Foundation Expenses and Compensation: Interim Report 2005

Examines the 10,000 largest foundations and identifies characteristics and operating styles that affect levels of expenses and compensation, including foundation type, size, staffing, scope of activity, and direct charitable activities

Who Helps Public Schools? Public Education Support Organizations in 2010 (Research Summary)

A presentation of findings from the 2010 report Who Helps Public Schools? Public Education Support Organizations in 2010

An Analysis of Potential Tax Incentives to Increase Charitable Giving in Puerto Rico

Compares options for improving tax incentives for charitable giving, including lifting the ceiling on deductions as a percentage of adjusted gross income, and estimated effects on nonprofits in Puerto Rico, where average giving is high relative to AGI

Human Service Nonprofits and Government Collaboration: Findings from the 2010 National Survey of Nonprofit Government Contracting and Grants

Presents nonprofit survey results on government contracts; their share of revenue; problems, including late or partial payments, complex application and reporting processes, and changes to contract terms; how nonprofits cope with them; and the results

What Drives Foundation Expenses & Compensation? Results of a Three-Year Study, Highlights

This brief presents key findings from the latest report of the Foundation Expenses and Compensation Project—the first large-scale, longterm, systematic study of independent, corporate, and community foundations' expense and compensation patterns and the factors behind them. Documenting the varying characteristics of the 10,000 largest U.S. grantmaking foundations, the study finds these differences—including foundation type, size, and operating activities—essential for understanding foundation finances. Not surprisingly, hiring staff and taking on staff-intensive activities raise charitable administrative expenditures relative to charitable distributions, while relying on unpaid board and family members and engaging in less-staff-intensive activities lower them. Most foundation operations, however, are somewhere between these poles

Community Partnerships for Cultural Participation: Concepts, Prospects, and Challenges

Evaluates the first year of the Wallace Foundation's Community Partnerships for Cultural Participation Initiative, which funded nine community foundations working to increase participation in the arts and culture in their communities

Who Helps Public Schools? Public Education Support Organizations in 2010

There were more than 19,000 nonprofit organizations devoted to supporting public education in the United States in 2007. These organizations include booster clubs, parent-teacher groups, public education funds, scholarship funds, high school alumni associations, and others. While most of these organizations are small, together they spent roughly $4.3 billion in support of public education in 2007.This report assesses the current status of education support organizations in the United States; provides details on the activities, capacities, and resources of public education funds; and compares Public Education Network (PEN) member organizations with other types of education funds. On the basis of a survey of public education funds and an analysis of the latest data available from the National Center for Charitable Statistics, the report identifies key similarities and differences among the groups.Public education funds are dedicated to assisting public schools and school districts by raising money to support programs for teacher training and support, after-school programs, and school supplies and by promoting community support for public schools. The project was commissioned by PEN in Washington, D.C

Nonprofit Political Engagement: The Roles of 501(c)(4) Social Welfare Organizations in Elections and Policymaking

This paper provides a framework for understanding the role of member-based, politically active 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations in U.S. civil society. Tax-exempt social welfare (501(c)(4)) organizations make up the second largest group of nonprofit organizations in the United States. Among them are a mix of membership organizations, social clubs, professional associations, and advocates that are permitted to lobby and engage in partisan political activities. Informed by the literature, case study research, and a dataset of politically active 501(c)(4) organizations, we identify categories of politically active (c)(4) organizations involved in electoral and policy change actions including national advocacy organizations, local and state member organizations, (c)(4) funders, and shell entities. We discuss four analytic considerations that can guide future research on member-based, politically active organizations including (1) engagement activities, (2) organizational characteristics, (3) context, and (4) outcomes. We then provide an example of how we have applied this approach to a subset of organizations that build civic leadership and political capacity in communities that have experienced structural inequality and racism. We explain how these organizations engage members in grassroots organizing and advocacy strategies in order to impact elections and policy change. By explaining how the (c)(4) structure can enable organizations to involve members in political action, we enhance theoretical understanding of politically active (c)(4)s as mediating structures of political engagement. The paper concludes with proposed avenues for further empirical investigation

The Nonprofit Quarterly Study on Nonprofit and Philanthropic Infrastructure

Examines trends in the nonprofit sector's support network and financing system and their capacity to address the impact of the financial crisis on small and midsize nonprofits, share organizational survival strategies, and connect them to resources

Community-Based Organizations and Immigrant Integration in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area

Examines the roles immigrant-serving nonprofits play in facilitating integration. Surveys programs and services, geographic and ethnic distribution, composition of personnel, sources of funding and support, impact of policy environments, and challenges