Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

This article argues that mutual benefit organizations deserve more attention than they have received from nonprofit sector scholars, because these organizations constitute a large and important part of the American non-profit sector and contain a great deal of charitable, altruistic, or philanthropic behavior The article focuses on mutual benefit organizations' philanthropic activities, both within the organizations and as an influence on the development of philanthropy in public benefit, 501 (c) (3)-type nonprofits.

With the noticeable growth of Alcoholics Anonymous since its founding in 1935 has come the tendency to regard the organization as a social movement. This article analyzes Alcoholics Anonymous as a social movement, specifically as a new social movement, and draws upon new social movement theory for the analysis. A particular strand of new social movement theory, the identity-oriented paradigm, is applied. The analysis reveals that Alcoholics Anonymous shares several key features with new social movements. Alcoholics Anonymous can be seen as a partial social movement, or a movement network submerged in civil society. Although "hidden," it serves as a distinct social and cultural force because of what it offers in addition to abstinence: an alternate interpretation of reality to that of the utilitarian/rationalist perspective, which has traditionally dominated American thought.

Even though there were over four million firms in 1988, only 1,300firms had foundations. However, these foundations contributed nearly $1.3 billion to charities. This article examines the effects of tax and other government policies on the establishment and use of corporate foundations in the United States from the early 1900s until the late 1980s. In addition, the study looks at the effect of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 on corporate and foundation giving. Two hypotheses are tested. First, corporate foundations may allow firms to smooth corporate gifts and maintain a steady level of corporate "goodwill." The notion of goodwill is similar to firm image or reputation. Second, corporate foundations may allow firms to minimize their tax bills, or maximize profits, over time. The findings of this paper support both hypotheses under the assumption that firms are profit maximizers. Tax and government policy makers can affect the timing and amount of corporate charitable donations by changing the corporate marginal tax rate, the social perceptions of corporate charitable activities (including foundations), the rulings on tax liability for foundations, and laws on deductibility of corporate and foundation gifts.