Gifts of Time and Money: The Role of Charity in America's Communities [Paperback]

What leads people to give their time and money to charity? What characteristics distinguish groups that are involved in civic affairs from those that are not? And what can policy makers and nonprofit leaders do to promote giving and volunteering? This collection of essays investigates those and other questions to determine how to maximize the reach of community involvement in philanthropic work.Policymakers, civic leaders, and scholars have increasingly focused their attention over the last decade and a half on the importance of voluntary participation in civil society. What mobilizes giving and volunteering? What can policymakers and nonprofit managers do to change the current landscape in places with low levels of participation? These are the questions this edited collection addresses. Published in cooperation with Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University.Policymakers, civic leaders, and scholars have increasingly focused their attention over the last decade-and-a-half on the importance of voluntary participation in civil society. From George H. W. Bush's Thousand Points of Light to Bill Clinton's AmeriCorps to George W. Bush's faith-based initiatives, it is undeniable that communities are looking to increase their levels of charity and voluntarism in the provision of public goods and services. What mobilizes giving and volunteering? What are the characteristics of communities that are engaged, and those that are not? What can policymakers and nonprofit managers do to change the current landscape in places with low levels of participation? These are the questions this edited collection addresses. It is the first book specifically dedicated to community giving and volunteering efforts with a best practices element. Published in cooperation with the Alan K. Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University.Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Can Government Build Community? Lessons from the National Service Program Chapter 3 Building Volunteer lăI