Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations

Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations
Name	Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations
Formation	1997
Type	Research center
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Parent organization	John F. Kennedy School of Government
Leader title	Director

Contents

Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations was a center based at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University dedicated to research, education, and policy engagement on nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and social innovation. It connected scholars, practitioners, and policymakers from institutions such as Ford Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to advance evidence-based practice. The center operated alongside programs at Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School and engaged with networks including Independent Sector, Council on Foundations, Nonprofit Technology Network, and Stanford Social Innovation Review.

History

The center was established in 1997 during a period of expansion in nonprofit scholarship influenced by work at New School, Columbia University, Yale University, Princeton University, and University of Chicago. Its founding drew on philanthropic support from donors associated with Hauser Family, Winston Churchill-era institutional philanthropy models, and partnerships with entities like Aspen Institute and Brookings Institution. Over time the center hosted scholars who had affiliations with Russell Sage Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, MacArthur Foundation, and research networks such as Arnold Ventures. It contributed to debates alongside conferences at World Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Development Programme, and European Commission forums. The center’s timeline intersected with initiatives like GiveWell, Charity Navigator, National Council of Nonprofits, and policy shifts observed during administrations of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

The center pursued a mission to advance rigorous study of philanthropy, nonprofit-management, and civil-society practice, collaborating with organizations including The Aspen Institute, Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, and Center for Strategic and International Studies. Programmatic areas brought together practitioners from United Way Worldwide, Red Cross, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam International, and Amnesty International alongside funders such as Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Initiatives addressed topics resonant with policy venues like G20, United Nations, and European Union, and networked with evaluators from Independent Sector, Charity Navigator, and GiveWell.

Educational offerings included executive education, fellowships, and curriculum development integrated with courses at Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School. The center hosted fellows drawn from McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, Bain & Company, Kaiser Permanente, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Open Society Foundations. Training programs referenced casework comparable to materials used at Harvard Business School and engaged guest faculty from Yale School of Management, Columbia Business School, London School of Economics, and Stanford Graduate School of Business. Alumni entered leadership roles at United Nations, World Bank, USAID, and nonprofit organizations like Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, Habitat for Humanity, and Teach For America.

The center formed partnerships with academic centers such as Harvard University Center for Public Leadership, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, and external partners including Ford Foundation, Boston Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation. Collaborative projects influenced governance and accountability reforms in nonprofits and were referenced in policy deliberations at Congress of the United States, state legislatures, and municipal governments including City of Boston and Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its convenings included leaders from Microsoft Philanthropies, Google.org, Facebook.org, Amazon Web Services, and philanthropic intermediaries like Tides Foundation and Philanthropy Roundtable.