Elizabeth T. Boris, Center Director

The push for greater accountability and transparency in the corporate world is spilling over into the nonprofit sector. Our work aids nonprofit boards as they navigate this environment of increased scrutiny. In 2007, we conducted the first-ever national study of nonprofit governance. Our research found relationships between public policy and governance, board composition, board performance, and board compensation. We also hosted two Emerging Issues seminars: one on defining “charitability” and another on the IRS’s proposed redesign of Form 990, which nonprofit organizations must use to report management and governance policies. In a related effort to improve transparency, we developed a framework for easy-to-use performance outcome indicators for nonprofits.

Nonprofit organizations responded quickly after Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 and stayed to provide long-term assistance. Our research demonstrated that nonprofits play a crucial role in emergency preparedness but are not always well-integrated into disaster planning. We recommended ways to improve coordination, outreach, and communication, as well as ways to avoid nonprofit staff burnout. In March, we brought together leading researchers and policy experts to discuss lessons learned from rebuilding after Katrina. In a collection of essays, we also offer guidance on rebuilding in the Gulf Coast region with the underlying issues of poverty and inequality in mind.

Our National Center for Charitable Statistics created an e-postcard system for the IRS that will improve the quality, quantity, and timeliness of data on the nonprofit sector. Small nonprofits can be hard to track because they are not required to file a Form 990. With our new system, these nonprofits need only complete a simple electronic “postcard”—enough to provide the IRS and the public basic contact information. We anticipate that some 500,000 organizations will seize this opportunity once the web site is up and running in early 2008.

A new initiative, piloted by Emerging Scholars during the summer, began to document how immigrants are participating in civil society through nonprofits that they create and join.