• Winner of the 1997 ARNOVA Award for Distinguished Book in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research The private third sector has largely displaced public universities and bureaucracies as Latin America's leaders in social science and related policy activities. In many nations, these private research centers have become the main workplace for intellectuals. Mostly think tanks, they are influential political institutions, often making strong contribution to democratization. The success of these research centers marks an unsurpassed triumph for international philanthropy, but it also raises questions about the proper role and structural home for research and advanced study. Levy shows how the centers' success often undermine a region's struggling universities while failing themselves to fulfill higher education's fundamental mission. Levy deals broadly with regional developments, yet systematically identifies and analyzes the crucial subpatterns. He integrates impressive empirical data with conceptual perspectives on nonprofit organizations, comparative politics, and comparative education as well as Latin American studies.

Nonprofit corporations, cooperatives, and credit unions constitute an alternative avenue of hope and action for communities that have come up short in the normal operation of the market economy. These organizations comprise the third sector, which accounts for approximately 10 percent of U.S. economic activity. As part of the fastest growing sector in the economy, these dynamic organizations play an increasing role in strengthening local economies. In the United States, they help to compensate for a state that is, in Gunn's view, relatively disengaged from meeting basic human needs. This book helps move thinking about the third sector beyond traditional nonprofits centered on education, health care, and charity, and into the realm of often smaller, dynamic organizations that engage in collective entrepreneurship. Throughout, Gunn illustrates how organizations founded with little in the way of financial resources have made substantial contributions to economic development and general well-being in the communities they serve and from which they arise. After explaining why local development is a problem in such a wealthy and resource-rich country as the United States, Christopher Gunn profiles more than two dozen organizations ranging from child-care cooperatives to retirement communities, from co-housing "villages" to financial institutions. He also investigates public-policy changes that could strengthen this alternative sector's contribution to economic development.

Nonprofit corporations, cooperatives, and credit unions constitute an alternative avenue of hope and action for communities that have come up short in the normal operation of the market economy. These organizations comprise the third sector, which accounts for approximately 10 percent of U.S. economic activity. As part of the fastest growing sector in the economy, these dynamic organizations play an increasing role in strengthening local economies. In the United States, they help to compensate for a state that is, in Gunn's view, relatively disengaged from meeting basic human needs. This book helps move thinking about the third sector beyond traditional nonprofits centered on education, health care, and charity, and into the realm of often smaller, dynamic organizations that engage in collective entrepreneurship. Throughout, Gunn illustrates how organizations founded with little in the way of financial resources have made substantial contributions to economic development and general well-being in the communities they serve and from which they arise. After explaining why local development is a problem in such a wealthy and resource-rich country as the United States, Christopher Gunn profiles more than two dozen organizations ranging from child-care cooperatives to retirement communities, from co-housing "villages" to financial institutions. He also investigates public-policy changes that could strengthen this alternative sector's contribution to economic development.

To mark the 20th Anniversary of Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations the editor has compiled a comprehensive overview of contemporary debates in third sector scholarship, comprised of all original research by leaders in the field. The volume will offer a critical review of the central and innovative themes that have come to form the core of third sector debate and research with an international focus. The first global compendium of third sector research, this volume provides a international, multi-disciplinary, and state-of-the-art overview of the field. The contributions not only examine and review the existing scholarship, but introduce new perspectives and thinking on the third sector—especially in terms of future implications around the world. Topics covered include: -History and Development of the Field -New Trends in Volunteering and Philanthropy -Volunteering and Participation in Developing Countries -Leadership and Governance -Corporate Responsibility -Social Capital -Global Civil Society This seminal volume provides a broad and comprehensive look at the field of Third Sector Research, of primary interest to researchers in political science, sociology, development studies, and nonprofit leadership programs.

This important book is the first edited collection to provide an up to date and comprehensive overview of the third sector’s role in public service delivery. Exploring areas such as social enterprise, capacity building, volunteering and social value, the authors provide a platform for academic and policy debates on the topic. Drawing on research carried out at the ESRC funded Third Sector Research Centre, the book charts the historical development of the state-third sector relationship, and reviews the major debates and controversies accompanying recent shifts in that relationship. It is a valuable resource for social science academics and postgraduate students as well as policymakers and practitioners in the public and third sectors in fields such as criminal justice, health, housing and social care.

The contributors examine the voluntary & non-profit sectors in Europe. They discuss a number of issues regarding this 'third' sector.