Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Civil society and philanthropy in Africa are regularly theorized in formal terms and oft perceived as inherently democratizing forces. Yet, existing evidence exposes the limitations of these assumptions. This article provides an introduction to the symposium issue on civil society and philanthropy in Africa. The objective of…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. This article examines the capital structure and debt maturity in nonprofit organizations (NPOs). In particular, we analyze whether these financing decisions are made as expected according to the two main theories used to explain the capital structure, that is, the trade-off and pecking order theories. To do…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) increasingly utilize social media for strategic stakeholder engagement. This study proposes a network-oriented theoretical framework to understand how NGOs’ engagement with complex networks of stakeholders on the global refugee issue varies as the issue moves from low to high public attention stages. We draw…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Nonprofit organizations are important actors in local communities, providing services to vulnerable populations and acting as stewards for charitable contributions from other members of the population. An important question is whether nonprofits spend or receive additional revenues in response to changes in the populations they serve. Because…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. The aim of the current study is to investigate which major life events are associated with transitions into and out of volunteering over the life course and, especially, why these associations exist. Social Production Function theory is used to derive hypotheses, which are tested using longitudinal data…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. There is a double standard in public responses to scandals: Nonprofits are penalized more harshly than commercial organizations for the same transgression (the “moral disillusionment effect”). However, previous research—focused on commercial organizations—has sometimes shown that a positive reputation can insure organizations against the negative effects of scandals.…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Membership in voluntary associations is of core importance to civil society. In this study, I build on the large literature that focuses on how community racial/ethnic diversity affects individuals’ joining of—and participation within—voluntary associations. The central focus is on White ethnicity or European ancestry, which I analyze…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Research on China’s volunteerism highlights the state as a major force in mobilizing volunteer participation. Nevertheless, limited quantitative research exists documenting the extent to which Chinese volunteers are connected to the state system. Using a nationally representative dataset, the 2012 Chinese General Social Survey, this study examines…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. In online peer-to-peer fundraising, individual fundraisers, acting on behalf of nonprofit organizations, mobilize their social networks using social media to request donations. Whereas existing studies focus on networks of donors to explain success, we examine the role of the networks of fundraisers and their effect on fundraising…