A History of ARNOVA at Fifty. (April 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bushouse, Brenda K.; Witkowski, Gregory R.; Abramson, Alan J.
• Other Names: Guo Chao guest-editor.; Bies Angela guest-editor.; Phillips Susan guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly. Volume 52:Number 1(2023)Supplement
• Page Start: 29S
• Page End: 67S
• Publication Date: 2023-04
• Subjects: ARNOVA history -- membership association -- Association for Voluntary Action Studies -- scholarly association -- nonprofit; Nonprofit organizations -- Periodicals; Voluntarism -- Periodicals; Charity organization -- Periodicals; 361.763
• DOI: 10.1177/08997640221138262
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0899-7640

Abstract

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), this article reviews the association's history, from its 1971 founding by a small group of scholars interested in voluntary action to the current association of more than 1, 000 members who study a broad range of nonprofit, civil society, voluntary action, and philanthropic topics. To inform the history, we recorded oral histories and reviewed the ARNOVA collection of historical records at the Ruth Lilly Archives and internal files provided by ARNOVA. Our article is divided into three important junctures of change: 1971–1989, the founding period; 1990–2006, the golden era of philanthropic support; and 2007–2020, a maturing field and strategic directions. Through our analysis, we identify recurring themes and tensions and how ARNOVA navigated through a changing environment and growing field. We conclude the article with forward-looking questions.