Angela M. Eikenberry - Böcker

In the contemporary United States, third parties are being relied upon to deliver social services that were once chiefly the responsibility of government. Among the new philanthropic associations that have arisen in this environment are voluntary groups known as giving circles. Their purpose is to bring people together to pool resources and then collectively decide how to distribute them. Giving circles have been seen as the most democratic of philanthropic mechanisms, working to meet social needs and solve community problems, while enhancing the civic education and participation of their members. Angela M. Eikenberry examines this new phenomenon and considers what role voluntary associations and philanthropy can or should play in a democratic society.

This insightful Handbook brings together leading and emerging scholars within the field of nonprofit organization, serving as a call to action for academics to interrogate key contemporary issues such as backsliding and authoritarianism. It meticulously distinguishes traditional, often marginalist perspectives from nuanced counterarguments to balance out the field. The Handbook of Critical Perspectives on Nonprofit Organizing and Voluntary Action illustrates opportunities and challenges for future researchers within the sector and presses the reader to imagine a better, more equitable future. Chapters employ a variety of vital theoretical lenses, for example utilizing postcolonial theory, critical feminist theory, queer theory, critical disability theory and post-structural theory. They provide a timely, inter-contextual narration of the many roles enacted by nonprofit and voluntary organizations today. Approaching nonprofit organizing as an ever-expanding topic, this crucial Handbook will be an important read for scholars of critical management studies, public administration, and public policy. It will additionally benefit researchers within the philanthropic studies field hoping to gain insight into the future of their discipline.