The current debate on the growing role of the voluntary and community or -third- sector in delivering public and social policy is impoverished by its lack of understanding of the historical events which have shaped the sector and its relationship with the state. This widely anticipated book draws on a range of empirical studies of aspects of the history of voluntary action to illuminate and inform this debate. Chapter contributions range across two centuries and a variety of fields of activity, geographical areas and organisational forms. Four key themes are addressed: The 'moving frontier' between the state and voluntary action; the distribution of roles and functions between them; and the nature of their inter-relationship. The 'springs' of voluntary action - what makes people get involved in voluntary organisations or support them financially. Organisational challenges for voluntary agencies, including growth, cleaving to their missions and values, and survival. Issues of continuity and change: how and to what extent has the nature of voluntary action and its role in society remained essentially the same despite the changing context? This book is essential reading for all practitioners involved in charities and voluntary and non-profit organisations, for those who work at the interface between government and the third sector and for those who are involved in making and implementing public and social policy.

Volunteering and voluntary organizations have become increasingly important in British social and political life but at a cost. Greater prominence has led to a narrow and distorted view of what voluntary action involves and how it is undertaken. This book reasserts the case for a broader view of voluntarism as a unique set of autonomous activities.

This book examines volunteering in detail from a civil society perspective, using empirical data garnered from various sources for countries all over the globe. The contributions deal with a broad spectrum of questions, ranging from the diversity, social and cultural determinants and organizational settings of volunteering, to its possible individual, social, and political effects.

This Study Relates To Voluntary Action In India And Describes And Analyses The History Evolution And Challenges Facing Voluntary Associators An Dcivil Society In India Presently Seeks To Provide An Insight Into The Dynamics Of The Relationship Between Voluntary Action And Government. Has 8 Chapters. Makes Suggestions For Strengthening The Voluntary Sector.

Why, after several generations of suffrage and a revival of the women's movement in the late 1960s, do women continue to be less politically active than men? Why are they less likely to seek public office or join political organizations? The Private Roots of Public Action is the most comprehensive study of this puzzle of unequal participation. The authors develop new methods to trace gender differences in political activity to the nonpolitical institutions of everyday life--the family, school, workplace, nonpolitical voluntary association, and church. Different experiences with these institutions produce differences in the resources, skills, and political orientations that facilitate participation--with a cumulative advantage for men. In addition, part of the solution to the puzzle of unequal participation lies in politics itself: where women hold visible public office, women citizens are more politically interested and active. The model that explains gender differences in participation is sufficiently general to apply to participatory disparities among other groups--among the young, the middle-aged, and the elderly or among Latinos, African-Americans and Anglo-Whites.

The Nonprofit Sector in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia (EERCA), edited by David Horton Smith, Alisa V. Moldavanova, and Svitlana Krasynska, uniquely provides a research overview of the nonprofit sector and nonprofit organizations in eleven former Soviet republics, with each central chapter written by local experts. Such chapters, with our editorial introductions, present up-to-date versions of works previously published in EERCA native languages. With a Foreword by Susan Rose-Ackerman (Yale University), introductory and concluding chapters also explain the editors’ theoretical approach, setting the whole volume in several, relevant, larger intellectual contexts, and summarize briefly the gist of the book. The many post-Soviet countries show much variety in their current situation, ranging from democratic to totalitarian regimes.

Do Chinese voluntary organizations continue to have a role in modern societies enmeshed in a globalizing world that questions continuation of the nation-state and ethnic identity? This book argues that Chinese voluntary organizations continue to play a significant role in both the established and new Chinese communities in the Diaspora. They are able to do so because of their ability to transform their organizational structure and functions. At the same time, they are able to reinvent their own images to suit their co-ethnic community and the wider polity. The uniqueness of this volume lies in its integration of historical and contemporary approaches to the study of traditional Chinese voluntary organizations in the Diaspora. The chapters explore how the Chinese voluntary organizations continue to fulfil the needs of the Chinese community in different parts of the world, and do this by both localizing and globalizing their functions and roles in the countries where they have established roots. The contributors cover traditional Chinese voluntary organizations from Asia to Australia, North America and Europe examining not only their activities in established Chinese communities such as Singapore and Malaysia, but also in the new emerging Chinese communities in Canada and Eastern Europe. This allows the readers to compare and contrast the voluntary organizations across countries and across time. Readership for this book includes scholars and students of Chinese Studies, Asian Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Diaspora Studies, History, Social Organizations and the general educated Chinese population.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are major forces shaping our current age. ICT affects many areas of human existence and influences the both human wellbeing and human evil. The nonprofit sector is already heavily involved in technology both as a way to pursue its mission and as an influential factor in the evolution of the sector. This article examines how technology affects the sector and how the sector uses technology in its work. The article begins with a discussion of how the emerging information society will change the nonprofit sector. The sector that we know is grounded on our experience in the agrarian and industrial periods in the United States and Europe. We then explore how technology evolved in the sector. This is followed by an examination of technology and nonprofit organizational behavior. Technology changes the organizations that make use of its capacities. Next is a discussion of the types of technology that nonprofit organizations use. The final three sections deal with technology and social change, technology in nonprofit settings, and issues and trends. This article provides the reader with a current appreciation of the scholarly and professional literature on ICT in the nonprofit sector.

This book examines the role of voluntary organizations (VOs) in rural development in the south Asian context. While addressing the existing knowledge gap for developmental task sharing with non-government social forces in developing nations; It provides evidence-based knowledge about the structure, functioning, effectiveness, community base, public image, GO-VO equation, strength, challenges, present dynamics, and future trend of the grassroots VOs. The volume also demonstrates the application of an innovative symphony of descriptive and exploratory study design with parametric tools in data collection and analysis. It also specifies the areas for policy intervention, future research and incubation in the sector. The book is indispensable for the students, teachers and researchers in Sociology, Social work, Public Administration, Rural Development, Management studies and related fields. The volume is a hand-guide for funding agencies, planners and executives.

“A fine volume on the moral meaning and function of philanthropy…makes the case that philanthropy is essential to democratic society.”—Choice Philanthropy has existed in various forms in all cultures and civilizations throughout history, yet most people know little about it and its distinctive place in our lives. Why does philanthropy exist? Why do people so often turn to philanthropy when we want to make the world a better place? In essence, what is philanthropy? These fundamental questions are tackled in this engaging and original book. Written by one of the founding figures in the field of philanthropic studies, Robert L. Payton, and his former student sociologist Michael P. Moody, Understanding Philanthropy presents a new way of thinking about the meaning and mission of philanthropy. Weaving together accessible theoretical explanations with fascinating examples of philanthropic action, this book advances key scholarly debates about philanthropy and offers practitioners a way of explaining the rationale for their nonprofit efforts.