The history of the voluntary sector in British towns and cities has received increasing scholarly attention in recent years. Nevertheless, whilst there have been a number of valuable contributions looking at issues such as charity as a key welfare provider, charity and medicine, and charity and power in the community, there has been no book length exploration of the role and position of the recipient. By focusing on the recipients of charity, rather than the donors or institutions, this volume tackles searching questions of social control and cohesion, and the relationship between providers and recipients in a new and revealing manner. It is shown how these issues changed over the course of the nineteenth century, as the frontier between the state and the voluntary sector shifted away from charity towards greater reliance on public finance, workers' contributions, and mutual aid. In turn, these new sources of assistance enriched civil society, encouraging democratization, empowerment and social inclusion for previously marginalized members of the community. The book opens with an introduction that locates medicine, charity and mutual aid within their broad historiographical and urban contexts. Twelve archive-based, inter-related chapters follow. Their main chronological focus is the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which witnessed such momentous changes in the attitudes to, and allocation of, charity and poor relief. However, individual chapters on the early modern period, the eighteenth century and the aftermath of the Second World War provide illuminating context and help ensure that the volume provides a systematic overview of the subject that will be of interest to social, urban, and medical historians.

An estimated 600 million people now live in informal or 'squatter' settlements in the rapidly growing cities of the developing world. With such settlements often lacking basic necessities, there is an urgent need to address this urban crisis. Recently, innovative approaches have focused on the role of community-based organizations (CBOs) in setting up self-help and participatory programmes. This incisive book questions whether communities have the ability to organize, engage government and undertake major redevelopment. It also examines when and how mobilization of communities occurs and if such organizations possess any influence in the intensely political decision-making arena of urban land development. It is illustrated by a detailed analysis of the experience of CBOs in Manila, as the Philippine government has undertaken what is perhaps the most radical experiment in decentralized, participatory approaches to urban governance in the world. The book emphasizes the external conditions that influence patterns of collective action within communities and addresses issues such as the local political economy and the communities' place within the global economy.

How do non-governmental humanitarian aid organizations initiate, terminate and extend their project activities? Humanitarian aid organizations regularly face difficult decisions about life and death in a context of serious time constraints which force them daily to select whom to help and whom not to help. Liesbet Heyse focuses on how humanitarian aid organizations make these decisions and provides an inside view of the decision making processes. Two NGO case studies are used as illustration - Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and Acting with Churches Together (ACT) - both of which operate in an international network and represent specific types of NGOs often found in the community. This book opens up the black box of NGO operations, provides an empirical account of organizational decision making and combines insights of organization theory and organizational decision making theory.

Since the early 1990s, voluntary programs have played an increasingly prominent role in environmental management in the U.S. and other industrialized countries. Programs have attempted to address problems ranging from climate change and energy efficiency to more localized air and water pollution problems. But do they work? Despite a growing theoretical literature about how and why voluntary programs might be effective, there is limited empirical evidence on their success or the situations most conducive to their approaches. Even less is known about their cost-effectiveness.

Getting credible answers to these questions is important. Research to date has been largely limited to individual programs, and protagonists and antagonists to the trend are at ever greater disagreement, sometimes drawing opposite conclusions about the same program. This innovative book seeks to clarify what is known by looking at a range of program types, including different approaches adopted in different nations. The focus is on assessing actual performance via seven case studies, including the U.S. Climate Wise program, the U.S. EPA's 33/50 program on toxic chemicals, the U.K. Climate Change Agreements, and the Keidanren Voluntary Action Plan in Japan.

The central goals of Reality Check are understanding outcomes and the relationship between outcomes and design. Most of the programs it studies have positive results, but they are small compared with business-as-usual trends and the impact of other forces -- such as higher energy prices. Importantly, potential gains may be quickly exhausted as the "low-hanging fruit" is picked up by voluntary programs. By including in-depth analyses by experts from theU.S., Europe, and Japan, the book advances scholarship and provides practical information for the future design of voluntary programs to stakeholders and policymakers on all sides of the Atlantic and Pacific.

This new volume presents a systematic and comparative analysis of the current and future role of foundations in Europe and beyond.
While cross-national studies of business firms, government agencies and service-providing nonprofit organizations are increasingly becoming available, little is known, in a systematic way, about the challenges foundations are facing. This book therefore includes a mapping and appraisal of foundation visions, policies and strategies, and an overall assessment of the current and future policy environment in which they operate. It goes beyond a quantitative profile of foundations in Europe, and probes deeper into their role and contributions in meeting the economic, cultural, environmental and educational needs of European societies. Developed from an international research project, this study includes twenty country studies comparing foundations in Europe, the Europe Union and the US.
This valuable reference will be of interest to researchers and students of foundations, policy-making, comparative politics and international business, as well as to policy-makers and professionals.

Christina Schwabenland's book is based on extensive research into stories told by people working in voluntary organizations in the UK and in India. With a view to social change, the author employs hermeneutic methods to explore how stories create and sustain meaning and how storytelling contributes to the making and remaking of our social world. Specific topics addressed in the book include the role of storytelling in starting a new organization, managing hope and despair, empowering participatory leadership, and stimulating creativity and innovation. The book will be of interest to theorists and practitioners interested in the role of storytelling in organizational analysis, the role of organizations in achieving social change, the growing centrality of the voluntary sector in public policy, and the intersection between the corporate, public and voluntary sectors.

Using detailed and comprehensive analysis, Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations examines continuity and leadership over time within family foundations. Based upon a study of foundations in the United States and Canada that have survived through at least two generations, the authors ask probing questions, including: Why were the foundations started? What did they look like at the beginning? How did the families of the founders come to be involved? And how did they organize themselves to do their work from year to year, decade to decade? Although the foundations in the study are quite diverse in their goals and management, they have all had to confront and survive a common set of challenges. At the core of this volume is the study of two aspects of philanthropy: funding and volunteers-each essential to the survival of a foundation. This study is about the "why" and the "how" of these two crucial aspects. The authors give a truly unique perspective, which serves as a powerful tool for readers as they address the specific situations of their own foundations. A thorough and powerful work, Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations demands that we must not only appreciate philanthropy, but we must also increase our understanding so that we can do it better.A co-publication with the National Center for Family Philanthropy

Arguing forcefully that changing times are a clarion call for new thinking, this book convincingly shows that if humanitarian organizations continue to operate as they have in the past, they will fail to help the very victims whom they try to save. Focusing especially on the emergence of 'new wars, ' Hoffman and Weiss insist that humanitarian organizations must recognize that they live in a political world and that their actions and goals are invariably affected by military action. The brand of warfare that erupted in the 1990s-marked by civil or transnational armed conflicts featuring potent non-state actors, altered political economies, a high proportion of civilian casualties, and a globalized media-produced horrors that shocked consciences and led humanitarian agencies to question their unyielding stance of neutrality and impartiality. Indeed, in a departure from earlier norms and practices, some have reinvented their policies and tools and created 'new humanitarianisms.' This authoritative book traces the evolution of the international humanitarian system from its inception in the 1860s, parses the dynamics of war and emergency response from the 1980s through the current disasters in Afghanistan and Iraq, and provides a strategic roadmap for practitioners. By bringing historical perspective to bear, this volume provides an invaluable analytical framework for grasping the nature of humanitarian crises and how agencies can respond strategically rather than reactively to change. Students will find its blend of clearly presented theory and case studies a powerful tool for understanding the roles of state and non-state actors in international relations. By charting the tides of continuity and change, this book will prepare agencies to dodge both figurative and actual bullets that threaten humanitarian action at the outset of the millennium.

Philanthropy and endowed foundation are good and vitally important institutions of modern society. They fit in well with the way advanced market economies are developing, in particular with the nexus between private and public benefit in an era of "small" government and greater social diversity. As institutions, however, they are facing new threats: declining resources relative to needs, and questions about their accountability and performance. In recent years individual philanthropists and foundation leaders have looked to strategic philanthropy as a way of becoming more effective and efficient. Strategic philanthropy can help foundations to think about structures and processes, but it does not provide any answer to the more fundamental questions about foundations' distinctive roles in contributing to public good. This important new book provides an overview of creative philanthropy along with an analysis of the theory and practice of philanthropy. The authors spell out the implications of their study for management and policy and provide readers with the tools and techniques of creative philanthropy. Essential reading for all those who study or work infFoundations, philanthropy and nonprofit organizations this important new book explicates this complicated but vital subject area.

Examines the increasing significance of the volunteer and volunteerism in African societies, and their societal impact within precarious economies in a period of massive unemployment and faltering trajectories of social mobility. Across Africa today, as development activities animate novel forms of governance, new social actors are emerging, among them the volunteer. Yet, where work and resources are limited, volunteer practices have repercussions that raise contentious ethical issues. What has been the real impact of volunteers economically, politically and in society? The interdisciplinary experts in this collection examine the practices of volunteers - both international and local - and ideologies of volunteerism. They show the significance of volunteerism to processes of social and economic transformation, and political projects of national development and citizenship, as well as to individual aspirations in African societies. These case studies - from South Africa, Lesotho, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Sierra Leone and Malawi - examine everyday experiences of volunteerism and trajectories of voluntary work, trace its broaderhistorical, political and economic implications, and situate African experiences of voluntary labour within global exchanges and networks of resources, ideas and political technologies. Offering insights into changing configurations of work, citizenship, development and social mobility, the authors offer new perspectives on the relations between labour, identity and social value in Africa. Ruth Prince is Associate Professor in Medical Anthropology at the University of Oslo; with her co-author Wenzel Geissler, she won the 2010 Amaury Talbot Prize for their book The Land is Dying: Contingency, Creativity and Conflict in Western Kenya. Hannah Brown is a lecturer in Anthropology at Durham University.

Through an examination of the Chicago Initiative, a local collaboration created by foundations and corporate funders following the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, Ira Silver analyzes how elite philanthropists exercise social control over community organizations that do work in poor neighbourhoods. Silver's book investigates how community-based organizations strategically attempt to assert influence over foundation funding priorities. The book draws upon several years of qualitative research about comprehensive community initiatives undertaken by philanthropic foundations during the eighties and nineties; initiatives that aimed to give community based organizations unprecedented access to foundation's purse strings. A chief dilemma built into these initiatives, was that despite their novelty, foundations still maintained a vested interest in retaining control over the kinds of neighbourhood revitalization reforms that community-based organizations would receive funding to undertake. These research findings are of timely significance given how extensively policymaking responsibility for mitigating poverty has shifted over the past two decades from the public to the philanthropic sectors. M

In Global Humanitarianism: NGOs and the Crafting of Community, author Rob DeChaine explores a narrative common to the nongovernmental organization community about the promise and confusion of living together in post/modern times. Palpable in their affective admixture of idealism, fear, hope, anger and uncertainty, the protagonists of the story are humanitarian social actors, engaged in a vivid social drama. Their audience, as made apparent by DeChaine's excellent scholarship, is intimately engaged in the drama as well. According to DeChaine, the action takes shape in a multivocal polyphony of solidarity and, at times, cacophony of protest and dissent, with actors mobilizing symbolic resources in the service of uniting a public who would join with them in the cause. A major source of the actors' labor is symbolic, consisting in the successful rallying of formative energies in and around a cluster of key related terms, words and phrases, in order to dramatize and publicize the exigency of the crisis at hand. DeChaine argues that crises are embodied in the form of an intensifying hegemonic struggle over the articulation of "community" in a global/ized world. The struggle brings into tension local and global priorities, national governments and civil society, and state-centered forms of identity and allegiance and a broad-based vision of global citizenship and belonging. DeChaine demonstrates that the crisis of community is one of the defining themes of our contemporary era, one that we ignore at our peril. This book is not only important to the NGO community but represents cutting edge analysis in rhetoric, cultural studies, semiotics, sociology and social organizations.

In Global Humanitarianism: NGOs and the Crafting of Community, author Rob DeChaine explores a narrative common to the nongovernmental organization community about the promise and confusion of living together in post/modern times. Palpable in their affective admixture of idealism, fear, hope, anger and uncertainty, the protagonists of the story are humanitarian social actors, engaged in a vivid social drama. Their audience, as made apparent by DeChaine's excellent scholarship, is intimately engaged in the drama as well. According to DeChaine, the action takes shape in a multivocal polyphony of solidarity and, at times, cacophony of protest and dissent, with actors mobilizing symbolic resources in the service of uniting a public who would join with them in the cause. A major source of the actors' labor is symbolic, consisting in the successful rallying of formative energies in and around a cluster of key related terms, words and phrases, in order to dramatize and publicize the exigency of the crisis at hand. DeChaine argues that crises are embodied in the form of an intensifying hegemonic struggle over the articulation of 'community' in a global/ized world. The struggle brings into tension local and global priorities, national governments and civil society, and state-centered forms of identity and allegiance and a broad-based vision of global citizenship and belonging. DeChaine demonstrates that the crisis of community is one of the defining themes of our contemporary era, one that we ignore at our peril. This book is not only important to the NGO community but represents cutting edge analysis in rhetoric, cultural studies, semiotics, sociology and social organizations.

This is a powerful and inspiring study of the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter: the only student-run shelter in the United States. Every winter night the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter brings together society's most privileged and marginalized groups under one roof: Harvard students and the homeless. What makes the shelter unique is that it is operated entirely by Harvard College students. It is the only student-run homeless shelter in the United States. "Shelter" demonstrates how the juxtaposition of privilege and poverty inside the Harvard Square Shelter proves transformative for the homeless men and women taking shelter there, the Harvard students volunteering there, and the wider society into which both groups emerge each morning. In so doing, "Shelter" makes the case for the replication of this student-run model in major cities across the United States. Inspiring and energizing, "Shelter" offers a unique window into the lives of America's poorest and most privileged citizens as well as a testament to the powerful effects that can result when members of these opposing groups come together.

This multi-disciplinary collection blends broad overviews and case studies as well as different theoretical perspectives in a critique of the relationship between United States philanthropic foundations and movements for social change. Scholars and practitioners examine how these foundations support and/or thwart popular social movements and address how philanthropic institutions can be more accountable and democratic in a sophisticated, provocative, and accessible manner. Foundations for Social Change brings together the leading voices on philanthropy and social movements into a single collection and its interdisciplinary approach will appeal to scholars, students, foundation officials, non-profit advocates, and social movement activists.

This multi-disciplinary collection blends broad overviews and case studies as well as different theoretical perspectives in a critique of the relationship between United States philanthropic foundations and movements for social change. Scholars and practitioners examine how these foundations support and/or thwart popular social movements and address how philanthropic institutions can be more accountable and democratic in a sophisticated, provocative, and accessible manner. Foundations for Social Change brings together the leading voices on philanthropy and social movements into a single collection and its interdisciplinary approach will appeal to scholars, students, foundation officials, non-profit advocates, and social movement activists.

Presenting recent studies of non-profit organizations involved in poverty relief services in New York City in comparison with programmes in existence across the US, Street Practice provides a front-line, ground-level perspective on innovative research practices designed to solve community problems. It explores the manner in which organizations bridge the gap between research and policy advocacy, with an account of the ways in which research contributes to alleviating or solving a community problem, as well as details on successes and failures of advocacy work, problems and limitations of their research, funding constraints and political resistance. As such, this book not only offers compelling examples of social change in action, but also serves to introduce models for research and policy advocacy that can be applied similarly in other urban areas. Adopting a case-based learning approach that enables readers to better understand the dynamic process of research and policy advocacy, this innovative book will appeal to those with interests in poverty, homelessness, policy advocacy, social work and social change.

Chronicles the sweeping history of the storied Henry Street Settlement and its enduring vision of a more just society On a cold March day in 1893, 26-year-old nurse Lillian Wald rushed through the poverty-stricken streets of New York's Lower East Side to a squalid bedroom where a young mother lay dying-abandoned by her doctor because she could not pay his fee. The misery in the room and the walk to reach it inspired Wald to establish Henry Street Settlement, which would become one of the most influential social welfare organizations in American history. Through personal narratives, vivid images, and previously untold stories, Ellen M. Snyder-Grenier chronicles Henry Street's sweeping history from 1893 to today. From the fights for public health and immigrants' rights that fueled its founding, to advocating for relief during the Great Depression, all the way to tackling homelessness and AIDS in the 1980s, and into today-Henry Street has been a champion for social justice. Its powerful narrative illuminates larger stories about poverty, and who is "worthy" of help; immigration and migration, and who is welcomed; human rights, and whose voice is heard. For over 125 years, Henry Street Settlement has survived in a changing city and nation because of its ability to change with the times; because of the ingenuity of its guiding principle-that by bridging divides of class, culture, and race we could create a more equitable world; and because of the persistence of poverty, racism, and income disparity that it has pledged to confront. This makes the story of Henry Street as relevant today as it was more than a century ago. The House on Henry Street is not just about the challenges of overcoming hardship, but about the best possibilities of urban life and the hope and ambition it takes to achieve them.

This is the inside story of the more than 8,000 recent college graduates who have joined Teach for America and committed two years of service to teaching in the nation's most troubled public schools. These inexperienced teachers come to class armed with little more than their idealism and the conviction that every student, regardless of race or background, deserves an excellent education. They take the toughest jobs at the toughest schools in the toughest districts, and they face the raw realities of America's public education system: dilapidated schools, too few books, and overcrowded classrooms. Written in the tradition of Studs Terkel, Lessons to Learn showcases the insights of a wide range of individuals with real life expertise, combining interviews and essays from TFA corps members and alumni as well as principals, superintendents, parents, and noted education experts. Current and former TFA members reflect on their teaching successes and failures, the life lessons they gathered along the way, and their insights about the challenges facing out nation's public schools. Education professionals and other experts help establish the broader context of the fight for meaningful public education reform. Lessons to Learn is essential reading for teachers, parents, policy makers, and anyone who cares about the fate of this nation's struggling public education system.

How voluntary action has been defined and measured is considered alongside individuals' accounts of their participation and engagement in volunteering over their lifecourse in this pioneering study. Combining rich, qualitative material from the Mass Observation Archive (1981-2012) with data from longitudinal and cross-sectional social surveys, it asks what is the scope and appetite for expansion of voluntary effort?

Serving as an introduction to the UK's voluntary sector, this book builds on an earlier book published by the same author. Using a comparative perspective to place the UK voluntary sector in perspective, this book considers its scope, scale and structure, as well as the impact of voluntary sector activities on society. Based on both qualitative and quantitative evidence, the book includes statistical mapping of the sector, as well as semi-structured interviews conducted with voluntary sector policy actors. A much-needed addition to the current literature, The Voluntary Sector provides a theoretical framework and in-depth analysis of an increasingly important area.

Fundraisers at all levels discover the art of leading up

Fundraisers know that in order to be successful in their demanding profession, they have to get things done. And to get things done, they need to exercise leadership from whatever rank or position they hold--often from the middle. This concept is called "leading up." Recognizing that all fundraisers must be leaders, Leading Up teaches professionals the skills and traits they need to be successful in their philanthropic roles.

Leading Up centers around author Lilya Wagner's unique model, which exemplifies the concept of leading up. Here, fundraisers will discover: how to get things done when they're not in charge; how to motivate others when they don't have formal authority; how to convince or persuade their colleagues and superiors about their need for action and involvement; and how to lead when they're not recognized leaders by virtue of power or position.

Focusing on problem-solving concepts, Leading Up is packed with thought provoking questions, exercises, and practical application steps that allow professionals to practice and implement the principles they've just learned. The book also includes inspirational quotes on leadership from recognized and successful professionals and leaders.

Leadership qualities have to be learned and practiced by all who wish to achieve success in fundraising, whether boss or not. Leading Up provides readers with the groundwork they need to not only build up their causes and organizations, but also influence a professional field that is still developing.

Gold Medal Winner; Philanthropy, Charities, and Nonprofits; 2012 Axiom Business Book Awards

"Giving 2.0" is the ultimate resource for anyone navigating the seemingly infinite ways one can give. The future of philanthropy is far more than just writing a check, and "Giving 2.0" shows how individuals of every age and income level can harness the power of technology, collaboration, innovation, advocacy, and social entrepreneurship to take their giving to the next level and beyond.

Major gifts may dominate headlines, but the majority of giving still comes from individual households--ordinary people with extraordinary generosity. Even in 2009, at a time of deep recession, individual giving averaged almost $2,000 per household and drove 82% of the $300 billion donated that same year. Based on her vast experience as a philanthropist, academic, volunteer, and social innovator, Arrillaga-Andreessen shares the most effective techniques she herself pilots and studies and a vast portfolio of lessons learned during her lifetime of giving. Featuring dozens of stories on innovative and powerful methods of how individuals give time, money, and expertise--whether volunteering and fundraising, leveraging technology and social media, starting a giving circle, fund, foundation, or advocacy group, or aspiring to create greater social impact--"Giving 2.0" shows readers how they can renew, improve, and expand their giving and reach their fullest potential.

A practical, entertaining, and inspiring call to action, "Giving 2.0" is an indispensable tool for anyone passionate about creating change in our world.

This supplementary volume to Beveridge's important work Voluntary Action sets out some of the important material on which the Report is based, and amplifies it by giving views and statements of fact submitted by many experts in the fields covered by his Inquiry.

In this pathbreaking study of foundation influence, author Joan Roelofs produces a comprehensive picture of philanthropy's critical role in society. She shows how a vast number of policy innovations have arisen from the most important foundations, lessening the destructive impact of global "marketization." Conversely, groups and movements that might challenge the status quo are nudged into line with grants and technical assistance, and foundations also have considerable power to shape such things as public opinion, higher education, and elite ideology. The cumulative effect is that foundations, despite their progressive goals, have a depoliticizing effect, one that preserves the hegemony of neoliberal institutions.