15th Symposium on Public Policy for Nonprofits
Beyond Survival: Resilience in the Charitable Sector

Friday, February 19, 2027 | Convened Virtually

Call for proposals now open.
Paper proposals due: July 3, 2026
Symposium date: February 19, 2027
Format: Virtual

The 15th Symposium on Public Policy for Nonprofits invites researchers, nonprofit and philanthropic professionals, and other sector stakeholders to submit proposals exploring how nonprofits and philanthropy are responding to current challenges and building resilience for the future.

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Theme & Call for Submissions

Beyond Survival: Resilience in the Charitable Sector

Recent years have presented significant challenges for America’s nonprofit sector. A variety of shocks — including the COVID pandemic, new federal policies, the rapid development of AI technology, and other major shifts — have required nonprofits and philanthropy to adapt quickly.

This year’s symposium will focus on how resilient individual nonprofits — and the charitable sector as a whole — have been in these challenging times. Resilience may include financial sustainability, workforce stability, governance capacity, technological adaptation, policy engagement, service delivery, and other dimensions.

Submission Topics

Submissions should address the following and related questions at the national, state, or local level:

Context

What are the major near-term and longer-term changes impacting nonprofits and philanthropy? These may include shifts in government funding, tax, regulatory, monitoring and enforcement policies, public opinion, demographics, technology, and other contextual factors.

Responses

How have nonprofits and philanthropy responded to the challenges they have faced? This may include efforts to replace lost revenue, restructure, collaborate, merge, communicate, advocate, litigate, or adopt new approaches to grantmaking and sector support.

Impacts

What has been the net impact on nonprofits, philanthropy, and the people they serve? What is the state of nonprofit finances, workforce, technology capacity, service delivery, and other capabilities?

Key Actors

What roles have been played by nonprofits, foundations, corporations, individual donors, donor advised funds, policymakers, infrastructure organizations, and others?

Future Prospects

What effective practices have emerged? What new practices should be tried? What policy changes should nonprofits advocate for? How does the current period compare to previous periods of challenge, and what can we learn from history?

While the symposium primarily focuses on developments affecting the U.S. nonprofit sector, proposals offering comparative or international perspectives that provide insights into nonprofit resilience across policy environments are also welcome.

Proposal Guidelines

Paper Proposals Due July 3, 2026

Submissions are encouraged from across the nonprofit ecosystem, including researchers and nonprofit and philanthropic professionals. In addition to traditional research papers, the symposium welcomes practitioner-oriented submissions such as policy analyses, program case studies, sector data analyses, and reflective essays on nonprofit or philanthropic practice.

Proposals should be submitted online as a single PDF document that includes:

  • Proposal title
  • Short bio and short resume/CV for all authors
  • A 600-word proposal outlining the applicant’s preliminary plan for a 2,000 to 4,000-word research or experience-based article, essay, case study, or commentary

The proposal should include:

  • The connection of the proposed paper to the symposium theme
  • The central research question or issue being addressed
  • The approach or methodology to be used, if applicable
  • The expected contribution to understanding nonprofit and philanthropic responses to current challenges
  • The relevance of the proposed paper to policy debates or sector practice

Submit Proposal

Review Process

Proposals will be evaluated based on their relevance to the symposium theme, clarity of the proposed argument or research question, potential contribution to policy or sector knowledge, and overall quality of the proposal. The symposium planning committee’s review panel will be composed of academic and practitioner reviewers.

Authors will be notified no later than August 28, 2026 of their invitation to the online policy symposium. Final papers for presentation at the symposium are due January 15, 2027.

Applicants selected to present at the online symposium on February 19, 2027 will receive a $250 honorarium. Papers presented at the symposium may be revised and submitted no later than June 1, 2027 for consideration for inclusion in Nonprofit Policy Forum’s special issue on the Nonprofit Policy Symposium.

Questions?
For further information about the symposium, please contact ARNOVA via email at [email protected].

About Our Partners

The 15th Symposium on Public Policy for Nonprofits is co-sponsored by the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, Independent Sector, and Nonprofit Policy Forum.

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