ARNOVANews Monthly: October 2025 Edition

#ARNOVA25 CONFERENCE NEWS:

2025 ARNOVA Annual Conference: Register and Book Accommodation

Dear ARNOVA Community,

This is a friendly reminder that registration is open for the 54th Annual ARNOVA Conference! There’s still time to secure your spot and join us for an exciting and timely gathering of scholars, practitioners, and sector leaders.

This year’s theme, “The Evolving Role of Philanthropy in Global, National, and Local Contexts,” will bring together scholars, practitioners, and leaders examine how philanthropy is responding to today’s complex and shifting landscapes. With over 180 sessions, two plenaries, and ample networking opportunities, this is a must-attend event for anyone engaged in nonprofit and philanthropic research and practice

🏨 Reserve Your Room at the Conference Hotel
Booking your stay at the Marriott Indianapolis Downtown ensures you are close to all conference activities and eligible for the special conference rate starting from USD199 (plus applicable taxes). Rooms are limited, so we encourage you to book early to guarantee availability. Reserve by Wednesday, October 29, while rooms last!

If you have any questions about the event, please contact us via email or by phone 317-684-2121, or visit our conference website.

We look forward to welcoming you to Indianapolis this November!

Register Now

Book Your Stay

Please join us for a special pre-conference session
hosted by
Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and ARNOVA

Fast Forward: Policy & Legal Implications for the
Future State of the Philanthropic Sector

November 19, 2025, 1:30 – 4:30pm EST
(in person or online participation)

Tremendous change came to the philanthropic and nonprofit sector in 2025 in light of a slate of new policy pronouncements and resulting legal challenges. A portion of these changes resulted from rapid shifts in U.S. federal and state policy, yet others are the progeny of longstanding differences in perspectives regarding the role of the philanthropic sector in the U.S. All are harbingers of greater change that fundamentally will alter the future landscape of philanthropy, with impacts to be felt domestically and globally for many decades to come.

Join us for a deep dive on what these legal and policy changes may augur for the future state of philanthropy with a dynamic panel of policy and legal scholars and practitioners. From federal and state developments to global implications, this session offers a forward-looking lens on the future of civic engagement and the public good.

This afternoon session is a joint presentation from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University and ARNOVA.

Panelists:

• George Mitchell, CUNY Baruch, Marxe College of International and Public Affairs; Director, Center on nonprofit Strategy and Management
• Phillip Hackney, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
• Mark Sidel, UW Madison Law School; ICNL; GPEI
• Matthew Evans, United Philanthropy Forum, VP of Advocacy & External Relations
• Sara Barba, Managing Director, Integer Policy

Facilitator:

• Cindy M. Lott, Clinical Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Director, Professional Doctorate in Philanthropic Leadership (PhilD), Stead Policy Fellow

All attendees must register for this hybrid format session, whether in person (limited seating, please register by September 30) or virtual (Zoom). Attendees for this pre-conference session are not required to be registered for the full ARNOVA conference.

Please REGISTER HERE, whether for in-person or online attendance.

We look forward to your participation in this important dialogue!

ANNOUNCEMENTS & REMINDERS:

ARNOVA Conference Award Winners Announced

ARNOVA is excited to announce the winners for the 2025 ARNOVA Conference Awards. The following individuals and teams have demonstrated exceptional scholarship, innovation, and impact in the field (see the list below). 

Congratulations to all!

You can read winners' biographies and award citations HERE.

2025 Emerging Scholars Research Roundtable Participants:

The Distinguished Achievement and Leadership Award

Ram Cnaan, University of Pennsylvania

Gabriel G. Rudney Memorial Award for an Outstanding Dissertation in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research

Shuyi Deng, Indiana University

"Racial Disparities in Nonprofit Funding: Bringing BIPOC Nonprofits into Focus"

Outstanding Book Award in Nonprofit & Voluntary Action Research

Gizem Zencirci, Providence College

The Muslim Social: Neoliberalism, Charity, and Poverty in Turkey

Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Book Prize

Margaret Perez Brower, University of Washington

Intersectional Advocacy: Redrawing Policy Boundaries Around Gender, Race, and Class

RGK-ARNOVA President’s Award

Brad Fulton, Indiana University

Philanthropic Redlining: Examining How Structural Racism Shapes Foundation Giving

UMD Do Good Institute & ARNOVA Global Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Award

Contextualization Approach: Reframing Nonprofit and Philanthropy Research with Insights from Asia

• Tamaki Onishi, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• Bok Gyo Jeong, Kean University
• Seongho An, University of Central Florida
• Dana R.H. Doan, Indiana University
• Dipendra K.C., Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
  

Outstanding Article in NVSQ

“Beyond Stakeholder Management: Organizational Listening for Nonprofit Stakeholder Engagement”

• Jiawei Sophia Fu, Rutgers University
• Katherine R. Cooper, DePaul University
• DaJung Woo, Rutgers University
• Melanie Kwestel, Rutgers University
  

NVSQ Best Reviewer

Erica Harris, Florida International University

Best Conference Paper Award

Minji Hong, Georgia State University

“Funding the Mission by Funding the Back Office: Causal Evidence from the Paycheck Protection Program”

The Lester M. Salamon Memorial Award for Promising PhD Proposal in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research

Jung Ho Choi, University of Pennsylvania

“Essays on the Social Impact of Philanthropic Grant-Making”

Editors' Prize for the Best Scholarly Paper in NML

“Does mission concreteness make a difference in nonprofit performance? Automated text analysis approach to the importance of concrete mission statements” 

• Young Min Baek, Yonsei University
• Jennifer Ihm, Kwangwoon University
• Chul Hee Kang, Yonsei University
  

Distinguished Service to ARNOVA Award

• Elizabeth Searing, University of Texas at Dallas
• William A. Brown, Texas A&M University
  

Best Poster

The winners of the Best Poster Award will be selected and announced at the 2025 ARNOVA conference in Indianapolis.

Winners of 2025 Emerging Scholars Research Roundtable Announced

ARNOVA Professional Development Committee is pleased to announce that the following scholars have been chosen to participate in the 2025 Emerging Scholars Research Roundtable (co-chaired by Danbi Seo and Rachel Fyall):

• Huirong Bi

• Mac-Jane Crayton

• Margaret Dansu

• Jonathan Espinosa

• Michele Fugiel Gartner

• Teresa Waddle Gotthardt

• Minji Hong

• Lu "Luke" Ke

• Shaun Khurana

• Jintak Kim

• Yinglin Ma

• Tiana Marrese

• Olanike "Nike" Ojelabi

• Megan Pontes

• Simon Yamawaki Shachter

• Qingqing Sun

• Elizabeth Timothy

• Corbin Walls

• Wenpei You

Call for Papers – Special Issue of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

Theme: Reimagining Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies

Guest Editors: Angela Bies, Susan Phillips, and Chao Guo

The Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ) invites submissions for a special issue that seeks to reimagine the future of nonprofit and philanthropic studies. In a time of profound societal transformation, technological disruption, and shifting public expectations, this issue aims to gather critical, creative, and interdisciplinary scholarship that challenges assumptions and charts new directions for the field.

We welcome contributions that:

• Reconsider foundational concepts such as legitimacy, accountability, and governance.
• Engage innovative methods, data sources, and theoretical frameworks.
• Illuminate underexplored patterns and voices in nonprofit and philanthropic activity.
• Bridge disciplinary divides and offer field-defining insights

Illustrative areas of inquiry include:

• Interdisciplinary Methods & Cross-Field Insights: From neuroscience and AI to spatial econometrics and historical analysis.
• Rising Challenges & Evolving Domains: Including global crises, institutional precarity, and new organizational forms.
• Rethinking Core Concepts: Revisiting what we mean by nonprofit, philanthropy, and civil society in today’s context.

Submission timeline:

• Abstracts (≤750 words) due: December 1, 2025
• Decisions communicated by: December 31, 2025
• Full manuscripts (~10,000 words) due: May 30, 2026
  (Early submissions are welcome; peer review follows NVSQ’s standard process)

Submission instructions:

• Email your abstract as a Word or PDF attachment to Kianna L. Big Crow
• Use the subject line: NVSQ Special Issue Abstract
• Name your file: Lastname_NVSQ_SI.docx or .pdf

Virtual feedback sessions will be held in early 2026 to foster dialogue and strengthen submissions.

For pre-submission inquiries, contact Angela Bies.

Let’s reimagine the field together. We look forward to your bold ideas and thoughtful scholarship!

The Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, the official journal of ARNOVA, is the leading scholarly journal in the field of nonprofit, philanthropic and civil society studies. It is now published six times a year and provides a forum for researchers from around the world to publish timely articles from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.

Current members now have direct access to research, articles, podcasts and more through the Member Hub! Just sign into your ARNOVA membership and click on "NVSQ Direct Access" quick link, located at the bottom left side of the window.

ARNOVA SECTIONS:

Call for Submissions: 2025 Felice Davidson Perlmutter Award

The Theory, Issues, Boundaries Section (TIBS) is calling on ARNOVA members to submit their 2025 ARNOVA conference papers for the annual Felice Davidson Perlmutter Award. The award recognizes the profound contribution that Felice gave to both TIBS and ARNOVA, with a special emphasis on the interplay between theory and practice.
 
The 2025 Perlmutter Award will go to a conference paper that promises a strong contribution to our knowledge of nonprofit and voluntary theory, issues, and/or boundaries.

Important details:

• The submission must be accepted to the 2025 ARNOVA conference
• At least one author must be a current TIBS member (new members are welcome!)
• The submission must be a complete manuscript at the time of submission
• The submission must not be more than 10,000 words, inclusive of tables, references, etc.
• Authors must remove their names from the submission for blind review by the review committee

Submissions are due by October 19, 2025, at midnight by e-mailing to Julie Langer at Northern Illinois University. This year's award review committee consists of Julie Langer, Lauren Dula, Taka Yoshioka, and Jiwon Suh.

The winner will be recognized in conjunction with TIBS and ARNOVA conference events.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Julie Langer via email.

Call for Nominations: TIBS 2025 Executive Committee Elections

TIBS is pleased to announce its annual elections, which will take place via electronic voting prior to the ARNOVA 2025 conference. The Nominating Committee is currently seeking nominations for two at-large positions.

In order to be eligible, nominees must be ARNOVA members and must have been TIBS members for at least one year. The positions for Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer, as section officers, are open only for the TIBS executive committee members.

If you are interested in serving in one of these positions, please submit (1) a brief letter of interest indicating the position in which you would like to serve, and (2) a brief bio (up to 300 words, including name, contact information, and professional affiliation). You may also nominate TIBS members who you believe would be a good fit for these positions.

TIBS welcomes and encourages participation on the executive committee of individuals from diverse backgrounds, theoretical and ideological perspectives, and disciplines.

The nomination period will close on Friday, October 17th, 2025, at 5 pm (EST), and voting will take place electronically shortly thereafter until Friday, November 7th, 2025, at 5 pm (EST). Results will be announced at the TIBS membership meeting during the conference.

Please email your nominations or self-nominations to Seth Meyer no later than Friday, October 17th, 2025, at 5 pm (EST).

Thank you very much for your interest in serving TIBS!

2025 TIBS Nominating Committee: 

• Seth J. Meyer, TIBS Past-Chair
• Ruth Hansen, TIBS Chair
• Julie Langer, TIBS Chair-elect

The position description and terms:
At-large members (two-year term) play important roles in TIBS governance, serving on various sub-committees and working across a variety of program areas including conference planning (e.g., colloquy, research roundtables), communications and outreach, membership development, and various other annual programs.

Learn more about the Theory, Issues, Boundaries Section (TIBS).

Share your recent wins and milestones — we’d love to celebrate your success!

Are you a member of the Theory, Issues, Boundaries Section (TIBS)? Have you published research, completed a project, earned recognition, or made an impact in your community or organization?

Submit your recent achievements to Jiwon Suh, so we can celebrate together and inspire others.