Chapter 6: The Philanthropic Context for Fundraising

This chapter outlines the challenges and opportunities present in the changing environment of nonprofit organizations. A brief presentation of the size and scope of the sector in the United States highlights the growth in the number of organizations, funding, and volunteering. The digitalization in philanthropy infrastructure draws attention to an increasingly complex use of media and technology for communication, fundraising, philanthropy education, and applied research. The implications of commercial and nonprofit provision of information, access to the digital realm, and data privacy concerns are highlighted. The effects of economic change, natural disasters including the pandemic, a social climate of dissatisfaction and polarization, and a political environment prompting scrutiny in institutions all challenge philanthropy and require fundraisers to connect their work with the broader social issues of the day. Giving has rapidly adapted and is carried out in new ways to meet the everchanging needs in society.

Pat Danahey Janin

Pat Danahey Janin is a consultant, instructor, and Ph.D. candidate at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Her research is on international philanthropy and the ocean, which led her to work for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science. She has taught at the Lilly Family School and SciencesPo Paris. Pat worked internationally for 18 years in the business, nonprofit, and government sectors, and holds an M.B.A. from ESCP Paris, a graduate degree from the Sorbonne Paris IV, and a B.A. from Colorado State University.

Dwight Burlingame

Dwight F. Burlingame, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University, where he taught Philanthropic and Nonprofit Studies for 31 years. He is a member of Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), where he served a six-year term as editor of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ) and treasurer. He has received numerous awards and is active in the nonprofit community. He earned a B.A. from Moorhead State University, an M.S. from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. from Florida State University.

A conversation with chapter authors Dwight Burlingame and Pat Danahey Janin facilitated by Bill Stanczykiewicz, Director of The Fund Raising School.