January 14

Les Lenkowsky, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University and Senior Counsellor to the Dean, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

"Facts, Opinions, and Public Policies (with special reference to Philanthropy)"

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Abstract: The late Senator (and Professor) Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously observed that “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts.” Valid as the statement is on its face—and important as it is in a time when many are simply inventing facts that serve their interests—it does beg the question of what exactly is a legitimate fact? What should policy makers do when facts may be legitimate, yet are profoundly inconvenient, as when they point toward policies and practices that are morally unacceptable and politically unfeasible? When they are themselves the product of opinion or judgment, solidly grounded as that may be in research, yet not without critics and disputants? In this paper, which will be published in National Affairs, Finn and Lenkowsky—both former Moynihan proteges—take the reader through that doorway and derive some sensible advice about how to handle what lies on the other side. Lenkowsky will add examples from philanthropic studies.

Bio: Dr. Leslie Lenkowsky is Professor Emeritus in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University and Senior Counsellor to the Dean at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Lenkowsky served as chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, a position to which he was appointed by President George W. Bush. Previously, he had served as a director of the Corporation. Before joining the Bush Administration, Dr. Lenkowsky was professor of philanthropic studies and public policy at Indiana University. He has also served as president of the Hudson Institute, an internationally renowned public policy research institute, president of the Institute for Educational Affairs, deputy director of the United States Information Agency, research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and research director at the Smith Richardson Foundation.

A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, Dr. Lenkowsky received his doctorate from Harvard University. He is a regular contributor to The Chronicle of Philanthropy and has spoken frequently to educational and philanthropic groups throughout the United States and internationally on philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, communications, and other topics.

January 28

Patrick Dwyer, Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

"Gratitude and Giving: Multiple Perspectives"

Abstract: People who have benefited from the generosity of others often experience the emotion of gratitude. And expressing thanks for others’ generosity can help build stronger relationships between benefactors and beneficiaries, which can inspire more giving. However, research shows that nonprofits don’t always express gratitude effectively, and may run the risk of losing donors as a result. This presentation will examine multiple perspectives on the linkages between gratitude and giving from the field of psychology. Key findings from a growing body of research on the science of gratitude will be presented, shedding light on how the experience and expression of gratitude can best serve individuals, their relationships, and their communities. Benefits as well as barriers to effective gratitude will be discussed. The goal of this presentation is to give attendees a greater appreciation for gratitude’s potential, and a greater understanding of factors that influence the quality and effectiveness of a “thank you,” including instances when an expression of thanks could even backfire.

Bio: Patrick Dwyer, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of philanthropic studies at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. He teaches courses on donor motivations, behaviors, and engagement, and on institutional fundraising and grant writing. Dr. Dwyer earned his Ph.D. in social psychology at the University of Minnesota, and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

His research focuses broadly on motivation, emotion, and social action. Some of the questions that inspire his work are: Why do people help others, and when and why do they look the other way? What are the benefits of gratitude, and is it ever a bad idea to say "thanks"? How can psychology be used to promote sustainable behaviors, and to benefit communities? His work has been published in a variety of outlets, such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, PLOS ONE, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, Journal of Environmental Psychology, British Journal of Social Psychology, and Personality and Individual Differences.

February 18

Becky Nesbit, Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy, University of Georgia

"The Rural/Urban Divide: Examining Variations in Volunteering Behavior across Place"

Abstract: In the 21st century, public policy increasingly depends upon voluntary action to address local issues, yet local capacity for voluntary action differs significantly across place. This presentation explores the rural/urban volunteer divide. Although rural communities have traditionally been described as having high levels of civic engagement, ongoing changes in the economic and demographic makeup of rural places may be eroding the civic fabric of rural places. Drawing upon 13 years of volunteering data from the Current Population Survey, we find that there is indeed a rural/urban gap in volunteering rates, with residents of rural places having a higher likelihood of volunteering. But that the gap is declining, rather than widening over time. This narrowing comes from a sharper decline in rural volunteering rates compared to a more moderate decline in urban volunteering rates. Furthermore, this decline is being driven more by a decline in secular volunteering in rural places. Additionally, because we have access to confidential-level CPS volunteering data in a secure Census Bureau Research Data Center, we can merge in county-level characteristics for all respondents. Thus, we can investigate how community context affects volunteering behaviors. This presentation describes the declining rates of volunteering among rural respondents, factors behind those declines, and the implications for policy and volunteer management.

Bio: Rebecca Nesbit, Ph.D. is an associate professor of nonprofit management in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia. Dr. Nesbit received her Ph.D. in public affairs from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University with a specialization in public management, policy analysis, and nonprofit management. She also holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Brigham Young University.

Dr. Nesbit’s research explores issues of philanthropy and volunteerism, public policy and management in the nonprofit and public sectors. In particular, Dr. Nesbit conducts research on volunteer programs, volunteers’ characteristics and motivations, and volunteer management in public and nonprofit organizations. Her work has appeared in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Public Administration Review, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Administration & Society. Dr. Nesbit is an area editor at Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.

March 10

Eric John Abrahamson, IAEGHSBE Fellow, Johns Hopkins University and Principal Historian, Vantage Point Historical Services

"Profit For Good: Philanthropy, the Market, and the Bonds of Civil Society in the US Since 1913"

Abstract: A fierce debate over the social and political consequences of rising income inequality is at the heart of the presidential campaign for 2020 and is likely to be a critical issue for Congress no matter who wins the presidency. Recent books like Winners Take All (Anand Giridharadas), Decolonizing Wealth (Edgar Villanueva), Just Giving (Robert Reich) and The Givers (David Callahan) have criticized the rich and pointed to the self-serving nature of philanthropy, suggesting that it is fundamentally corrosive to American democracy. Lost in this debate is the important role that philanthropy and social investment play in driving innovation and opportunity in the American economy. This paper will serve as the introduction and overview for my book-in-progress: Profit For Good. The book will highlight the role that philanthropy has played in developing talent, new knowledge, and physical infrastructure to support innovation and economic growth over the last century. Just as important, it will show how philanthropy in the United States has built and sustained institutions critical to the development of social networks and social capital, cultivating values, attitudes, and levels of trust that spark financial investment and feed the marketplace for goods and services, as well as ideas.

Yet as sociologist Daniel Bell warned 50 years ago, the balance wheel between philanthropy and the market in the United States is threatened by the postindustrial expansion of capitalism. In disparate arenas ranging from the domestic to the political, systems of social exchange that strengthened the fabric of civil society in the past are being dissolved by the substitution of depersonalized or anonymized market transactions that do little to bind people to the larger culture or society as a whole. Thus, paradoxically, the market’s expansion into the social economy now threatens to unravel the civil society that fueled its growth.

Profit for Good explores these tensions in a series of historical chapters that look at the relationship between civil society and economic growth, the changing attitudes of Americans toward the separation of non-profit from for-profit activities, and the evolution of the regulation of philanthropy and the market in the public interest.

Bio: Eric John Abrahamson is a business and economic historian who has researched and written about various regulated industries including telecommunications, financial services and electric utilities, as well as business and philanthropy in California, the United States and Canada. Abrahamson is president of Vantage Point Historical Services, Inc. He is also a fellow with the Institute of Applied Economics, Global Health and Study of Business Enterprise at Johns Hopkins University. Abrahamson received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 2003. His dissertation explored the relationship between innovation and regulation in the development of mobile telephony in the United States from 1947-1984.

April 21

Kathy Babiak, Associate Professor, Sport Management, University of Michigan

"Does Team Ownership Affect Corporate Philanthropy in Professional Sport?"

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Abstract: Introduction: As one of the pillars of corporate social responsibility, corporate philanthropy (CP) is a vehicle for businesses to create a social impact in communities where their operations are located and to lever access to markets nationally and globally (Gautier & Pache, 2015). In the professional sport context, corporate philanthropy has experienced growth and increased focus via the formation of affiliated team charitable foundations (Babiak & Wolfe, 2009; Walters, 2009). The emerging scholarly focus on CP in professional sport has examined its social and strategic value (Bingham & Walters, 2013; Inoue, Mahan & Kent, 2013; Ratten & Babiak, 2010). However, an overlooked aspect is the role and function played by CP influencers within firms – particularly organizational principals/owners (Galaskiewicz 1985; Gautier & Pache, 2015). Brammer, Millington and Pavelin (2006) found that top management plays a significant role in shaping the overall size of the philanthropic activities of most companies. According to the upper echelons perspective, individual owners are more frugal and sensitive to the bottom line than agent/managers who might not have a financial stake in the firm (Lee, Sun & Moon, 2018). This perspective posits that individualized experiences, perspectives, values, and cognitions influence managerial and strategic choices such as CP (Hambrick & Mason, 1984; Hambrick, 2007).

Purpose: Using an upper echelons perspective, this study explores the relationship between ownership and the focus, impact and nature of CP in the professional sport context. In particular, our research questions examine observable individual characteristics of sport team owners using an upper echelons perspective to understand how age, education, career experience, and socioeconomic roots impact CP performance.

Methods: Time series panel data were collected from a variety of publicly available sources and compiled into a central database of 146 U.S. professional sport teams in the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and MLS. Dependent variables include the level of corporate philanthropy derived from tax reporting data (2000–2016): revenues, expenditures, assets, mission/focus, and mode of social impact (categorized by charitable contributions to partners, program delivery, and / or infrastructure build). Independent variables include upper echelon attributes such as age, tenure as team owner, and educational/functional background. Moderating the relationship is the type of team ownership structure (individual, corporate, or partnership). Multi-level regression modeling will be conducted to examine associations between upper echelon attributes and the level of corporate philanthropy after adjusting for covariates (e.g., team performance and market size).

Discussion: CP is a unique phenomenon: while corporate leaders’ individual decisions determine firms’ philanthropic activities, their decisions are also partly shaped by organizational objectives and processes. Future research will explore these facets of this phenomenon. The results will provide valuable initial information on the directions and scope of CP efforts in professional sport and can offer managerial insights into effective and impactful CP delivery. These insights may be valuable to boards of directors and other CP managers in designing, structuring and executing CP in sport.

Bio: Dr. Babiak’s main line of research focuses on social responsibility and philanthropy in sport. She is the director of the Michigan Center for Sport and Social Responsibility. In this role, she works with a research team of global scholars whose work advances understanding of the role of sport organizations and business in society. Dr. Babiak’s research has examined the social impact of sport-based efforts from professional athletes, teams, leagues and team owners. Her research has explored the strategic factors motivating athletes and sport organizations to engage in pro-social behaviors, the structure and organization of these efforts, and the impact these initiatives have on the intended beneficiaries.

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