Book Awards
Submissions close on May 30 June 6! *
*Unless noted otherwise.

The Peter Dobkin Hall History of Philanthropy Prize
This prize will honor Peter Dobkin Hall’s memory by celebrating the published book that has made the most significant scholarly contribution to our understanding of the history of philanthropy. For purposes of the prize, “philanthropy” will be defined in broad ARNOVA terms to include the history of nonprofit organizations, civil society, and philanthropy.
AWARD AMOUNT: $500 USD
Peter Dobkin Hall was an active and long-time ARNOVA member, winner of the organization’s 2008 Award for Distinguished Achievement in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research, and one of the most influential historians of the nonprofit sector of the last half-century. This prize will honor Hall’s memory by celebrating the published book that has made the most significant scholarly contribution to our understanding of the history of philanthropy. For purposes of the prize, “philanthropy” will be defined in broad ARNOVA terms to include the history of nonprofit organizations, civil society, and philanthropy.
Submission Requirements
- Books published in 2020, 2021, or 2022 are eligible for these awards. Publishers are invited to submit books they believe should be considered for this award
- Nominations should include a letter explaining why the book should be considered and attach the e-book for the review committee (Hard copies may be accepted upon request if the nominated book is not available in electronic form). Please include name, email address, mailing address, institution, and phone number for both nominee and nominator(s)
Additional notes
- The award recipient is expected to become an ARNOVA member after the notification date
- The award prize will be paid to the awardee(s) electronically after the conference. The Award winner(s) should provide all the information required for ARNOVA to process the payment
- The award recipient is expected to pay and register for the 52nd Annual Conference as condition of acceptance of the award. Exceptions may apply and be considered by the ARNOVA staff case by case
- Award recipient is responsible for booking and paying their accommodations during conference
- The award recipient may be asked to serve on the committee in the following year
IMPORTANT DATES
Submission Open: April 7, 2023
Deadline: May 30, 2023 June 6, 2023
Awardee Notification: July 21, 2023 July 28, 2023
Public Award Announcement/Public Release: September 1, 2023
2022 - Shai M. Dromi, Harvard University, “Above the Fray: The Making of the Humanitarian Relief NGO Sector”
2021 - Elisabeth Clemens, The University of Chicago, “Civic Gifts: Voluntarism and the Making of the American Nation-State”┃Watch Acceptance Video
2020 - David King, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy,“God's Internationalists: World Vision and the Age of Evangelical Humanitarianism”
2019 - David Hollinger, University of California, Berkeley, "Protestants Abroad: How Missionaries Tried to Change the World but Changed America" | Tore Olsson, University of Tennessee, "Agrarian Crossings: Reformers and the Remaking of the US and Mexican Countryside"
2018 - Stephen Porter, University of Cincinnati, "Benevolent Empire: U.S. Power, Humanitarianism, and the World's Dispossessed"
2017 - Saniel R. Coquillette, Boston College & Bruce Kimball, The Ohio State University, “On the Battlefield of Merit, the First Century”
2016 - Amanda Moniz, National History Center, “From Empire to Humanity: The American Revolution and the Origins of Humanitarianism”

Outstanding Book Award in Nonprofit & Voluntary Action Research
This award is given for a single book, monograph, or edited book published in the three calendar years preceding the award. Books that contribute to the advancement of theory, conceptualization, research, or practice are eligible.
AWARD AMOUNT: $500 USD
This Outstanding Book Award honors the most impressive, new academic or theoretical research and is given for a single book, monograph, or edited book published within the three calendar years preceding the award (2010, 2020, and 2021). Books that contribute to the advancement of theory, research, or practice are eligible. Books developed as textbooks, journalistic accounts, and guides not based on systematic research are not eligible. Edited volumes are eligible for the award.
Submission Requirements
- Books published in 2020, 2021, or 2022 are eligible for these awards. Publishers are invited to submit books they believe should be considered for this award
- Nominations should include a letter explaining why the book should be considered and attach the e-book for the review committee (Hard copies may be accepted upon request if the nominated book is not available in electronic form). Please include name, email address, mailing address, institution, and phone number for both nominee and nominator(s)
Additional Notes
- At least one of the book authors need to be active members of ARNOVA prior to the notification date
- The award prizes will be paid to the awardee(s) electronically after the conference. The Award winner(s) should provide all the information required for ARNOVA to process the payment
- The award recipient is expected to pay and register for the 52nd Annual Conference as condition of acceptance of the award. Exceptions may apply and be considered by the ARNOVA staff case by case
- Award recipients are responsible for booking and paying their accommodations during conference
- The award recipient may be asked to serve on the committee in the following year
IMPORTANT DATES
Submission Open: April 7, 2023
Deadline: May 30, 2023 June 6, 2023
Awardee Notification: July 21, 2023 July 28, 2023
Public Award Announcement/Public Release: September 1, 2023
2022 - Chao Guo, University of Pennsylvania and Gregory Saxton, Schulich School of Business, "The Quest for Attention Nonprofit Advocacy in a Social Media Age"
2021 - Thomas Davies, University of London, "The Routledge Handbook of NGOs and International Relations"
2020 - Dennis Young, Georgia State University - Nonprofit Policy Forum (NPF), "Financing Nonprofits and Other Social Enterprises: A Benefits Approach"
2019 - Sarah S. Stroup, Middlebury College and Wendy H. Wong, University of Toronto, "The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs"
2018 - Jennifer Brass, Indiana University, "Allies or Adversaries: NGOs and the State in Africa"
2017 -Patricia Strach, University at Albany, State University of New York, "Hiding Politics in Plain Sight: Cause Marketing, Corporate Influence, and Breast Cancer Policymaking"
2016 - Richard L. Wood, University of New Mexico, and Brad R. Fulton, Indiana University, "A Shared Future: Faith-Based Organizing for Racial Equity and Ethical Democracy"
2015 - Christopher Bail, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, "Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Become Mainstream"
2014 - Wendy Wong, "Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGO's Transforms Human Rights" (Cornell University Press)
2013 - Wendy Wong, "Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGO's Transforms Human Rights" (Cornell University Press) | Honorable Mention: Ashley Currier, "Out in Africa: LGBT Organizing in Namibia and South Africa"(University of Minnesota Press)
2012 - Kathleen M. Blee, Kathleen M. Blee, "Democracy in the Making: How Activist Groups Form" (Oxford Press)
2011 - Katherine Chen, "Enabling Creative Chaos: The Organization Behind the Burning Man Event" (University of Chicago Press) | Honorable Mention: Rieko Kage, "Civic Engagement in Postwar Japan" (Cambridge University Press)
2010 - Amy Singer, "Charity in Islamic Society" (Cambridge University Press)
2009 - Marc Musick & John Wilson, "The Volunteers: A Social Profile" (Indiana University Press) | AND | Howard Lune, "Urban Action Networks" (Roman and Littlefield)
2008 - D. Michael Lindsay, "Faith in the Halls of Power" (Oxford University Press)
2007 - Kieran Healy, "Last Best Gifts: Altruism and the Market for Human Blood and Organs" (University of Chicago Press) | Honorable Mention: Peter Frumkin, "Strategic Giving: The Art of Science of Philanthropy" (University of Chicago Press)
2006 - Mark Chaves, "Congregations in America" (Harvard University Press)
2005 - Marion Fremont-Smith, "Governing Nonprofit Organizations" (Harvard University Press)
2004 - Alnoor Ebrahim, "NGOs and Organizational Change: Discourse, Reporting and Learning" (Cambridge University Press)
2003 - Mark E. Warren, "Democracy and Association" (Princeton University Press)
2002 - Eleanor Brilliant, "Private Charity and Public Inquiry" (Indiana University Press)
2001 - Joseph Galaskiewicz and Wolfgang Bielefeld, "Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncertainty" (Aldine)
2000 - Margaret Harris, "Organizing God’s Work: Challenges for Churches and Synagogues" (Macmillan)
1999 - Richard Magat, "Unlikely Partners: Philanthropic Foundations and the Labor Movement" (ILR Press/Cornell University Press) | AND | Jerome Himmelstein, "Looking Good and Doing Good: Corporate Philanthropy and Corporate Power" (Indiana University Press)
1998 - Kathryn Kish Sklar, "Florence Kelley and The Nation’s Work" (Yale University Press)
1997 - Daniel C. Levy, "Building the Third Sector: Latin America’s Private Research Centers and Nonprofit Development" (University of Pittsburgh Press)
1996 - Lester Salamon, "Partners in Public Service: Government-Nonprofit Relations in the Modern Welfare State" (Johns Hopkins University Press) | AND | Francie Ostrower, "Why the Wealthy Give" (Princeton University Press)
1995 - Kirsten A. Gronbjerg, "Understanding Nonprofit Funding" (Jossey-Bass)
1994 - Evelyn Brooks Higgenbotham, "Righteous Discontent: The Women’s Movement in the Black Baptist Church" (Harvard University Press) | AND | Kathleen D. McCarthy, "Women's Culture: American Philanthropy and Art,1830-1930"

Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Book Prize
The Virginia Hodgkinson Research Book Prize honors the best new published research that focuses on, and is likely to positively impact, the application of new knowledge to practice and policy issues in the nonprofit realm. The award is given to the best book on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector that informs policy and practice.
AWARD AMOUNT: $1,000 USD
The prize is awarded in honor of Virginia Hodgkinson’s pioneering research on philanthropy and nonprofit organizations. Books must have been published within the three calendar years preceding the award (2020, 2021, and 2022). Books can be considered more than once. Entries must be published by a university press or commercial publishing house.
Submissions from any discipline and multi-disciplinary approaches are welcome; and submissions are encouraged from young scholars, practitioners working with other researchers. Prior prize recipients are ineligible for a five-year period after their award is received.
Submission Requirements
- Books published in 2020, 2021, or 2022 are eligible for these awards. Publishers are invited to submit books they believe should be considered for this award
- Nominations should include a letter explaining why the book should be considered and attach the e-book for the review committee (Hard copies may be accepted upon request if the nominated book is not available in electronic form). Please include name, email address, mailing address, institution, and phone number for both nominee and nominator(s)
Additional Notes
- At least one of the book authors need to be active members of ARNOVA prior to the notification date
- The award prizes will be paid to the awardee(s) electronically after the conference. The Award winner(s) should provide all the information required for ARNOVA to process the payment
- The award recipient is expected to py and register for the 52nd Annual Conference as condition of acceptance of the award. Exceptions may apply and be considered by the ARNOVA staff case by case
- Award recipients are responsible for booking and paying their accommodations during conference
- The award recipient may be asked to serve on the committee in the following year
IMPORTANT DATES
Submission Open: April 7, 2023
Deadline: May 30, 2023 June 6, 2023
Awardee Notification: July 21, 2023 July 28, 2023
Public Award Announcement/Public Release: September 1, 2023
2022 - Allison Schnable, Paul H. O’Neill
School of Public and Environmental Affairs, "Amateurs without Borders The Aspirations and Limits of Global Compassion"
2021 - Catherine Herrold, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, "Delta Democracy: Pathways to Incremental Civic Revolution in Egypt and Beyond"┃Watch Acceptance Video
2020 - Sabith Khan, California Lutheran University and Shariq Siddiqui, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, "Islamic Education in the United States and the Evolution of Muslim Nonprofit Institutions"
2019 - Christian Seelos, Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society and Johanna Mair, Hertie School of Governance, "Innovation and Scaling for Impact: How Effective Social Enterprises Do it"
2018 - Emily Barman, Boston University, "Caring Capitalism: The Meaning and Measure of Social Value"
2017 - Chelsea Clinton, Clinton Foundation and Devi Sridhar, University of Edinburgh, "Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why?"
2016 - Pamala Wiepking, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Femida Handy, University of Pennsylvania, "Palgrave Handbook of Global Philanthropy"
2015 - Monika Krause, University of Longon, "The Good Project: Humanitarian Relief of NGOs and the Fragmentation of Reason"
2014 - Sarah Reckhow, "Follow the Money: How Foundation Dollars Change Public School Politics" (Oxford University Press)
2013 - Woods Bowman, "Finance Fundamentals for Nonprofits with Website: Building Capacity and Sustainability", (John Wiley & Sons, 2011) | Honorable Mention: Mark R. Warren, Karen L. Mapp, and the Community Organizing and School Reform Project, "A Match on Dry Grass: Community Organizing as a Catalyst for School Reform" (Oxford University Press)
2012 - Elisabeth S. Clemens and Doug Guthrie (Eds.). "Politics and Partnerships: The Role of Voluntary Associations in America’s Political Past and Present" (The University of ChicagoPress, 2010)
2011 - Brenda Bushouse, "Universal Preschool: Policy, Change, Stability and the Pew Charitable Trusts", State University of New York Press.
2010 - Andrew J.F. Morris, "The Limits of Voluntarism: Charity and Welfare from the New Deal through the Great Society" (Cambridge University Press)
2009 - Ram Cnaan & Carl Milofsky, "The Handbook of Community Movements and Local Organizations" (Springer)
2008 - Dara Strolovitch, "Affirmative Advocacy: Race, Class and Gender in Interest Groups Politics" (University of Chicago Press)
2007 - Mary Ellen S. Capek and Molly Mead, "Effective Philanthropy: Organizational Success through Deep Diversity and Gender Equality" (MIT, 2006) | Honorable Mention: Samantha King, Pink Ribbons, "Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy" (University of Minnesota, 2006)
2006 - Francie Ostrower, "Attitudes and Practices Concerning Effective Philanthropy"
2005 - Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, "Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide" | Honorable Mentions: Richard Chait, Bill Ryan, and Barbara Taylor, "Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards" -and- Steven Dubb and Gar Alperovitz, "The Democracy Collaborative, Building Wealth: The New Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems"
2004 - Marc Morje Howard, "The Weakness of Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe" | AND | Marion Fremont-Smith, "Governing Nonprofit Organizations: Federal and State Law and Regulation"
2003 - Benjamin Gidron, Stanley Katz, and Yeheskel Hasenfeld, editors, "Mobilizing for Peace: Conflict Resolution in Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine and South Africa" | AND | Lawrence Friedman and Mark McGarvie, editors, "Charity, Philanthropy and Civility in American History"
2002 -Guest editors Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff and Derick W. Brinkerhoff, “Government-Nonprofit Relations in Comparative Perspective” a special issue of the journal Public Administration and Development. Other contributors to the issue are Lori Brainard, Juliet Musso, Arthur Goldsmith, Denis Bouget, and Philip Warin. | AND | Guest editors Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff and Derick W. Brinkerhoff, “Government-Nonprofit Relations in Comparative Perspective” a special issue of the journal Public Administration and Development. Other contributors to the issue are Lori Brainard, Juliet Musso, Arthur Goldsmith, Denis Bouget, and Philip Warin.
2001 - Lester M. Salamon, Helmut K. Anheier, Regina List, Stefan Toepler, S. Wojciech Sokolowski, and Associates, Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, The Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, “Global Civil Society: Dimensions of the Nonprofit Sector” | AND | James E. Austin, Initiative on Social Enterprise, Harvard Business School, “The Collaboration Challenge: How Nonprofits and Businesses Succeed Through Strategic Alliances”
2000 - Richard A. Couto, University of Richmond, "Making Democracy Work Better: Mediating Structures, Social Capital, and Democratic Prospect" | AND | Burton A. Weisbrod and Cagla Okten, Northwestern University, "Determinants of Donations in Private Nonprofit Markets"
1999 - Joseph Galaskiewicz, University of Minnesota, and Wolfgang Bielefeld, Indiana University, "Nonprofit Organizations in an Age of Uncertainty: A Study of Organizational Change" | AND | Kirsten Grønbjerg, Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, "Mapping Small Religious Nonprofit Organizations: An Illinois Profile"
1998 - Paul Schervish and John Havens, Boston College, "Social Participation and Charitable Giving: A Multivariate Analysis"