PSI Blog Posts

Recent Blog Posts

Nonprofit Organizations

PSI's Roundup of 2023 Nonprofit Data News to Date

Leading members of the U.S. nonprofit community, concerned about a backlog of nonprofit tax forms that has reached historic proportions, recently submitted comments on the Form 990 series to the Internal Revenue Service.

BY Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation

06.27.2023
Nonprofit Organizations

Partners Urge Congress to Provide BLS with Funding for Nonprofit Workforce Data

PSI was glad to join with our partners and urge Congress to provide the Bureau of Labor Statistics with the funding necessary to include nonprofit workforce data in its Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. This joint letter to Congressional leaders builds on PSI’s efforts over the past decade, including successfully advocating for the release of nonprofit workforce data every five years by BLS.

BY Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation

05.03.2023
Philanthropy

How Field Strategists Could Deepen Philanthropy’s Impact

Aspen Institute Vice President and PSI Executive Director, Jane Wales in conversation with Chloe Cockburn, president of Just Impact Advisors.

BY Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation

01.17.2023
Nonprofit Organizations

Nonprofit Data Collective Members Submit Comments to the IRS

Leading members of the U.S. nonprofit community, concerned about a backlog of nonprofit tax forms that has reached historic proportions, recently submitted comments on the Form 990 series to the Internal Revenue Service.

BY Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation

12.12.2022

Past Blog Posts

Social Capital

Want to Build Trust? Start by Giving Back

Trust is the societal glue on which our democracy depends.

BY Jane Wales

11.08.2022
Nonprofit Organizations

New in SSIR: Unlocking the Potential of Open 990 Data

The Program on Philanthropy & Social Innovation (PSI) at the Aspen Institute is pleased to share a new article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), Unlocking the Potential of Open 990 Data. In the article, authors Cinthia Schuman Ottinger of PSI and Jeff Williams of the Dorothy Johnson Center for Philanthropy build on PSI’s work to generate new knowledge and increase transparency in the nonprofit sector.

BY Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation

09.08.2022
Nonprofit Organizations

Hundreds of Nonprofits and Scholars Call for Regular Data

Over 250 national, state and local nonprofits, and individual researchers submitted a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Martin Walsh, on Friday, August 6, 2021, requesting the release of quarterly data on nonprofit employment and wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

BY Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation

08.09.2021
PSI Blog Posts

America's Next Chapter

Can the Institute create a more inclusive world? Jane Wales explores how Institute programs are joining forces to do just that. Introducing the Pillars of Society.

BY Jane Wales

12.01.2020
Nonprofit Organizations

PSI Mourns the Passing of John Lewis

PSI Mourns the Passing of John Lewis, Champion of Nonprofit Transparency. In 2019, and with the support of Rep. Lewis, H.R. 1957 was passed in the full House through a procedure used for non-controversial measures.

BY Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation

07.20.2020
Philanthropy

Billionaires, Big Givers and the Bets They Make: A Timeline

By Jane Wales, Vice President of the Aspen Institute and Executive Director of its Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation (PSI), and founder of th ...

BY Jane Wales Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation

03.11.2020
Nonprofit Organizations

New Law Brings Overdue Changes to Nonprofit Tax Filings

The legislation mandates electronic filing of nonprofit tax returns and the release of this information by the IRS, for free.

BY Cinthia Schuman Ottinger Ashby Jong Henningsen

07.18.2019
Nonprofit Organizations

Open Nonprofit Data Open Doors for Researchers

Pamela Paxton, a professor of sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, is taking a fresh approach to studying donations and volunteering: looking at ...

BY Cinthia Schuman Ottinger Belén Bonilla

11.15.2018
Society

How to Reignite Democracy

America’s sense of pluralism is waning, faith in the news media is crumbling, and belief in government is at a nadir. Jane Wales looks at four Institute programs that are taking up the challenge of restoring trust in our nation’s fundamental precepts, including our trust in one another.

BY Jane Wales

06.13.2018
Philanthropy

Catalyzing Action, Building Thriving Communities

We know the vital role that nonprofits play in building strong communities. They provide critical services to underserved communities every day and lay the foundation for inclusive economic growth and mobility. As needs continue to grow, nonprofits face financial uncertainty for programmatic support while already under-resourced for operational support.

BY Naomi Camper, JPMorgan Chase Office of Nonprofit Engagement

11.18.2016
Philanthropy

Foundations' Role in Tackling America's Problems

Some problems cannot be left to markets or governments to solve.

BY Jane Wales

08.25.2016
Philanthropy

A Key Investment for Business

Funders should consider supplementing investments with nonprofit capacity building elements.

BY Jane Wales Naomi Camper

06.27.2016
Nonprofit Organizations

A Strong Nonprofit Sector is Key to Thriving Communities

Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in building healthy communities by providing critical services that contribute to economic stability and mobility.

BY Naomi Camper, JPMorgan Chase Office of Nonprofit Engagement

03.07.2016