Research and Education Centers

University Based Organizations
Non-University Based Organizations

University Based Organizations

Academic Programs in Nonprofit Policy & Management
This website allows users access to Seton Hall's database on the colleges and universities offering nonprofit management courses in the United States.

Arizona State University, Center for Nonprofit Leadership & Management
The ASU Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management exists to advance nonprofit leadership practice so that organizations can better achieve their mission. The Center has four areas of focus: research, nonprofit leadership education, assistance to nonprofits, and conferences and convenings. The website provides information on each of these four programs.

Boston College, Center on Wealth and Philanthropy
The Center on Wealth and Philanthropy (formerly the Social Welfare Research Institute) is a multidisciplinary research center specializing in the study of spirituality, wealth, philanthropy, and other aspects of cultural life in an age of affluence. The website provides access to CWP research, press releases and articles, and events.

Case Western Reserve University, Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations
Acting as a university-wide multidisciplinary academic center for education, research, and community service, the Mandel Center is a resource for current and potential students, nonprofit managers and leaders, faculty members, researchers, and anyone who works in, supports, or studies the nonprofit/non-governmental sector. The website provides information on the degree programs offered through the Center as well as links to Center publications and research.

City University of New York, Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society
An integral part of The Graduate Center of The City University of New York, the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (CPCS) focuses on giving, volunteerism, and nonprofit entrepreneurship by individual donors, foundations, and corporations in the United States and around the world. Programs focus on corporate philanthropy, multicultural philanthropy, and voluntarism. The website provides access to CPCS publications including working papers, press releases, and Volunteer!!!, a guide designed to assist and encourage the building of stronger Latino, African American, and Asian American communities within the metropolitan area of New York.

Duke University, Center for the Study of Philanthropy and Voluntarism, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy
The Center was created to support scholarly research on issues related to philanthropy and voluntarism; stimulate the exchange of ideas and research findings among scholars and practitioners; and to encourage the development of university courses in the area of philanthropy. The website provides an overview of Center research and faculty and staff involved with Center projects. Users can also access a working papers archive.

Georgetown University, Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership
The Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership provides advanced education in public policy, public and nonprofit management, advocacy and philanthropy, with domestic and international applications. The Center focuses on four program areas: graduate education, executive and professional training, research, and community involvement. The website provides information on these program areas and links to upcoming lectures and events.

Grand Valley State University, Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership
The Johnson Center’s current work focuses on community research, nonprofit leadership and management, and philanthropic and nonprofit knowledge management. The website provides information on these three research areas and includes links to publications and The Grantmaking School, the first university-based program for teaching the techniques and ethics of grantmaking specifically to foundation grantmaking professionals.

Harvard Business School, Social Enterprise
The Social Enterprise Initiative at HBS generates and shares knowledge that helps individuals and organizations create social value in the nonprofit, private, and public sectors. Research focuses on governance, business involvement, strategy and management, and social and financial resources. This site provides access to research conducted at the Initiative as well as information on forums and seminars and press related to the sector.

Harvard University, The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, John F. Kennedy School of Government
The Hauser Center is a university-wide research center created to expand understanding and accelerate critical thinking about civil society among scholars, practitioners, policy makers and the general public, by encouraging scholarship, developing curriculum, fostering mutual learning between academics and practitioners, and shaping policies that enhance the sector and its role in society. The website provides information on nonprofit programs and links to Center publications and the research archives.

Indiana University, Center on Philanthropy
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University increases the understanding of philanthropy and improves its practice through programs in research, teaching, public service, and public affairs. The website provides access to education and training programs, research, philanthropic links and information on The Fundraising School, The Lake Family Institute on Faith & Giving, and the Women’s Philanthropy Insitute.

Johns Hopkins University, Center for Civil Society Studies
The Center for Civil Society Studies seeks to improve understanding and the effective functioning of not-for-profit, philanthropic, or "civil society" organizations in the United States and throughout the world in order to enhance the contribution these organizations can make to democracy and the quality of human life. The Center conducts research on both national and international trends in philanthropy and nonprofits in addition to research on nonprofit capacity building. The website provides access to Center publications and seminars.

New York University School of Law, National Center on Philanthropy and the Law
The Center was established to explore a broad range of legal issues affecting the nation's nonprofit sector and to provide an integrated examination of the legal doctrines related to the activities of charitable organizations. This site provides access to NCPL curriculum, career resources, library resources, and events.

Northwestern University, Institute for Policy Research
The Institute for Policy Research (IPR) is an interdisciplinary public policy research institute whose mission is to stimulate and support excellent social science research on significant public policy issues. IPR research focuses on child and family studies, law and justice studies, philanthropy, voluntarism and nonprofits, politics and public policy, and poverty, race and inequality. The website allows users to access IPR publications and information on faculty and research staff. In addition, the site provides links to affiliated centers including the ABCD Institute and the Joint Center for Poverty Research.

Seton Hall University, Nonprofit Sector Resource Institute
The mission of NSRI is to build the capacity of the nonprofit sector in New Jersey and nationally, utilizing the resources of the Seton Hall community in collaboration with other individuals and organizations that have similar interests. Core services include: professional development programs, student community assistance programs, and research.

Stanford Graduate School of Business, Center for Social Innovation
CSI supports three integrated activities: research, teaching, and engagement. Research focuses on environments in which social innovation occurs; benefits and limits of adapting business approaches to social- and public-sector organizations; impact of increased interaction and competition across the sectors; and creation and measurement of social and environmental value. This website provides access to CSI publications and information on programs and faculty research projects.

UCLA School of Public Affairs, Center for Civil Society
The Center for Civil Society is the focal point for the School of Public Affairs' programs and activities in nonprofit leadership and management, grassroots advocacy, nongovernmental organizations, and philanthropy. This site provides access to Center research and courses offerings as well as information on executive education programs, nonprofit clinics, and briefings.

University of Delaware, Nonprofit Community Resource Center
The NCRC provides information, training, and technical assistance to nonprofit and community-based organizations and to public agencies serving low- and moderate income families & communities. This site provides access to program information, course, workshops and seminars and online resources.

University of Michigan, Nonprofit and Public Management Center
The Nonprofit and Public Management Center (NPM) is a collaboration of the Schools of Business, Public Policy, and Social Work. NPM seeks to educate professionals who seek to manage programs and organizations in the nonprofit and public sectors. This site provides information on courses and programs and provides links to online resources for researchers and nonprofits.

University of Missouri-Kansas City, Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership
The mission of MCNL is to enhance the performance and effectiveness in the nonprofit sector through high quality community-oriented education, applied research, problem solving and service. MCNL provides multiple training programs, the largest of which is The Forum for Early Childhood Organization and Leadership Development. This site allows users to access information on MCNL events and programs, research, and publications.

University of San Francisco, Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management
The USF Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management is a multidisciplinary center for research and curriculum development in nonprofit and philanthropic studies. The website provides access to the Institute's California Nonprofit Database and the Teaching Resource Center, a comprehensive source of nonprofit management teaching cases, course syllabi, and program descriptions that are available for use by teachers, trainers, consultants, practitioners, and students.

The University of Texas at Austin, RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Guided by a three-part mission of education, research and outreach, the Center supports civil society, volunteerism, and the nonprofit-philanthropic sector by expanding the academic base for the growing study of its practices and by advancing awareness of the sector within academic and professional communities. The site provides links to Center publications and programs.

University of Washington, The Cascade Center for Public Service and Leadership, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs
The Cascade Center promotes innovative and effective leadership in public service, and provides public and nonprofit managers in the Northwest and throughout the country with professional development opportunities to strengthen their management skills and judgment. This site provides information on training programs and courses.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management
HBI is a multi-disciplinary, university-wide academic center launched in July 2001. HBI offers several academic programs and supports research that seeks to generate and disseminate knowledge on topics of interest and importance to nonprofit organizations, the nonprofit sector, nonprofit management and leadership, and philanthropy. The website provides information on academic programs and research efforts.

Non-University Based Organizations

Aspen Institute, Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program
This program seeks to expand knowledge of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy through research and dialogue focused on public policy management and other important issues affecting the sector. The program currently has four major initiatives: the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund, Nonprofit Sector Strategy Group, Seminar for Mid-America Foundation CEOs, and The State of America's Nonprofit Sector project.

Capital Research Center
CRC was established in 1984 to study non-profit organizations, with a special focus on reviving the American traditions of charity, philanthropy, and voluntarism. Users can access CRC's Searchlight database, a comprehensive online resource on corporate giving to non-profit organizations and access publications and news stories on the sector.

The Center for Effective Philanthropy
The Center for Effective Philanthropy is a nonprofit organization focused on the development of comparative data to enable higher performing foundations. Published research from the Center includes reports on foundation performance assessment, foundation governance, and foundation-grantee relationships. The Center has also created new data sets and assessment tools such as the Grantee Perception Report® (GPR), the Comparative Board Report (CBR), the Staff Perception Report (SBR), and the Operational Benchmarking Report (OBR). The website provides access to these tools and other research, publications and data.

Hudson Institute, Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal
The Hudson Institute provides a major forum for leading policymakers and others of national and international acclaim to discuss important issues. The website includes a comprehensive listing of more than 800 articles, op-eds, and book reviews; a complete list of the institute's scholars and their areas of expertise; a standalone site for all 10 policy centers, including subjects such as welfare, the Middle East, national security, European and Eurasian studies, global food issues, and crime policy.

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
NCRP promotes philanthropy that addresses the unmet needs of disadvantaged populations through action research, providing technical assistance to nonprofits, and engaging in policy advocacy. NCRP's reform activism targets foundations, corporate grantmakers, individual donors, and workplace giving programs. In addition to information about the committee's projects, publications, and advocacy program, the website links to the current issue of the NCRP newsletter, Responsive Philanthropy, as well as a selection of articles from past issues.

Urban Institute, Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy
CNP conducts and disseminates research on the role and impact of nonprofit organizations and philanthropy. In addition, CNP conducts research on and analyzes trends in the operations and finances of U.S. charitable organizations through data developed and maintained by its National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) and other sources. This site provides access to CNP reports and publications a direct link to NCCS.