Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University

Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University
Name	Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University
Formed	1987
Founder	* Lester M. Salamon * William C. Fredrickson
Headquarters	Bloomington, Indiana
Parent organization	Indiana University

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Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University

The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University is a research and policy institute established in 1987 at Indiana University Bloomington to study charitable giving, nonprofit management, and philanthropic trends. Founded with support from donors including the Lilly Endowment, the Center has collaborated with institutions such as the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and The Rockefeller Foundation to produce empirical analyses used by policymakers, practitioners, and foundations. Its work intersects with organizations like the Urban Institute, Brookings Institution, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, and Johns Hopkins University.

History

The Center was created amid a surge of attention to nonprofit sector measurement that involved scholars from Georgetown University, Yale University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, and University of Chicago. Early leadership drew on figures associated with Lester M. Salamon and networks linked to Independent Sector, Council on Foundations, and National Council of Nonprofits. Major milestones included convenings with the United Nations agencies, U.S. federal entities such as the Internal Revenue Service and collaborations with philanthropic bodies like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Center’s evolution paralleled sectoral shifts documented by analysts at OECD, European Foundation Centre, and Charities Aid Foundation.

The Center’s mission links scholarly inquiry to practice through programs addressing charitable giving patterns, nonprofit financial health, and philanthropic strategy. Programmatic areas have been associated with initiatives funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Annenberg Foundation. Operationally, the Center coordinated longitudinal studies alongside partners such as Gallup, Pew Research Center, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and National Bureau of Economic Research to inform leaders at United Way Worldwide, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity International, American Red Cross, and cultural institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Center produced peer-reviewed reports, policy briefs, and datasets cited by authors at Nature, Science, The Lancet, and journals connected to American Economic Association, American Political Science Association, and Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA). Key outputs included national surveys of household giving, analyses of foundation endowments, and evaluations used by UNICEF, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Health Organization. The Center’s bibliographic footprint intersected with scholarship by Putnam, Bateson, Coleman, and network analyses akin to work from Granovetter and Bourdieu. Publications were distributed to stakeholders including Congressional Budget Office, state nonprofit associations such as National Council of Nonprofits, local intermediaries, and philanthropic advisors from KPMG, Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, and Boston Consulting Group.

The Center developed curricula and certificate programs in partnership with academic units at Indiana University Bloomington, including the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Kelley School of Business. Training targeted executives from institutions like YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and leaders from municipal cultural organizations such as the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Professional development offerings drew on methods used at Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley and engaged accrediting bodies and professional networks including Council for Advancement and Support of Education and Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Partnerships spanned philanthropic networks, nonprofit coalitions, and international agencies. The Center collaborated with state-level entities, civic groups like AmeriCorps, foundations including Emerson Collective and Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, and advocacy organizations such as Feeding America and Doctors Without Borders. Community engagement initiatives connected with local governments in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and regional cultural partners like the Indianapolis Museum of Art and university hospitals associated with Indiana University Health. Convenings often included representatives from TechSoup, GuideStar (now Candid), Candid, and philanthropic intermediaries such as National Philanthropic Trust.

The Center’s funding model combined endowment gifts from foundations such as the Lilly Endowment and programmatic grants from entities including the Gates Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts. Governance involved advisory boards populated by leaders from Indiana University, philanthropic executives from Council on Foundations, trustees from private foundations, and academics from institutions like Brown University, Duke University, Princeton University, and University of California, Los Angeles. Financial oversight aligned with reporting practices used by nonprofits represented in filings to the Internal Revenue Service and review standards developed by auditors such as Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers.