The nation was powerful and prosperous, the president was vigorous and young, and a confident generation was gathering its forces to test the New Frontier. The cold war was well under way, but if you could just, as the song went, "put a little love in your heart," then "the world would be a better place." The Peace Corps, conceived in the can-do spirit of the sixties, embodied America's long pursuit of moral leadership on a global scale. Traversing four decades and three continents, this story of the Peace Corps and the people and politics behind it is a fascinating look at American idealism at work amid the hard political realities of the second half of the twentieth century. More than any other entity, the Peace Corps broached an age-old dilemma of U.S. foreign policy: how to reconcile the imperatives and temptations of power politics with the ideals of freedom and self-determination for all nations. All You Need Is Love follows the struggle to balance the tensions between these values from the Corps' first heady days under Sargent Shriver and beyond to the questioning years of the Vietnam War, when the Peace Corps was accused of being window dressing for imperialism. It follows the Peace Corps through the years when volunteering dropped off-and finally into its renewed popularity amid the widespread conviction that the Peace Corps preserves the nation's finest traditions. With vivid stories from returned volunteers of exotic places and daunting circumstances, this is an engrossing account of the successes and failures of this unique governmental organization, and of the geopolitics and personal convictions that underpin it. In the end, the question that is most compelling is whether the Peace Corps most helped the countries that received its volunteers, or whether its greater service was to America and its sense of national identity and mission.

Grassroots Associations is a comprehensive review and critique of empirical and theoretical research on grassroots, nonprofit and voluntary organizations.

David Horton Smith examines in depth the distinctive nature and characteristics of a previously under-studied area which includes such groups as Alchoholics Anonymous, community-environmental action committees and church Bible study groups. He addresses: group formation, structure, process, leadership, and life cycle change; effectiveness; the influence such associations have on society; the future of grassroots associations, which he sees as integral to a postmodern society moving towards participatory democracy, self-determinism and individual choice.

This volume explores the world of grassroots organizations and outlines their history while differentiating them from the more familiar paid-staff nonprofit organizations. David Horton Smith, a leading scholar on the nonprofit and voluntary sector, examines the available empirical research on the topic and analyzes the theoretical concepts that have come to define such associations. He affords the reader a complete, detailed description of the nature and characteristics of grassroots organizations, their formation, structure, leadership, life cycle, effectiveness, and their integral role in postmodern societies.

This book relates the founding in America, and evaluates the effectiveness of, a branch of the worldwide organization of volunteers known as the Samaritans, committed to the prevention of suicide through the simple means of "listening therapy." Great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, Monica Dickens was best known in England as a novelist; in America, as the founder of the U.S. Samaritans. Today Samaritans are in every large city of the country. Volunteers work twenty-four hours a day, answering telephones or meeting troubled people, to try to give them, in nonjudgmental ways, the help they need to get their lives back in order.

"A well-organized, comprehensive resource that will be sought after by educators, this user-friendly book offers invaluable strategies."
Dr. Lucille Beisner, Director Gifted Programs
Richmond Community Schools

From classroom teachers to school administrators, everyone is scrambling for some extra money. Your purchasing power has eroded sharply over the last decade, and you're looking for new ways to fund school programs. Look no further.

In their new book, Ruskin and Achilles offer step-by-step instructions and proven strategies designed just for educators. This comprehensive guide contains specific and practical information that will help you negotiate the often confusing world of private sector grantwriting. It's a "how-to" book that will make it easier for you to get more money for your school.

Every aspect of grantwriting is thoroughly discussed, from questions to ask before you begin, to resources for grants available to educators. Ruskin and Achilles help you understand the private funding process so that you will be more likely to write a successful proposal.

You'll find out how to:

• Identify a funder for your project, and coordinate your goals with theirs
• Describe your school setting using catchwords that elicit positive responses
• Market your grant proposal
• Develop partnerships between your school and community businesses

If you've ever wished for more money to support innovative programs or to augment your school's budget, then Grantwriting, Fundraising, and Partnerships was written with you in mind. It has the facts and the tips you need to complete your successful grantwriting project.

In recent years, government's primary response to the emergent problems of homelessness, hunger, child abuse, health care, and AIDS has been generated through nonprofit agencies funded by taxpayer money. As part of the widespread movement for privatization, these agencies represent revolutionary changes in the welfare state. Steven Smith and Michael Lipsky demonstrate that this massive shift in funds has benefits and drawbacks. Given the breadth of government funding of nonprofit agencies, this first study of the social, political, and organizational effects of this service strategy is an essential contribution to the current raging debates on the future of the welfare state.

This book offers useful insights into the current state of research and conceptual models in the field of self-help. There are few books available with this specific focus. The reader may be surprised at the diversity of self-help groups and how the paradigms for self-help differ within the field. The book is suitable for academic libraries and self-help professionals. --Doody's Health Sciences Book Review Journal "Dr. Powell's book illuminates important theoretical, methodological, and substantive issues, thereby enriching and informing self-help research at a critical time in its development and significance." --Keith Humphreys, Ph.D., Center for Health Care Evaluation, Department of Veterans Affairs, Stanford University School of Medicine "This book marks a major advance in methodological and conceptual sophistication in self-help group research, which will ultimately benefit society as well as researchers." --Leon H. Levy, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, University of Maryland Baltimore County While the term "self-help" is sometimes used to refer to a low-cost, solitary activity, more often it refers to an organized social activity that in the United States alone involves 7.5 million people. Alcoholics Anonymous by itself enrolls huge numbers of people and has an enormous impact on the professional treatment system for alcoholics. In the mental health field, a vigorous consumer and family movement--including groups such as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association--involves hundreds of thousands of members and has caught the attention of the professional system. Understanding the Self-Help Organization provides detailed, comprehensive coverage of this phenomenon. This comprehensive volume focuses attention on three critical areas: public policy and self-help, participation--particularly by minorities--in self-help, and explanatory frameworks. Powell concludes this extraordinary volume with six chapters of important findings and case studies within self-help activities. Timely and provocative, Understanding the Self-Help Organization is essential reading for researchers, professionals, scholars, and students in the fields of counseling psychology, organization studies, psychology, and social work.

Strategic planning is often considered a complex and difficult task and is frequently avoided because of perceived lack of time, resources or expertise. This step-by-step guide aims to demystify the process of strategic planning for nonprofit agencies and organizations by using case examples to illustrate major concepts.

This book addresses the concept of need and how needs can be, and are, met in western societies. Different models of welfare provision are examined both in theoretical terms and through two case studies: of models of pension provision and of the connection between the satisfaction of needs and electoral success for governments. This timely study makes an important contribution to the understanding of welfare and politics in advanced industrial western states.

This book addresses the concept of need and how needs can be, and are, met in western societies. Different models of welfare provision are examined both in theoretical terms and through two case studies: of models of pension provision and of the connection between the satisfaction of needs and electoral success for governments. This timely study makes an important contribution to the understanding of welfare and politics in advanced industrial western states.

Robert Coles first met Dorothy Day over thirty-five years ago when, as a medical student, he worked in one of her Catholic Worker soup kitchens. He remained close to this inspiring and controversial woman until her death in 1980. His book, an intellectual and psychological portrait, confronts candidly the central puzzles of her life: the sophisticated Greenwich Village novelist and reporter who converted to Catholicism; the single mother who raised her child in a most unorthodox family; her struggles with sexuality, loneliness, and pride; her devout religious conservatism coupled with radical politics. This intense portrait is based on many years of conversation and correspondence, as well as tape-recorded interviews.

Overseas volunteering has exploded in numbers and interest in the last couple of decades. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people travel from wealthier to poorer countries to participate in short-term volunteer programs focused on health services. Churches, universities, nonprofit service organizations, profit-making "voluntourism" companies, hospitals, and large corporations all sponsor brief missions. Hoping to Help is the first book to offer a comprehensive assessment of global health volunteering, based on research into how it currently operates, its benefits and drawbacks, and how it might be organized to contribute most effectively. Given the enormous human and economic investment in these activities, it is essential to know more about them and to understand the advantages and disadvantages for host communities. Most people assume that poor communities benefit from the goodwill and skills of the volunteers. Volunteer trips are widely advertised as a means to "give back" and "make a difference." In contrast, some claim that health volunteering is a new form of colonialism, designed to benefit the volunteers more than the host communities. Others focus on unethical practices and potential harm to the presumed "beneficiaries." Judith N. Lasker evaluates these opposing positions and relies on extensive research-interviews with host country staff members, sponsor organization leaders, and volunteers, a national survey of sponsors, and participant observation-to identify best and worst practices. She adds to the debate a focus on the benefits to the sponsoring organizations, benefits that can contribute to practices that are inconsistent with what host country staff identify as most likely to be useful for them and even with what may enhance the experience for volunteers. Hoping to Help illuminates the activities and goals of sponsoring organizations and compares dominant practices to the preferences of host country staff and to nine principles for most effective volunteer trips.

Now in its 23rd edition, the Europa International Foundation Directory 2014 provides an unparalleled guide to the foundations, trusts, charitable and grantmaking NGOs, and other similar not-for-profit organizations of the world. It provides a comprehensive picture of third sector activity on a global scale. New introductory essays offer an overview of non-profit sector activity in various countries and regions of the world, and an analysis of the growing importance and impact of community foundations. Indexes, which allow the reader to find organizations by area of activity (including conservation and the environment, science and technology, education and social welfare) and geographical region of operations (e.g. South America, Central America and the Caribbean, Australasia, Western Europe and North America), are included for ease of use. Users will find names and contact details for over 2,500 institutions worldwide. This new edition has been revised and expanded to include the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on this growing sector.

Playwright, author, and activist Eve Ensler has devoted her life to the female body--how to talk about it, how to protect and value it. Yet she spent much of her life disassociated from her own body--a disconnection brought on by her father's sexual abuse and her mother's remoteness. "Because I did not, could not inhabit my body or the Earth," she writes, "I could not feel or know their pain."
But Ensler is shocked out of her distance. While working in the Congo, she is shattered to encounter the horrific rape and violence inflicted on the women there. Soon after, she is diagnosed with uterine cancer, and through months of harrowing treatment, she is forced to become first and foremost a body--pricked, punctured, cut, scanned. It is then that all distance is erased. As she connects her own illness to the devastation of the earth, her life force to the resilience of humanity, she is finally, fully--and gratefully--joined to the body of the world.
Unflinching, generous, and inspiring, Ensler's "In the Body of the World" calls on us all to embody our connection to and responsibility for the world.

High-profile philanthropists-Bill Gates and Warren Buffett; Angelina Jolie; and Bill Clinton, with his Global Initiative--impress and fascinate us. But here's a surprising, stirring secret: the most significant charitable donor in the world, by far, is the American of modest means. In 2007, donations from individuals amounted to $229 billion, most of it coming in small donations from everyday citizens; that is, 114 times the amount the Gates Foundation gave away that year. When a Little Means a Lot contains stories of remarkable nonprofits and the inspiring ways they use our affordable contributions to make a major impact: a 28 cent delivery kit that saves mothers and babies; a bed net for $10 that prevents malarial infections; a llama for $20 that generates income for an entire family. Giving toward such inexpensive simple things--a filter, a bike, a pump, a pig--not only solves one person's crisis but can cause a ripple effect that lifts a whole family, a town, a region, and, astonishingly, even a nation or continent out of poverty. In When a Little Means a Lot, Wendy Smith shows quite seriously and clearly how easily we can dip into our pockets and with just a few dollars, get that ripple started.

The visionary achievements of Isabella (Isabel) Caroline Somerset (Lady Henry Somerset), like the temperance cause she led, have undeservedly faded into obscurity. By her contemporaries she was feted for her social activism, and at the time of her death in 1921, Isabel Somerset's vigorous reform efforts were acclaimed by humanitarian, political and social-reform organizations and the labour movement. She was internationally recognized for her contributions to the temperance cause, social reform and women's rights. The failure of her traumatic marriage to Lord Henry Charles Somerset after revelation of his homosexual affairs, and the ensuing child-custody battle and consequent ostracism by Society, combined with a profound religious experience, effected her metamorphosis from an aristocratic socialite into a temperance and social reform activist.Beginning with local temperance and philanthropic work, Isabel Somerset progressed to become president of the British Women's Temperance Association, which she gradually transformed from a single-issue organization into one committed to women's rights and a broad range of social initiatives; the BWTA became a potent pressure-group force in the politically influential, late-nineteenth-century temperance movement. Discouraged by the existing punitive, futile methods used to combat alcoholism, she founded a farm colony for female inebriates and employed a pioneering rehabilitation programme based upon therapeutic treatment and life-style changes. Through her close co-operation with American temperance icon Frances Willard, Isabel Somerset strengthened the bonds between the Anglo-American and international temperance and women's movements. Isabel Somerset's activism did not go unchallenged. In 1893 she successfully overcame the BWTA social conservatives' attempts to unseat her, and thereafter expanded the membership to hitherto unprecedented levels. In 1897-8 her position on state-regulated prostitution in India created a controversy which reverberated beyond the Association to encompass its sister organizations and proved temporarily detrimental to Somerset's reputation and credibility. Isabel survived this disputation, retaining her presidency and succeeding Willard as president of the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union following her death in 1898.Isabel Somerset was a devout Christian, compassionate humanitarian, temperance activist, committed social reformer and women's rights campaigner, a charismatic leader and eloquent orator. Her roles of reformer and women's advocate, as revealed anew in the pages of this biography, place her in the pantheon of notable Victorian female reformers.

While military intervention in Iraq was being planned, humanitarian organizations were offered US government funds to join the Coalition and operate under the umbrella of "Operation Iraqi Freedom". In Kosavo, Timor, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, NGOs had previously been asked to join in "just" wars. Indeed many aid agencies cooperated eagerly, subordinating their specific aims to the greater goal of "peace, democracy and human rights". Few Afghans or Sierra Leoneans regret the interventions. However, the inconvenient victims of these triumphs, those from the "wrong" side, are quickly forgotten. These are individuals whom humanitarian organizations have the duty to save, yet in doing so they must remain independent of the warring parties, and refrain from joining in the "struggle against evil" or any other political agenda. Then there are places where the pretence of providing assistance allows donor governments to disguise their backing of local political powers. Lastly there are those whose sacrifice is politically irrelevant in the wider scope of international relations. In circumstances such as these, what little international aid is available collides head-on with the mutal desire of the adversaries to wage "total" war that may lead to the extermination of entire populations. In this book, international experts and members of the MSF analyse the way these issues have crystallized over the five years spanning the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. The authors make the case for a renewed commitment to an old idea: a humanitarianism that defies the politics of sacrifice.

Explore the personality traits, values, and characteristics to look for in volunteers Volunteerism Marketing: New Vistas for Nonprofit and Public Sector Management is an excellent research tool for volunteer organizers, academic researchers and reference librarians in the disciplines of business, education administration, health care, psychology, public administration, and sociology. This book will give you a better understanding of what kind of people to look for when seeking volunteers in hospitals, hospices, for organ donation, and for public education. Through studies and tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, this book explores the personality traits and characteristics of volunteers in various fields. In Volunteerism Marketing, you will discover the characteristics that separate volunteers from non volunteers and the segmented characteristics of volunteers for differing venues. This information will assist you in attracting, training, and retaining the right volunteers for your organization. Some of the areas you will explore include: the differences between hospice volunteers and other types of volunteers the unique characteristics of hospital volunteers, such as these three social-lifestyle variables: the average number of hours served in a volunteer s primary organization, the number of volunteer organizations in which the volunteer serves, and the volunteer s frequency of attendance at religious services encouraging human organ donation with financial incentives exploring research that examines volunteerism as a part of social marketing utilizing the concept of market exchange to attract non-parents and the community as a whole as volunteers in public educationVolunteerism Marketing: New Vistas for Nonprofit and Public Sector Management is the single most current and comprehensive guide to the subject of volunteerism. This exceptional reference provides you with decisionmaking support in a wide variety of nonprofit settings and gives guidelines for future research. The segmented and descriptive case studies, charts and graphs found in this valuable book will assist you in understanding the characteristics of volunteers for differing fields, while giving you an edge on recruiting and retaining them "

"A well-organized, comprehensive resource that will be sought after by educators, this user-friendly book offers invaluable strategies."
Dr. Lucille Beisner, Director Gifted Programs
Richmond Community Schools

From classroom teachers to school administrators, everyone is scrambling for some extra money. Your purchasing power has eroded sharply over the last decade, and you're looking for new ways to fund school programs. Look no further.

In their new book, Ruskin and Achilles offer step-by-step instructions and proven strategies designed just for educators. This comprehensive guide contains specific and practical information that will help you negotiate the often confusing world of private sector grantwriting. It's a "how-to" book that will make it easier for you to get more money for your school.

Every aspect of grantwriting is thoroughly discussed, from questions to ask before you begin, to resources for grants available to educators. Ruskin and Achilles help you understand the private funding process so that you will be more likely to write a successful proposal.

You'll find out how to:

• Identify a funder for your project, and coordinate your goals with theirs
• Describe your school setting using catchwords that elicit positive responses
• Market your grant proposal
• Develop partnerships between your school and community businesses

If you've ever wished for more money to support innovative programs or to augment your school's budget, then Grantwriting, Fundraising, and Partnerships was written with you in mind. It has the facts and the tips you need to complete your successful grantwriting project.

"The author's smooth-flowing prose is laced with poignant details... A quick, inspirational story of overcoming adversity." -Kirkus Reviews While some would hail Katwe as a den of failures, Robert Katende sees it as a training ground for future kings and queens. His work has started a movement which has caught the attention of world leaders Bill & Melinda Gates and The Obama Foundation, with many more on the horizon. Once too poor to afford the rat poison with which he planned to take his own life, Robert's legacy tells an astonishing true story of resilience and hope. His work was made famous in the Disney movie Queen of Katwe, a biographical drama about a 13-year-old girl who became a Uganda National Chess Champion under Robert's mentorship. Now readers will get a first-hand account of how it all started, and the life of the man behind Phiona Mutesi's world-renown accomplishments. This powerful story is presented in two parts. First from Robert's perspective - war refugee turned missionary living the improbable dream to empower kids in Ugandan slums through chess - a game so foreign there is no word for it in their native language. And then by debut author Nathan Kiwere-presenting heartfelt testimonies from Katende's students. You'll ride along the deep valleys and the high mountaintops of Robert's childhood as he beats impossibilities that would have likely crushed anyone else! Robert's life illuminates a situation many will find difficult to imagine. However, his life will inspire you to achieve great things against insurmountable obstacles.

With over 65 percent of households having a pet, and Americans spending over $60 billion on them each year, it's a proven statistic that Americans love animals. Public opinions consistently show we favor compassion for all animals. Animal welfare, rights, and protection is one of the most popular issue areas to which individual donors give, and is an area in which people working with rescue and nonprofit organizations are extremely passionate. In Advocates for Animals, Lori Girshick not only provides a better understanding of the laws surrounding animal rights but looks at the nonprofit organizations and people who are making a huge difference in today's growing animal protection community. These volunteers and organizations fill the gap in what laws, policies, practices, and services do not address for animal rights/protection. Through the personal reflections of 204 individuals who volunteer or work with animals in a wide range of circumstances we learn about their paths to involvement, what they do, what they hope to achieve, and how this has impacted their lives. Many experts speak of the importance of protecting the rights of animals, and without human support, many animals face abuse, neglect, and suffering. Advocates for Animals invites you to join these efforts, enriching your own lives and living compassion in action toward animals.

How do faith-based organizations influence the work of transnational peacebuilding, development, and human rights advocacy? How is the political role of such organizations informed by their religious ideas and practices? This book investigates this set of questions by examining how three transnational faith-based organizations-Religions for Peace, the Taize Community, and International Justice Mission-conceptualize their own religious practices, values, and identities, and how those acts and ideas inform their political goals and strategies. The book demonstrates the political importance of prayer in the work of transnational faith-based organizations, specifically in areas of conflict resolution, post-conflict integration, agenda setting, and in constituting narratives about justice and reconciliation. It also evaluates the distinctive strategies that faith-based organizations employ to navigate religious difference. A central goal of the book is to propose a new way to study "religion" in international politics, by actively questioning and reflecting on what it means for an act, idea, or community to be "religious."

What is humanitarianism? This authoritative book provides a comprehensive analysis of the original idea and its evolution, exploring its triangulation with war and politics. Peter J. Hoffman and Thomas G. Weiss trace the origins of humanitarianism, its social movement, and the institutions (international humanitarian law) and organizations (providers of assistance and protection) that comprise it. They consider the international humanitarian system's ability to regulate the conduct of war, to improve the wellbeing of its victims, and to prosecute war criminals. Probing the profound changes in the culture and capacities that underpin the sector and alter the meaning of humanitarianism, they assess the reinventions that constitute "revolutions in humanitarian affairs." The book begins with traditions and perspectives-ranging from classic international relations approaches to "Critical Humanitarian Studies" -and reviews seminal wartime emergencies and the creation and development of humanitarian agencies in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The authors then examine the rise of "new humanitarianisms" after the Cold War's end and contemporary cases after 9/11. The authors continue by unpacking the most recent "revolutions"-the International Criminal Court and the "Responsibility to Protect"-as well as such core challenges as displacement camps, infectious diseases, eco-refugees, and marketization. They conclude by evaluating the contemporary system and the prospects for further transformations, identifying scholarly puzzles and the acute operational problems faced by practitioners.

In this second edition of his classic book, author and activist Andy Robinson offers grassroots organizations a step-by-step guide to grantseeking. His hands-on workbook walks readers through the challenges of incorporating grants into a complete fundraising program, using grant proposals as organizing plans, designing fundable projects, building proposals piece by piece, and fostering effective communication with funders from the activist community.

Featuring an eye-catching new cover, this classic guide is for those ready to commit time and energy to relieving suffering in the world. No two people are better qualified to help us along this path than Ram Dass, who has spent more than 25 years teaching and writing on the subject of living consciously, and Mirabi Bush, who succeeded him as chairperson of the Seva Foundation.