic NGOs have significantly increased their role in international development. They have expanded their activities beyond relief to include a more structural approach to third-world poverty and have attracted increasing amounts of government subsidies for their work overseas. They have also begun to engage in education of their home populations about global poverty and have established close ties to an emerging network of third-world NGOs who channel their resources to the grassroots poor abroad. In the post-Cold War era, North Atlantic NGOs enjoy some unique opportunities to expand their work due to the increase of third-world democracy and free-market economies, but they also face some critical challenges ahead — balancing periodic relief efforts with long-term development programmes, resisting pressures by governments to use NGOs for their own purposes, upgrading the quality of development education at home, and finding ways to relate to third-world NGOs as more equal partners. These and other challenges (for example, improving institutional capacities of North Atlantic NGOs to handle increasing demands, and relationship between third-world NGOs and grassroots organisations) need the attention of scholars in the years ahead.An earlier version of this paper was presented to the Quarterly Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at the United States Department of State, Washington, DC, 15 September 1992.     

NGOs and philanthropy in Latin America: The Brazilian case

It is only in the last twenty years that there has appeared a field of civil organisations with a significant degree of autonomy from both state and church. But there are trends pointing to changes in the centralising, authoritarian tradition in government policies towards the non-profit sector in Brazil. This is occurring in parallel with the creation of conditions for change in this sector's negative image in public opinion. While, on the one hand, private social welfare organisations currently appear to public opinion in the worst possible light, being seen to be at the centre of the political crisis triggered by revelations of corruption, on the other hand there is a strong climate of moralisation and institutional democratisation which may favour them in the immediate future. More transparent policies for government collaboration and public control in this area appear to be a major outcome of this process. Questions of the democratisation (or deprivatisation) of the state, the need for institutional reform, and the constitution of a public sphere have been raised at the centre of debates around the role of these civil organisations in Brazil, now and for the future. This article was written prior to the inauguration of Fernando Henrique Cardoso's government in 1995. This has engaged in even more dialogue with civil society organisations than the previous government.     

Women and philanthropy in Argentina: from the society of beneficence to Eva Perón

This article focuses on the history of voluntary associations in Argentina over the past 200 years. Argentine voluntary associations have their roots in the alliance of the Catholic church, the state and the country's elites, in which women played major roles. The charitable stage can be divided into two phases: the first (1600–1899) was encouraged mainely by the church, in particular through the Sisters of Charity; the second (1820–1940) took shape under state patronage in a period of centralisation and secularisation. TheSociety of Beneficence, a quasi-public institution run by wealthy women, emerged as the most important institution for public assistance until the formation of the Eva Perón Foundation, which became the paradigmatic form of social assistance in the 1940s. Nevertheless, the approach adopted by the Foundation differed very little from those of its precursors. Within this framework the current social development model attempts to reconfigure the relationships between the public institutions and civil society. Anahí Viladrich is currently a consultant at the Center for the Study of Philanthropy for the International Research ProjectWomen and Philanthropy.     

Voluntary organisations and the welfare state: the case of Norway

Taking as the point of departure the political-ideological and fiscal ‘crises of the welfare state’, this article emphasises recent changes in the relationship between voluntary organisations and the public sector in Norway, changes that open up new space for the voluntary sector both ideologically and as a service producer. We question whether voluntary organisations are able to cope with new and extensive welfare problems within the more decentralised welfare state. Do they express the values, and do they possess the resources that both governmental agencies and the organisations themselves take for granted? As part of that discussion, the article questions the dominant view within the literature, namely that Scandinavia has a very weak voluntary sector. We argue that ‘state-friendly’ Norway has a rather strong voluntary sector, that this sector is of a specific type, and that both of these factors have important theoretical implications not only for Scandinavia, but for an overall understanding of the voluntary sector.     

Membership participation and ideology in large voluntary organisations: The case of the National Trust

Commonly, voluntary organisations are formally accountable to their memberships, but the rights of members to influence organisational policies are often minimal. Members may be recruited by organisations to provide funding, legitimacy and voluntary help; members may join in order to obtain material benefits, to express support for organisations' goals and, in some cases, to influence policy. The disjunction between these two sets of expectations can lead to disputes in large voluntary bodies, especially those whose members hold a wide range of ideological positions. This creates problems for those running the organisations, who both have to account to a variety of other groups and also maintain their public legitimacy. Illustrations of some of these issues are drawn from environmental organisations, particularly the National Trust. An earlier version of this article was given at the first international conference of the International Society for Third Sector Research at Pecs, Hungary, in July 1994. I am very grateful to Michael Fogarty, Peter Jackson and Jean Warburton for detailed comments on earlier drafts.     

Voluntary organisations and local government: lessons from a Danish case study

The purpose of this article is to analyse the changing relationships between local government and voluntary organisations in the decentralised Danish welfare state within the field of social policy. Here major changes in public discourse have brought voluntary organisations more to the forefront in a welfare state model whose distinct public character might be fading. However, little attention has been devoted to potential problems resulting from intensified co-operation. The article explores these issues using evidence from a case study of the links between public authorities and seven voluntary organisations in the city of Aalborg in northern Jutland. This case study raises the question of whether voluntary organisations, as argued in public debate, can generally be regarded as the antithesis of the bureaucratically and paternalistically organised public social services. Rather, they seem to be co-actors, actively constructing new paradigms and practices in social policy, that cannot be captured in conventional dichotomous models. This suggests that the public bureaucracy versus altruistic voluntary organisation, or distinctions usually made between professional and volunteer motives, may be of limited use. The author wishes to thank Per Selle for his helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper. Special thanks to Catharina J. Kristensen and Claus B. Olsen for their help with the English version.     

Strategic philanthropy and its challenges in India: A multiple case study of grantmaking organizations

Grantmaking organizations in the United States play an increasingly important role in philanthropic giving toward international development issues. Champions of strategic philanthropy have encouraged grantmakers to set clear goals, use evidence‐based strategies, and monitor programs. This exploratory study delves into grantmaking in one of the largest emerging economies; India. Although India is a major recipient of private philanthropy, it continues to perform below average on various socio‐economic indicators. The impact of grantmaking has been unclear. We conducted in‐depth interviews with managers and leaders (n = 9) engaged in decision‐making within U.S. based grantmaking organizations, including nonprofit intermediaries and philanthropic foundations. We examine how the concept of strategic philanthropy is operationalized by participant organizations. Although the participants acknowledge the importance of starting out with a well‐defined strategy, they also face several challenges. We identify some of these challenges, outline how they are being addressed, and discuss implications.     

Women and philanthropy

Although women often played a central role in the creation of non-profit organisations through their donations of time, money and material possessions, their efforts have received little systematic attention from students of the non-profit sector, particularly outside the United States. This special issue ofVoluntas traces the ties between philanthropy and women's social, economic and political roles in Argentina, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, India and Australia. Written as part of an international collaborative study co-ordinated by the Center for the Study of Philanthropy at the Graduate School of the City University of New York, these essays test a variety of theoretical models for assessing the significance of philanthropic activities in empowering disadvantaged groups and fostering the growth of civil society.     

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.     

The complexity of diversity and importance for equitable philanthropy

The current U.S. climate of racial and social injustice has prompted a renewed call for diverse and equitable ways to rethink community philanthropy. Community foundations are vehicles for community philanthropy which offer vast benefits for social improvement and community development. The board of directors ensures these organizations fulfill their mission, making decisions on funding priorities and holding the organization functionally and fiscally responsible. Drawing on constructs of diversity and representative bureaucracy and a case study of Florida community foundations, we suggest that diversity is understood in different ways and the presence of diverse board members may be linked to advancing the interests of diverse communities and in achieving outcomes that assist in the needs of certain social groups. Increased understanding of diversity can improve foundation and philanthropic effectiveness and bring broader social change by promoting equity and social justice among community‐based philanthropic organizations.     

Resources reduction and welfare changes: tensions between social workers and organisations. The Italian case in child protection services

Within the field of studies on professionalism, this paper explores the changes in roles of social workers and the new tensions emerging in the relationship with their organisational contexts, due to the reduction of resources and the introduction of neoliberal and managerial policies in the welfare system. The paper is based on qualitative research carried out through 32 in-depth interviews with frontline social workers engaged in child and family services in Italy. The paper investigates how spending cuts have affected the relationship with the organisation arguing that the ways the cuts are implemented, as well as the room for professional recognition set by the organisation, are relevant. A four-character social worker typology is outlined, drawn from the intersection of two meaningful dimensions: sense of belonging and critical thinking. It is argued that a ‘critically engaged’ type points to a new form of professionalism that may emerge from the current crisis of the relationship between the organisation and social workers.