Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. In this article, we outline the determinants of informal charitable giving and the link between giving and inequality. Arguing that inequality encompasses at least two competing effects—distrust and observed need for donations—we use a novel proxy to separate out the effect of the latter from the former…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Empirical research on donor behavior infers from donations being negatively related to overhead ratios (or indicators based on these ratios) that donors give more to more “efficient” organizations. This relation is proved to be at least partly driven by a purely mechanical link between donations and overhead…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. The interplay between formal organizing structures and the informal social networks of employees and organizations furthers the resilience of nonprofit organizations that serve the community. This case study draws on qualitative multi-pronged data collected in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey from two faith networks of social welfare…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. A large number of empirical studies have discussed the revenue diversification strategy for nonprofits, but little attention has been paid to the components of revenue portfolios, even though each revenue source flows into a nonprofit with its own characteristics. Drawing on Young’s benefits theory, this study tests…

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Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. The growing use of donor-advised funds (DAFs) is changing the way many donors give to charity. Despite the increasing influence and importance of DAFs in the nonprofit sector, very little is known about how people actually use them. We conducted 48 in-depth interviews with DAF users, collecting…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Building on the nonprofit density literature, we examine county-level factors that are linked to the growth of ethnic, cultural, and folk (ECF) nonprofits, a vital but often overlooked subfield of nonprofits. We draw county-level nonprofit, demographic, socioeconomic, and government data from 1995 to 2015 to examine how…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. This research note looks beyond the unitary household model and analyzes the influence of household resources by gender on charitable giving. We investigate the intrahousehold variables of income and education and their effects on giving behaviors in married couples. We use data from the longitudinal Philanthropy Panel…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Despite the plethora of research on environmental participatory processes, the forms of nongovernmental organization (NGO) involvement in these processes, and the influence of their involvement on participation outcomes, are still under-conceptualized. This article aims to develop a conceptual typology for NGO roles in environmental participatory processes and…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. This article assesses sources of nonprofit responsiveness and identifies potential drivers for responsiveness, using an online field experiment involving philanthropic foundations in China (N = 3,254). Baseline requests were sent out to the foundations through emails and vignettes were applied to treatment groups by inserting different identity…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. The mission of a job affects the type of worker attracted to an organization but may also provide incentives to an existing workforce. We conducted a natural field experiment with 246 short-term workers. We randomly allocated some of these workers to either a prosocial or a commercial…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. This article explores how to inspire youth to volunteer. Drawing on ideas of inspiration and motivational framing, we develop insight into how constructing and cultivating a sense of efficacy and obligation pushes a young individual passively inspired by the good deeds and acts being performed in the…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Third-sector organizations (TSOs) in Europe have been confronted with profound changes to their regulatory and societal environments. By applying the concepts of “organizational paradoxes” and “governance,” we analyze how TSOs have adjusted their governance as a response to these environmental challenges. Based on organizational case studies in…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Trust is assumed to be important for charitable giving. However, disparate associations have been found, and recent theoretical approaches emphasize motives for giving that do not rely on trust. To resolve this tension, we conducted a systematic review of evidence generated between 1988 and 2020. A meta-analysis…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. How can charities solicit high-capacity donors to provide the funds for matching grants and leadership gifts? In conjunction with Texas A&M University’s fundraising organizations, we conducted a field experiment to study whether high-income donors respond to nonpersonal solicitations. We also designed the experiment to test the impact…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Nonprofit organizations are under pressure to contain their overhead costs. This pressure can affect spending behavior and create an impulse to manipulate financial reporting data. Drawing on stakeholder theory, this study develops a comprehensive framework of ratio management pressure and examines the extent to which external and…

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Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Loan book management is important to community credit union survival, particularly in deprived localities. Consistent with agency theory, prior studies of credit unions report an association among individual monitoring mechanisms, trade association monitoring, and female board representation, respectively, and reduced loan losses. This study provides a more…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. There is evidence of meaningful gender differences in behaviors, resources, and outcomes for traditional and social entrepreneurs. We examine if these differences exist among nonprofit entrepreneurs—those who found organizations in a sector where women outnumber men and the activities of many nonprofits are perceived as feminine. Using…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. This study examines place-based philanthropy in public ancillary funds (PubAFs) in Australia. While PubAFs vary greatly in their purposes, stakeholders, and operating models, place emerges as a strong element of foundations’ perceived identity, strategic focus, and grantmaking. This article advances the understanding of philanthropic giving by investigating…