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Occasional Paper Series

The Occasional Paper Series is devoted to the exploration of pertinent issues in the field of philanthropy, nonprofit management and volunteerism. Papers within each volume are written by the leading scholars in the field.

Research on Social Entrepreneurship: Understanding and Contributing to an Emerging Field (Volume 1, No. 3)

The third volume in ARNOVA’s Occasional Paper Series—Research on Social Entrepreneurship: Understanding and Contributing to an Emerging Field—is available through ARNOVA.

Over the past few decades, the nonprofit and for-profit sectors have become more alike, undertaking mixed commercial and social programming in response to dramatic changes in the cultural and economic context. This new landscape includes constantly evolving demographics; instant and interactive technology; downsized and devolved governments; a global marketplace; a volatile economy; and a commercial presence that reaches into almost every aspect of life. Faced with these challenges, nonprofit organizations are becoming more market-oriented while businesses are working harder to benefit communities as well as stockholders. Scholars and practitioners in diverse fields are observing the convergence of market and mission throughout the world and are anxiously trying to find a common language to describe this burgeoning area of activity so that it can be better understood and harnessed.

The volume sheds light on the most promising new approaches to researching social entrepreneurship, from both academics and practitioners, and covers the following topics: developing an evidence-based definition of and theoretical framework for social entrepreneurship research; the extent of institutionalization of the social enterprise field; methods for assessing the impact of social entrepreneurs’ work; a comparison of social entrepreneurship in the United States and abroad; and a case study on a specific social enterprise. The volume concludes with recommendations for several promising areas of social entrepreneurship research, including new legal forms for hybrid organizations, capitalization of enterprise activity, the state of education for the next generation of social entrepreneurs, and international comparisons of social enterprise models.

Publication of this book was made possible through a grant from The UPS Foundation. ARNOVA member Rachel Mosher-Williams, a project director at the Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program at The Aspen Institute, edited this volume of papers by leading scholars in the field. Click here for more information and an order form.

Emerging Areas of Volunteering (Volume 1, No. 2) Second Printing with new introduction by Jeffrey Brudney

The second volume in ARNOVA’s Occasional Paper Series—Emerging Areas of Volunteering—is available through ARNOVA.

As society has changed, so, too, has the nature of volunteering. Over the past several years, new forms of civic engagement have become prevalent. The articles included in this volume focus on these new forms of volunteering — episodic volunteering, virtual volunteering, cross-national volunteering, and employee volunteer programs. Until now, these areas have received little research scrutiny in the existing nonprofit literature. This volume also revisits two longstanding forms of volunteer involvement — volunteering to government and volunteering to nonprofit organization boards of directors—to propose theoretical or empirical advances in how we address these topics. Publication of this book was made possible through a grant from The UPS Foundation. ARNOVA member Jeffrey L. Brudney, Professor of Public Administration and Policy, University of Georgia, edited this volume of papers by leading scholars. CLICK HERE for more information and an order form.

Philanthropy in Communities of Color (Volume 1, No. 1)

ARNOVA’s first in its series of occasional papers — Philanthropy in Communities of Color — was published in 2001 and focuses on giving and volunteering traditions in communities of color. The work is based on papers presented at ARNOVA’s 1999 Annual Conference and is edited by ARNOVA member Pier Rogers. The book provides landmark research on giving trends and patterns of African Americans, Asian-Americans, Native Americans and Hispanics.

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