1,721,055 research outputs found
Do overnight field trips make a difference? : perspectives from women who know
No full textThis research project illuminates the ideas and personal experiences of seven female, secondary school graduates who participated in experiential learning field trips while attending high school. Its purpose is to attempt to understand how overnight field trips of different durations have impacted former students and determine the meaning of their experience. This report identifies five significant categories arising from a modified grounded theory analysis of the students’ perspectives on their field trip experience: Organization, Educational Opportunities, Relationships, Environment and Experiences which lead to one significant conclusion: field trips are transformational to female high school students. The data also reflects the impact field trip participation has had on the environmental awareness, values and attitudes of participants. I conclude with recommendations that may prove useful for teachers planning overnight field trips, TCDSB staff responsible for field trip approval and for Royal Roads MEEC staff responsible for organizing similar experiences for their students
Civil Society Sector and Philanthropy in Serbia: Informality, Institutionalization and Changing Environment
No full textSerbian citizens associate philanthropy with “helping people in need.” They believe that any kind of help, not only financial and material, is philanthropy. Accounting for the local context, the definition of philanthropy is “voluntarily dedicating one’s non-material and material resources for the benefit of others or the common good.” Thus, philanthropy includes volunteering time and donating money and possessions to formal organizations, informal groups, and individuals.
Philanthropy, in some forms, has been present in Serbia since its beginnings. However, the nonprofit sector has never had a prominent role in the social welfare provision. During the socialist period spanning the second half of the 20th century, the state oversaw social welfare. Although the welfare system has moved from a socialist to a more liberal model since the beginning of the 21st century, citizens of Serbia still view the state as the essential factor in the welfare system by expanding the responsibilities of individuals and their families.
The nonprofit sector is relatively young and small. Between 2001 and 2012, the legal framework for the functioning of the nonprofit sector was adopted. It was in line with European standards. Nonprofit organizations in Serbia operate through forms of associations, endowments, and foundations. A certain number of organizations are positioned for dealing with specific issues, and they have relatively well-developed capacities for advocacy and policy dialogue.
In contrast, most of the nonprofits still have low advocacy and policy capacities. Strategical planning is rarely practiced, monitoring and evaluation are also weak. The sector is not homogenous when it comes to fundraising, with some organizations being professional, while others, most likely those small and are still at the embryonic phase of fundraising. The majority of nonprofit organizations face financial instability.
The nonprofit sector has only fragmented relationships with the state. Governmental funding of the nonprofits is available at all three levels: central, provincial, and local. These funding opportunities are directed towards projects or programs. However, the criteria for the public financial support need to be better defined and implemented. The nonprofits are exempted from tax on grants, donations, membership dues, and non-economic sources of income. For tax benefits for donors, exemptions exist for corporate donors but not for individual donors.
Additionally, the majority of Serbian citizens participate in some form of philanthropy. Informal practices are more prevalent than formal, in terms of both giving money and giving time, though the process of institutionalization of philanthropy is notable in the past couple of years. In recent years, partnerships and initiatives aiming at building a better environment for philanthropy have appeared, effects of which are still to be seen. Though the study of philanthropy as an academic discipline lacks prominence, there has been an increased interest in this research field during the past couple of years
Essays on Competition and Entrepreneurial Choice between Nonprofit and For-profit Firms
Get PDFIn my four dissertation essays I focus on the entrepreneurial motivations to enter the nonprofit sector, the objectives of nonprofit institutions, and the competition between nonprofit and for-profit firms within an industry. The literature review looks at the nonprofit sector in a more general way, touching on its size and importance to society, its focus the characteristics that distinguish it from the for-profit sector. To motivate three theoretical chapters, I survey the literature on managerial motivations to enter the nonprofit sector, objective functions that nonprofits pursue, and mixed competition. Two theoretical essays explore competition between one nonprofit and one for-profit firm in the market for an excludable public good. The two competing firms follow different objectives and face different constraints and both optimize with respect to quality and price. Consumers are heterogeneous with respect to quality. The firms' behavior in mixed competition is compared to the nonprofit duopoly and for-profit duopoly. Among other results, the model reveals that the nonprofit firm is a natural leader in the market. The for- profit firm prefers a nonprofit competitor to a for-profit one, and it is better off when its nonprofit competitor is efficient and subsidized. The robustness of these..
Advocacy by environmental nonprofit organizations: An optimal strategy for addressing environmental problems?
Get PDFSeveral policy alternatives exist to protect environmental quality. Environmental nonprofits advocating for better environmental quality must often choose what policies to advocate and support. This article argues that environmental nonprofits will do best by designing strategies of advocacy contingent on the net costs to the stakeholders and paying attention to the crowding-out effects of monetary incentives. It investigates the advocacy policies of 50 environmental organizations in Canada. The findings of this survey show that although reduction of net costs is espoused, market-based policies are not generally advocated, while a greater emphasis is put on regulatory approaches combined with moral suasion through the dissemination of information and educational programs
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