Peer Reviewed Articles by Peter Weber
Nonprofit Policy Forum, 15(1), 49-69, 2024
In recent decades, increased attention has been given to the hierarchical nature and intrinsic po... more In recent decades, increased attention has been given to the hierarchical nature and intrinsic power dynamics of CSO capacity building programs. In a global context, international donors tend to design and implement capacity building programs, which then prioritize donors’ objectives and employ Western concepts in the Global South. This research note aims to reframe capacity building around inclusive and equal partnerships centered on civil society leaders who participate in designing and delivering capacity building programs. We propose action research as a process for co-creating contextually appropriate models that enable local ownership for capacity building and thus equip civil society to improve the lives of people in communities. We apply this approach to the Liberian case to develop a process to engage local civil society organizations in developing participatory capacity building programs that address place-based needs in non-Western contexts.
Nonprofit Management & Leadership , 2023
Philanthropic foundations are credited with being sources of social innovation. Yet, most scholar... more Philanthropic foundations are credited with being sources of social innovation. Yet, most scholarship focuses on foundations funding innovations rather than adopting innovative philanthropic practices. Program-related investments (PRIs) serve as lenses to understand how philanthropic innovations are adopted, implemented, and diffused. Scholars describe PRIs as innovations broadening grantmaking practices, but foundations today do not widely use PRIs despite their increased use in the 1980s and 2000s. I propose a theoretical model integrating foundation behavior literature with social transition theory, linking the diffusion of philanthropic innovations to specific configurations of micro-, meso-, and macro-factors. Drawing on archival research, the study analyzes the Ford Foundation's PRI Office and the Cooperative Assistance Fund between 1968 and 1988. It shows that individual foundations acted upon the favorable environment for PRIs created by a broader agreement that social responsibility was to be shared across sectors. Long-lasting norms about not mixing investments and philanthropy slowed the broad diffusion of PRIs in the foundation sector, which as an organizational field lagged the innovativeness of individual foundations. By focusing on how foundations adopt and implement innovative philanthropic strategies, the study moves beyond the practice of measuring philanthropic impact through grantees' performance rather than through philanthropic strategies.
Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs (JPNA), 2022
Nonprofit and philanthropic studies (NPS) is a visible presence at American universities and has ... more Nonprofit and philanthropic studies (NPS) is a visible presence at American universities and has achieved academic credibility. This study analyzes the role of academic centers devoted to the nonprofit sector in institutionalizing NPS as a distinctive academic field. It relies on a survey and selected case studies to map nonprofit academic centers and assess their field-building efforts. We find 55 USbased nonprofit academic centers that vary in size, revenue streams, and institutional location. Centers offer a broad range of services that span academia and practice supporting the local and regional nonprofit communities. Both endogenous and exogenous factors supported the founding of these centers, whose sustainability relies on interdisciplinarity, internal and external funding, and institutional support. We propose an evolutionary explanation for NPS's institutionalization.
The Foundation Review, 13(3), 2021
The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was a $13.5 million, five-year (1997–2002) WK Kellogg Found... more The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was a $13.5 million, five-year (1997–2002) WK Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) program that aimed to increase the capacity of the US nonprofit sector by funding nonprofit academic centers and programs. The initiative was grounded in the assumption that deeper understanding, betterprepared leadership, stronger organizations, and effective support systems would improve the sector’s impact on the quality of life across local and national communities.
This study retrospectively evaluates the BBI 20 years after its end. While a growing literature investigates the growth of nonprofit management education (NME), the role of foundation funding is largely ignored. This article fills this gap by assessing BBI’s impact—that is, whether the broad goals of the initiative were accomplished. This investigation is crucial at a time when higher education is increasingly relying on external funding and early funders of NME have moved away from funding individual programs in favor of larger infrastructure organizations or specific teaching approaches (eg, experiential philanthropy). The retrospective evaluation offers lessons on the potentials and limits of private foundations’ engagement with emerging academic disciplines.
Journal of Civil Society, 17(2), 2021
Exclusionary nationalist movements' rise in recent years challenges liberal democracy's trust in ... more Exclusionary nationalist movements' rise in recent years challenges liberal democracy's trust in political institutions' ability to neutralize and incorporate extremism. The crisis of liberal democracy likewise questions liberal civil society emphasis on associational membership's intrinsic democratic side-effects. The study proposes a partisanship spectrum integrating attitudes to conflict into civil society theory, suggesting the centrality of cross-partisanship in mediating modern society's unavoidable conflicts, a question central to civil society theory and modern democracies. Germany's first school of public affairs serves as a historical case study to better understand how cross-partisanship addressed the extreme political polarization, radicalization of public discourse, and violence challenging interwar Germany's transition to democracy. While honoring political factionalism, cross-partisanship (Überparteilichkeit) countered extremism through a correct understanding of political facts and a common commitment to republican institutions. Relying on archival sources, I show that when cross-partisanship was equated to nonpartisanship, it favored the penetration of extremism by emphasizing compromise and equal representation of all political parties, including the Nazi Party. The question of how to build a civil society is as crucial today as it was in interwar Germany.
Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 2020
Nonprofit and philanthropic studies (NPS) as an academic field grew over the past four decades. A... more Nonprofit and philanthropic studies (NPS) as an academic field grew over the past four decades. Academic centers are more flexible entities than traditional academic structures and as such play a central role in the field's growth. Our study maps members of the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC) with specific attention on centers' establishment and development. We survey NACC centers and review archival records to study NPS's evolution. We find center creation clustered in the period 1999-2003, when a combination of external funding and academic growth created a favorable environment for academic entrepreneurs to establish academic centers. We illustrate two trends over the past decades. Academic centers increasingly emphasized a NPS disciplinary focus, while, in the same period, traditional university structures absorbed several centers. These two trends suggest contrasting narratives emphasizing either the field's successful institutionalization or these centers' loss of independence.
Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 11(1), 54–72, 2021
Nonprofit studies programs have grown over the past three decades in both number and size. Althou... more Nonprofit studies programs have grown over the past three decades in both number and size. Although scholars have devoted increasing attention to both the field of study and its infrastructure, not much attention has been devoted to the administration of these programs. This study reviews the over three-decade-long history and development of the nonprofit leadership studies program at Murray State University and reflects on the various challenges the program has faced, including enrollment concerns, program reorganization, and declining resources. This analysis highlights the importance of developing a clear program identity, which in this case was shaped around the concepts of service learning and student philanthropy. The conclusions extrapolate broad recommendations that can serve as a road map to similar programs that face common budgetary and enrollment challenges in a changing higher education landscape.
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2020
The historical case study of German associations during World War I highlights the limits of soci... more The historical case study of German associations during World War I highlights the limits of sociability in times of political polarization. At the war’s beginning, German elites supported political associations that welcomed the entire political spectrum, thus radically breaking with associations that had developed along political, social, and religious dividing lines. The article shows how the inclusive sociability that the common cause of the war initially spurred failed to withstand the pressures of mass politics, extreme sociopolitical fragmentation, and the new republican institutions. The discrediting of associations as sources of inclusive sociability paved the path to conscious efforts to educate German citizens and political professionals to the working of democratic systems. The analysis suggests a conceptualization of civil society that relies on explicit strategies, such as political education, to cultivate the political conduct that modern democracies require, replacing the faith in associations as indirect sources of democratic governance.
The Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, vol. 10, no. 1, 2020
The essay aims to foster reflection and discussion on the institutionalization of undergraduate n... more The essay aims to foster reflection and discussion on the institutionalization of undergraduate nonprofit education. Undergraduate nonprofit programs (certificates, minors, and majors) have been developing at a slower pace than their graduate counterparts. This essay focuses on the development of these programs and identifies particular challenges in the administration of four undergraduate programs selected as case studies. Common concerns include (1) development of programs broad enough to allow students to pursue multiple career and educational paths after graduation, which forces a curriculum development that differs from the path laid out at the graduate level, and (2) misconceptions and lack of knowledge about nonprofit careers in prospective students, parents, and high school counselors. The discussion is contextualized in broader trends of nonprofit education.
International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 2019
In the past two decades, the embeddedness of potential grantees in complex local webs of both pol... more In the past two decades, the embeddedness of potential grantees in complex local webs of both political and welfare relationships challenged the work of international grant-makers, particularly in the context of the war on terrorism. These concerns are no novelty as organized philanthropy has historically worked in countries with undefined political constellations where recipient organizations pursue a wide range of goals. The relationship between the Carnegie Endowment for Peace (CEIP) and its local representatives in interwar Germany serves here as a historical case study to better understand the political realities influencing foundations' selection of local partners. This case shows that the radical pacifist stand of CEIP's German representatives soon became an obstacle to the work of foundation officers, who consequently sought the collaboration of more pragmatic and politically connected voices. Overall, the study underscores the power dynamics at the center of philanthropic relationships and the different degree of autonomy of advisors, representatives, and grantees in these relationships.
Central European History, Volume 52, Issue 3, 2019
In interwar Germany, internationalism and nationalism coexisted in a public sphere that often tra... more In interwar Germany, internationalism and nationalism coexisted in a public sphere that often transcended national borders. This seeming contradiction helps explain the mindset of an era, which simultaneously recognized interconnectedness while privileging national identity. Historians’ interest in internationalism has primarily focused on liberal and cooperative actors and on some selected examples demonstrating the dark sides of internationalism. Fewer historians, however, have analyzed the ambiguities and contradictions of liberal internationalism and the perseverance of the national as a frame of reference in internationalist discourses. Ernst Jäckh, best known as the founder of the Deutsche Hochschule für Politik, perhaps best represented this collision of values while simultaneously being one of the biggest proponents of such a view. Jäckh's internationalism permeated all his endeavors and served the goal of reintegrating Germany in the international community.
Journal of Public Affairs Education, 2019
As student demand for nonprofit management education (NME) grows, new program offerings prolifera... more As student demand for nonprofit management education (NME) grows, new program offerings proliferate. While longitudinal data track the development of graduate NME programs, their curricula and location, we know less about the trajectory of undergraduate programs. Preliminary research finds evidence of undergraduate programs that are more diverse and span a greater number of locations than ever before. As a compilation, these findings facilitate analysis of the institutionalization of NME by expanding the focus beyond courses to include program development (certificates, majors, and/or minors). The results enable data-driven discussions, highlighting NME distinctiveness in facilitating the development of student engagement with community.
Journal of Civil Society, 2018
This study uses the case of a German American association in the 1920s as a historical case study... more This study uses the case of a German American association in the 1920s as a historical case study to gain a better understanding of the integration of an immigrant group in American society. Philanthropy, membership recruitment tactics, and associational mission are used as analytical categories in the analysis of German Americans’ processes of assimilation against the background of the aftermath of the First World War and Prohibition. Philanthropy and associational membership provide a vantage point for studying dynamics of identity, assimilation, and integration. The study argues that the difficulty of transitioning from a membership of German origin to a membership of second-generation immigrants played a major role in the progressive membership decline of this organization. This study points to challenges of an ethnic-based membership association in maintaining its relevance within an immigrant community in the face major political, social, and economic transformations, while attempting to renew its membership.
Journal of Public Affairs Education, 2016
The authors link the development of nonprofit education to the historical transformations of the ... more The authors link the development of nonprofit education to the historical transformations of the nonprofit sector. They argue that the professionalization of the nonprofit sector has led to the current emphasis on economic approaches and performance management in nonprofit and philanthropic studies curricula. This trend parallels the marginalization of broader approaches to the field, approaches that are able to capture philanthropy’s historical, ethical/moral, and political functions. The authors propose a series of steps that could help nonprofit educational programs address the challenges of a rapidly changing field and prepare nonprofit leaders for the 21st century. The article aims to start a dialogue on the future of nonprofit education, which ought to prepare future leaders in the field to speak philanthropy’s multiple languages.
Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 2017
The growing interest in philanthropy education in K-12 schools stems from concerns with the healt... more The growing interest in philanthropy education in K-12 schools stems from concerns with the health of American democracy. This article analyzes the size and scope of philanthropy education at U.S. independent K-12 schools. Based on both a web-based survey with 128 independent K-12 schools and telephone interviews with a purposive sample of teachers and program administrators, the article describes the variety of activities, educational methodologies, and learning goals associated with philanthropy education. It then develops a typology of philanthropy education at K-12 school that aims to clarify the terminology used in philanthropy education at K-12 schools. In so doing, this article assists teachers and program administrators in developing more effective programs and assessment tools in the field of philanthropy education.
Global Society, 2015
This study analyses the pacifism of Andrew Carnegie and Edwin Ginn against the backdrop of the em... more This study analyses the pacifism of Andrew Carnegie and Edwin Ginn against the backdrop of the emergence of new philanthropic practices. Scientific philanthropy and the institutional model of the philanthropic foundation provided the means for new
approaches to the peace cause. The study thus argues that Ginn and Carnegie personified a shift from a non-institutional pacifism to an institutional internationalism. Despite noteworthy similarities in Ginn and Carnegie’s approach to peace, however, their two philanthropic foundations—the World Peace Foundation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace—differed in strategies. This study suggests that the leadership of these institutions shaped these different approaches to conflict.
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, Mar 8, 2015
Civil society theory has rarely been applied to the demise of the Weimar Republic. Emphasizing ei... more Civil society theory has rarely been applied to the demise of the Weimar Republic. Emphasizing either the absence of intermediary organizations or the negative nature of Germany’s associational life, current civil society research does not integrate historical analysis with civil society theory. This essay roots civil society in modernity and individualism, thus, linking its fading during the 1920s to the inability of civil society theory to provide solutions to the complex problems of Weimar society. Paradoxically, individualism and modernity, the precondition for a liberal civil society, also paved the path to the homogenizing ideologies of the twentieth century.
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2014
Social, economic, and political transformations have traditionally complicated the balance betwee... more Social, economic, and political transformations have traditionally complicated the balance between individual liberties and common good (or national needs). In times of war this balance appears more fragile and—given the role of philanthropy in the formation of identities—philanthropic studies as a field should pay more attention to these dynamics. Accordingly, in this article, the author investigates the impact of World War 1 on the German-American community. Through the historical case study of one German-American voluntary association based in Indianapolis, the author dismisses both ethnic disappearance and ethnic survival theories. In contrast, the author proposes a more nuanced approach to the processes of assimilation of minority groups. The author contends that German-Americans did not lose the battle for survival but for pluralism and suggests that in times of economic as well as social transformations homogenizing forces tend to silence alternative voices in American society.
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 2013
By emphasizing civil society’s ambiguous relationship with modernity, the author proposes a discu... more By emphasizing civil society’s ambiguous relationship with modernity, the author proposes a discursive definition of civil society that draws on conflict theory. The author distinguishes between a civil society and a sectarian approach to politics from a theoretical perspective. Accordingly, a juxtaposition of the Muslim Brotherhood and its splinter groups in the Egyptian political arena epitomizes the opposing ideals of a civil society and a good society. Thus, the author moves away from the theoretical debate on the compatibility of Islam and democracy and suggests the possibility of a learning process of democratic practices by means of participating in the public sphere.
Book Reviews by Peter Weber
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, Sep 13, 2014
Importing Democracy investigates civil society’s role in supporting democratization in South Afri... more Importing Democracy investigates civil society’s role in supporting democratization in South Africa, Tajikistan, and Argentina. Written by Julie Fisher—a former program officer at the Kettering Foundation—the book focuses on these countries’ democratic activists and NGOs leaders, and discusses their successes and failures in developing a democratic political culture.Fisher aims to draw attention to a crucial actor in civil society, namely democratization NGOs. In contrast to the majority of intermediary organizations, these NGOs “directly, deliberatively, and self-consciously promote democracy” (p. 7). Fisher views them as the often-overlooked link connecting democratic institutions and civil society. These organizations’ efforts to strengthen public life’s multiple dimensions allow the author to broaden the analysis of civil society beyond associational life, thus investigating political participation, political culture, and civility. In contrast to traditional approaches (Walzer 1992
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Peer Reviewed Articles by Peter Weber
This study retrospectively evaluates the BBI 20 years after its end. While a growing literature investigates the growth of nonprofit management education (NME), the role of foundation funding is largely ignored. This article fills this gap by assessing BBI’s impact—that is, whether the broad goals of the initiative were accomplished. This investigation is crucial at a time when higher education is increasingly relying on external funding and early funders of NME have moved away from funding individual programs in favor of larger infrastructure organizations or specific teaching approaches (eg, experiential philanthropy). The retrospective evaluation offers lessons on the potentials and limits of private foundations’ engagement with emerging academic disciplines.
approaches to the peace cause. The study thus argues that Ginn and Carnegie personified a shift from a non-institutional pacifism to an institutional internationalism. Despite noteworthy similarities in Ginn and Carnegie’s approach to peace, however, their two philanthropic foundations—the World Peace Foundation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace—differed in strategies. This study suggests that the leadership of these institutions shaped these different approaches to conflict.
Book Reviews by Peter Weber
This study retrospectively evaluates the BBI 20 years after its end. While a growing literature investigates the growth of nonprofit management education (NME), the role of foundation funding is largely ignored. This article fills this gap by assessing BBI’s impact—that is, whether the broad goals of the initiative were accomplished. This investigation is crucial at a time when higher education is increasingly relying on external funding and early funders of NME have moved away from funding individual programs in favor of larger infrastructure organizations or specific teaching approaches (eg, experiential philanthropy). The retrospective evaluation offers lessons on the potentials and limits of private foundations’ engagement with emerging academic disciplines.
approaches to the peace cause. The study thus argues that Ginn and Carnegie personified a shift from a non-institutional pacifism to an institutional internationalism. Despite noteworthy similarities in Ginn and Carnegie’s approach to peace, however, their two philanthropic foundations—the World Peace Foundation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace—differed in strategies. This study suggests that the leadership of these institutions shaped these different approaches to conflict.