Posted on November 1, 2005

print  e-mail

Aspen Institute's Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program

Founded: 1991

Contact: Winnifred Levy, Communications Manager

Address:
Aspen Institute's Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036-1133

Phone: (202) 736-5814
Fax: (202) 293-0525
E-mail: nsrf@aspeninst.org
URL: http://www.aspeninstitute.org/nspp/

Mission:
To improve the operation of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy through research, leadership education, and communication initiatives focused on critical nonprofit issues.

About the Organization:
The Aspen Institute was established in 1950 by Chicago businessman Walter Paepcke, chairman of the Container Corporation of America and a trustee of the University of Chicago. He envisioned a gathering place for thinkers, leaders, artists, and musicians from all over the world to come together and reflect on the underlying values of society and culture. Today the institute supports fifteen policy programs — including the Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program — directed by leading policymakers and practitioners. Of the initiatives within NSPP, the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund is the oldest and largest, established in 1991 to address the sector's need for an independent, cost-effective, central institution through which donors of all kinds could support basic and applied research on nonprofit organizations and philanthropy. Among its earliest supporters were the Ford and Charles Stewart Mott foundations, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy.

Current Programs:
NSPP seeks to improve the operation of the sector through initiatives in research, leadership education, and communication. It currently has four major programs. The Nonprofit Sector Research Fund supports research projects on a broad range of nonprofit topics, and has awarded more than $10 million to support four hundred projects since its inception. The State of America's Nonprofit Sector Project, a collaboration between the Aspen Institute and Lester Salamon of Johns Hopkins University, is producing periodic reports that examine major developments affecting the nonprofit sector overall and in each major field of endeavor, such as health, education, and social services. It is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Nathan Cummings, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur, Charles Stewart Mott, and David and Lucile Packard foundations.

The Seminar for Mid-Continent Foundation CEOs, funded by the W.K. Kellogg and Ewing Marion Kauffman foundations, provides foundation executives from the central part of the United States the opportunity to engage in off-the-record, in-depth conversations about the issues they face, and to build alliances to fund projects or undertake other joint ventures. And the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarships for Minority Students program awards up to three scholarships annually, based on academic excellence and need, and is open to both undergraduate and graduate students who are members of minority groups; the deadline for applications is March 15.

Web Site:
The NSPP homepage highlights news and recent research findings, and links to programs (see above), events, and publications. There is a charge for NSPP books, but the online Aspen Philanthropy Letter is free; visitors to the site may access the publication and its archives.

Funding:
NSPP is currently supported by the Ford, Bill & Melinda Gates, William Randolph Hearst, Charles Stewart Mott, Ewing and Marion Kauffman, W. K. Kellogg, David and Lucile Packard, Skoll, and Surdna foundations, and others.