STIMULATING THE COLLECTION OF 
DATA NOT OTHERWISE COLLECTED

Another strategy to improve the resource base on the independent sector is to sponsor, support, or encourage the collection of data that are not collected by the government. This includes both studies sponsored by Independent Sector, and providing encouragement and support to a variety of organizations to engage in the regular collection of information on various aspects of the nonprofit sector. Independent Sector is sponsoring regular national surveys on giving and volunteering, a national survey on the activities and finances of religious institutions, and is assisting and encouraging cities and states to conduct local and regional surveys of giving and volunteering behavior. Independent Sector also has supported and encouraged the continuing research tax policy and its impact on giving by Lawrence Lindsey the National Bureau of Economic Research and Charles Clotfelter of Duke University.

Another ongoing study that is improving our understanding of the diversity and complexity of this sector and building the resource base for other scholars is the Nonprofit Sector Project at The Urban Institute. The Nonprofit Sector Project, directed by Lester Salamon, is the only major national search project on nonprofit human services organizations (at 16 sites around the country) that has been conducted. As a result of this research, new definitions of the sector (particularly in social services) are emerging, information on scope and activities of nonprofit organizations and their sources of support are becoming available, and a profile of the complex interrelationships or partnerships that nonprofit sectors engage in with both the public and private sectors is being revealed. This project is the only study that charts changes in programs, financing, employment, and volunteer service in this sector. As such, it has provided new information that will be useful in improving the collection of data on nonprofit organizations at the federal level, on charting new trends programs, and in determining the vitality of nonprofit organizations over time. In the future, information from the surveys should provide social scientists with an enormous valuable set of empirical data for testing various concepts developed to explain the role and functions of this sector in the economy and in the political structures of the society.

Other regional studies are also providing insights into the structure, impact, and functions of philanthropic institutions and nonprofit organizations in relation to communities. Of particular note is the continuing work of Julian Wolpert (Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University); Thomas A. Reiner (University of Pennsylvania); and Joseph Galaskiewicz (University of Minnesota). These studies provide a more in-depth analysis of the impact of philanthropy on particular communities. There is a need for more sociological studies of communities and regions, particularly cross-sectional studies that examine the interrelationships of government, business and the nonprofit sector.

Two other major studies will provide valuable information about foundations and the philanthropic behavior of the wealthy. A study co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations and the Program on Non-Profit Organizations at Yale University examines the formation of foundations during this century. Part of this massive study involved a survey of wealthy individuals, accountants, and legal advisors to the wealthy, and an analysis of recent bequests to determine the philanthropic behavior of the wealthy and their attitudes and perceptions about starting their own foundations. America's Wealthy and the Future of Foundations, edited by Teresa J. Odendahl (The Foundation Center, 1987) provides detailed analyses of these studies.

Another study conducted by Paul Schervish at Boston College also involved a national survey of wealthy individuals to probe how they use their wealth and what their motivations are to engage in philanthropic activities. These two studies, along with the Yankelovich, Skelly and White survey on charitable behavior of Americans (1984) commissioned by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Gallup survey of

Americans Volunteer (1985) commissioned by Independent Sector, provide baseline information to encourage researchers to look seriously at issues of the values, attitudes, and motivations of Americans in their giving and volunteering behavior, and as such provide a rich resource base to stimulate further research.

Corporate giving grew faster than other types of giving during the 1970s, and by the 1980s, annual corporate giving equaled foundation giving. Other than an annual survey of corporate giving (Annual Survey of Corporate Contributions) conducted by the Conference Board and The Council for Aid to Education, which focuses on the top 1,000 corporations, good information on the universe of U.S. corporations and their giving was not available until Hayden Smith analyzed corporate giving using special runs from the IRS corporate tax files. A Profile of Corporate Contributions (1982) gave detailed figures on corporate giving for 1977. An update covering corporate giving in 1983 is forthcoming.

Corporations give more than cash and equipment. The help nonprofit organizations in many ways ranging from providing loaned executives to encouraging their employee to volunteer in their communities. However, little is know about the scope of these activities. To address the issue of non-cash corporate giving, Alex Plinio, president of the Prudential Foundation and a member of the IS Research Committee, interviewed corporations over a period of years, and wrote, with Joanne Scanlan, Resource Raising: The Role of Non-Cash Assistance in Corporate Philanthropy, in which he catalogued such corporate activity and estimated its values.

The last study of the scope and extent of employee volunteering in corporations was Volunteers in the Workplace (1979), the first comprehensive study of the nature and scope of the efforts of corporations and organized labor to involve workers as volunteers in their communities. The study, conducted by Volunteer, the National Organization that provide technical assistance and information services to the volunteer community, was urged to repeat this historic study on a regular basis. In 1986, it published an update, including a new national survey of volunteers from the workplace, in A New Competitive Edge: Volunteers From the Workplace. All of these studies are starting to provide a more complete picture of corporate participation and giving in the community.

The United Way of America also is conducting and producing research on the social service agencies in America that receive little attention in government information collections. Over the past five years, the United Way Research Division has developed a sophisticated community information gathering and sharing network that is useful to assess community needs.

The purpose of supporting the development of data collection on this sector is to produce more resources for social science research, for public policy deliberations, and for the dissemination of information to the public. Because data collection systems need careful thought, more investment, and demand long-term investment, there is a need for organizations (such as The Foundation Center, the National Center for Charitable Statistics, and the National Bureau of Economic Research) and research institutions (such as The Urban Institute and The Brookings Institution) to devote substantial efforts and time in the planning, examination, coordination, and review of a system of information regularly collected that will provide a meaningful and accurate description of this sector and its relationship to the American society and economy.