Browsing by Author "Ai, Jin"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Activating Community Resilience: The Emergence of COVID-19 Funds Across the United States
    (Sage, 2020-11) Paarlberg, Laurie E.; LePere-Schloop, Megan; Ai, Jin; Ming, Yue; Walk, Marlene; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
    This article draws upon concepts of community resilience to explore the antecedents of community philanthropic organizations’ response to COVID-19. Although the pandemic is a global threat, responses have been local. We test a model of community resilience activation in the context of the emergence of local COVID-19 funds. We find that a philanthropic organization’s capacity to act in a crisis and respond to the needs of the community depends on the stock of community capitals and organizational capacity. The importance of economic, cultural, and political factors in predicting the emergence of a fund raises important questions about disparities in resilience along class and race lines and the role of political ideology in shaping perceptions of crises. Our research contributes to our understanding of community philanthropic organizations’ capacity to activate community resources during a crisis.
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    Intellectual Structure and Dynamics of Novelty Within Philanthropic and Nonprofit Studies: A Computational and Structural Analysis
    (2024-07) Ai, Jin; Badertscher, Katherine; Guo, Chao; Steinberg, Richard; Andersson, Fredrik; King, David
    This dissertation examines scholarship within the emerging interdisciplinary field of philanthropic and nonprofit studies. The field has experienced significant shifts due to evolving societal and technological landscapes. To facilitate the effective and sustainable growth of the field, the study first seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of its intellectual structure using computational methods. To sort out the pattern and impact of novel research, the study then introduces a new typology of research novelty. Drawing upon network analytics, and theories of scientific discovery and innovation, four types of novelty are proposed, including Pioneer Novelty (introducing a new topic to the field, and the topic thereafter becoming central to the field), Periphery Novelty (introducing a new topic to the field, but the topic remains peripheral to the field), Shortener Novelty (reducing the connection distance between two topics that are previously disconnected or indirectly connected, and subsequently reshape the direction of the field evolution), and Strengthener Novelty (reinforcing the connection between two topics that are previously weakly connected, and subsequently change the centrality of the topics). The study identifies twenty knowledge clusters by analyzing a dataset of 60,399 articles gathered from the Web of Science database using a curated keyword list. The structure and scope of the clusters suggest that the field of philanthropic studies is changing from its interdisciplinary roots in social sciences and humanities to a broader spectrum, including social sciences, life science & biomedicine, arts & humanities, technology, and physical sciences. Further, analysis of novelty uncovers complexities in the relationship between research novelty and impact. Notably, Pioneer/Periphery Novelty is positively correlated with citation impact, while Shortener Novelty is negatively related and Strengthener Novelty shows varied relationships. These findings suggest the need to reevaluate the theoretical and methodological approaches that have been engaged in investigating the field, and the need for an evaluation framework that acknowledges and rewards various novel endeavors in advancing the progress of the field. In summary, by mapping the intellectual structure and analyzing the dynamics of novelty within philanthropic studies, the study enhances a ‘sense of intellectual continuity and coherence’ within and beyond the philanthropic studies community.
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    The Landscape of Community Philanthropy: Navigating Relationships between local United Ways and Community Foundations
    (2020-09) Paarlberg, Laurie E.; LePere-Schloop, Megan; Horning, Cherilyn; Ai, Jin
    Community philanthropic organizations, those organizations like United Ways and community foundations, have traditionally played important roles by raising and distribute resources within a specific geographic place, increasingly play important roles in planning for and funding local public service delivery. Over the last two decades, the field of community philanthropy has experienced many shifts. Changing donor expectations, increased competition from other nonprofits and commercial funds, economic restructuring and demographic shifts have all pushed local United Ways and community foundations to rethink their roles and their business models. These changes also affect relationships between organizations. This report summarizes the roles that United Ways and community foundations play in their local communities, their perceptions of the changes going on in the world around them and their perceptions of their relationships with each other.
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    The Political Embeddedness of Voluntary Action: The Case of Local Philanthropic COVID-19 Relief Funds
    (Sage, 2023) Paarlberg, Laurie E.; Ai, Jin; LePere-Schloop, Megan; Walk, Marlene; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
    Scholars and policymakers have long been interested in the complex relationships between political institutions and voluntary collective action. However, the reciprocal nature of their relationships complicates empirical analysis: voluntary action supports democratic institutions and political institutions enable voluntary action. This article examines the relationship between political institutions and the activation of local voluntary action in the context of COVID-19 funds managed by community philanthropic organizations. We find that political engagement, policy signaling, and political competition all support the emergence of a COVID-19 fund. The findings advance our understanding of the significant role that political institutions play in activating voluntary action.
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    Understanding Cooperation in the Face of Competition: Coopetitive Dynamics Between Community Foundations and Local United Ways
    (2021-06-01) Ai, Jin; Cat-Turner, Lindsay; Horning, Cherilyn; Paarlberg, Laurie E.
    This study examines “coopetitive” relationships between community foundations and local United Ways, relationships that combine both cooperative and competitive elements. Although business management literature has widely recognized that interorganizational relationships often are not purely cooperative or competitive, coopetitive relationships have received less attention in nonprofit research. We use a mixed methods approach to explore the concept of nonprofit coopetition. Drawing upon quantitative survey data and qualitative interviews from eight communities, we examine the existence and conditions in which coopetitive relationships are developed and maintained.