The recent worldwide growth of community foundations presents new opportunities for community-based social change. Realizing that promise requires that community foundations sustain the charitable support of their communities with increasing competition for these resources, and thus an understanding of the connection between community characteristics and charitable giving is necessary. The authors focus here on the potential role of community social capital. This study develops and empirically explores a model that connects social capital and gifts to community foundations, while controlling for community demographics and the community's exposure to charitable organizations. The authors find that per capita gifts to community foundations increase with the level of social trust in the community. In addition, gifts are affected by the number of years that community foundations have existed in the region, population density, homeownership, and the poverty rate. Implications are developed for community foundations and for our understanding of the different dimensions of social capital.
Baum, J., & Oliver, C. (1991). Institutional linkages and organizational mortality . Administrative Science Quarterly, 36(2), 187-218.
4.
Bekkers, R. (2003). Trust, accreditation, and philanthropy in the Netherlands. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 32(4), 596-615.
5.
Berresford, S.V. (1989). Collaboration: Models, benefits, and tensions . In R. Magat (Ed.), An agile servant: Community leadership by community foundations (pp. 137-146). New York: Foundation Center.
6.
Boix, C., & Posner, D.N. (1998). Social capital: Explaining its origins and effects on government performance. British Journal of Political Science , 28(4), 686-693.
7.
Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
8.
Brooks, A. (2005). Does social capital make you generous? Social Science Quarterly, 86(1), 1-15.
9.
Brown, E., & Ferris, J.M. (2007). Social capital and philanthropy: An analysis of the impact of social capital on individual giving and volunteering. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 36(1), 85-99.
10.
Carman, J. (2001). Community foundations: A growing resource for community development. Nonprofit Management and Leadership , 12(1), 7-24.
11.
Carson, E. (1994). Community foundations, racial diversity, and institutional change. New Directions for Philanthropic Fundraising, 5, 33-43.
12.
Coleman, J.S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital . American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95-S120.
13.
Corbin, J.J. (1999). A study of factors influencing the growth of nonprofits in social services. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly , 28(3), 296-314.
14.
Council on Foundations. (1999). Cultures of caring: Philanthropy in diverse American communities. Washington, DC: Author.
15.
Davis, J.A., Smith, T.W., & Marsden, P.V. (2005). General social surveys, 1972-2004 (2nd ICPSR version) . Chicago: National Opinion Research Center.
16.
Deephouse, D.L., & Carter, S.M. (2005). An examination of difference between organizational legitimacy and organizational reputation. Journal of Management Studies, 42(2), 329-360.
17.
Ferris, J., & Graddy, E. (2007). Why do nonprofits merge? Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/philanthropy/private/docs/RP28_GraddyFerris_Why_NPs_Merge_10_29.pdf
18.
Foundation Center. (2005). Change in community foundation giving and assets, 1981-2003. Retrieved November 10, 2006, from http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/statistics/pdf/02_found_growth/00_03.pdf
19.
Fukuyama, F. (1995). Trust: The social virtues and the creation of prosperity. New York: Free Press .
20.
Fukuyama, F. (1999). Social capital and civil society. Retrieved May 5, 2006, from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/seminar/1999/reforms/fukuyama.htm
21.
Garonzik, E. (1999). Community foundation and civil society. In P. Walkenhorst (Ed.), Community foundations in civil society (pp. 16-20). Gütersloh, Germany: Bertelsmann Foundation.
22.
Graddy, E., & Chen, B. (2006). Influences on the size and scope of networks for social service delivery. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 16(4), 533-552.
23.
Graddy, E., & Morgan, D. (2006). Community foundations, organizational strategy, and public policy. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly , 35(4), 605-630.
24.
Grønbjerg, K., & Paarlberg, L. (2001). Community variations in the size and scope of the nonprofit sector: Theory and preliminary findings. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 30(4), 684-706.
25.
Hammack, D. (1989). Community foundations: The delicate question of purpose. In R. Magat (Ed.), An agile servant: Community leadership by community foundations (pp. 23-47). New York: Foundation Center.
26.
Hannan, M.T., & Freeman, J. (1989). Organizational ecology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
27.
Helliwell, J.F., & Putnam, R.D. (1999). Education and social capital (National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. W7121). Retrieved May 5, 2006, from http://ssrn.com/abstract=165129
28.
Hero, P. (1999). Early stage development of community foundations: Challenges to growth. In P. Walkenhorst (Ed.), Community foundations in civil society (pp. 70-80). Gütersloh , Germany: Bertelsmann Foundation.
29.
Ho, A. (2006). Charitable giving: What makes a person generous? (Thesis, Georgetown University). Retrieved November 10, 2007 , from http://dspace.wrlc.org/bitstream/1961/3602/1/etd_ath6.pdf
30.
Hodgkinson, V.A., & Weitzman, M.S. (1996). Giving and volunteering in the United States, 1996. Washington, DC : Independent Sector.
31.
Independent Sector. (2003). A nation of givers: Regional patterns in American giving and volunteering . Washington, DC: Author.
32.
Independent Sector and National Council of Churches. (2004). Faith and philanthropy: The connection between charitable behavior and giving to religion. Retrieved October 10, 2006, from http://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/faithphilanthropy.html
33.
Kawachi, I., Kennedy, B.P., & Glass, R. (1999). Social capital and self-rated health: A contextual analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 89(9), 1491-1498.
34.
Kawachi, I., Kennedy, B.P., & Wilkinson, R.G. (1998). Mortality, the social environment, crime and violence. Sociology of Health and Illness, 20(5), 578-597.
35.
Knack, S. (2002). Social capital and the quality of government: Evidence from the States. American Journal of Political Science , 46(4), 772-785.
36.
Leonard, J. (1989). Creating community capital: Birth and growth of community foundations. In R. Magat (Ed.), An agile servant: Community leadership by community foundations (pp. 89-103). New York: Foundation Center.
37.
Lincoln, J.R. (1977). The urban distribution of voluntary organizations . Social Science Quarterly, 58(4), 472-480.
38.
Lounsbury, M., & Glynn, M.A. (2001). Cultural entrepreneurship: Stories, legitimacy, and the acquisition of resources. Strategic Management Journal , 22, 545-564.
39.
Magat, R. (1989). Why donors give: Thirteen views. In R. Magat (Ed.), An agile servant: Community leadership by community foundations (pp. 105-119). New York: Foundation Center.
40.
Martin, M.W. (1994). Virtuous giving: Philanthropy, voluntary service, and caring. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
41.
Mesch, D., Rooney, P.M., Steinberg, K.S., & Denton, B. (2006). The effects of race, gender, and marital status on giving and volunteering in Indiana. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35(4), 565-587.
42.
Narayan, D. (1999). Bonds and bridges: Social capital and poverty . Retrieved May 5, 2006, from http://www.worldbank.org/html/dec/Publications/Workpapers/wps2000series/wps2167/wps2167.pdf
43.
Narayan, D., & Cassidy, M. (2001). A dimensional approach to measuring social capital: Development and validation of a social capital inventory. Current Sociology, 49(2), 59-102.
44.
Olson, M. (1971). The logic of collective action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
45.
Putnam, R.D. (1995). Bowling alone: America's declining social capital . Journal of Democracy, 6(1), 65-78.
46.
Putnam, R.D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
47.
Putnam, R.D., Leonardi, R., & Nantti, R. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
48.
Ragey, N., Masaoka, J., & Peters, J.B. (2005). Convergence & competition: United Ways & community foundations. San Francisco, CA: CompassPoint Nonprofit Services.
49.
Reece, W.S., & Zieschang, K.D. (1985). Consistent estimation of the impact of tax deductibility on the level of charitable contributions. Econometrica, 53, 271-293.
50.
Rossi, P.H., & Weber, E. (1996). The social benefits of homeownership: Empirical evidence from national surveys. Housing Policy Debate, 7(1), 1-33.
51.
Sacks, E.W. (2004). 2004 community foundation global status report . Retrieved October 20, 2006, from http://www.wingsweb.org/information/publications_community.cfm
52.
Saxton, G.D., & Benson, M.A. (2005). Social capital and the growth of the nonprofit sector. Social Science Quarterly, 86(1), 16-35.
53.
Seligman, A.B. (1997). The problem of trust. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
54.
Woolcock, M. (1998). Social capital and economic development: Toward a theoretical synthesis and policy framework. Theory and Society , 27, 151-208.
