An "exploratory instrumental case study" design was used to study interactions between leaders and employees at a large faith-based nonprofit healthcare organization. The study used a four-part intervention to infuse humility into leaders' language, verbal expressions, and non-verbal behaviors, as well as the physical settings in which…

Previous studies offer evidence that U.S. public and private high schools differentially influence volunteerism in adolescence. However, these studies are typically cross-sectional and only consider whether the individual volunteered or not. We address patterns of volunteering from adolescence into adulthood and the kind of volunteering activity…

Social scientific research has demonstrated that increasing racial or ethnic diversity can reduce overall levels of social solidarity in a community. Yet many community development organizations, including Extension, are deeply committed to creating a broader sense of cohesion in rural communities. This article highlights a recent interagency…

Background: Childcare programs serving preschool children are generally of poorer quality than publicly-funded preschools both in terms of their classroom processes and structural features. Research on childcare programs has typically collapsed them into a single group, yet these programs vary greatly in neighborhood disadvantage and organization…

Formal organizations share a common set of characteristics that include identifiable operating principles and coordinating mechanisms as well as lines of authority and communication. However, some organizations--especially those on the margins of institutional fields--creatively combine institutional and anti-institutional characteristics. This…

Explores prevalent assumptions about what religious organizations are and do, how they fit into the independent or nonprofit sector, and what is reasonable to expect of or for them. Reviews basic facts about the nature, scope, operations, and support of religious organizations, examining their levels of independence. Focuses on the basic…

Addresses constitutional issues of political activity by religious organizations and the "accommodation" of religion by the government. Reports that tax-exempt status places a stricture against political lobbying and prohibits endorsement of political candidates. Gives recommendations to consider when pursuing an activity that might seem…

Surveyed urban welfare-to-work programs to investigate the dilemma of faith-based and other nonprofit organizations having to choose between government funding and independence. Federal funding, though key to increasing an organization's impact and size significantly, also limits its independence. Proposes three steps toward resolution (e.g.,…

The resourceful response of nonprofit organizations to recent economic problems is characterized by more professional fundraising and management of assets and greater accountability. Generally optimistic projections are made for individual, corporate, and foundation giving from 1983 to 1988, with giving to educational and health care organizations…