Social Organization of an Urban Grants Economy (PDF)

Social Organization of an Urban Grants Economy: A Study of Business Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations explains the elites, corporate wealth, and human service organizations as players in the urban grants economy. The focus of study is the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The book discusses social institutions that support an economy of donative transfers, and how these institutions influence who gives, who gets, and who gives to whom. Emphasis is on the belief system that has influence over corporate contributions, boundary-spanning agency roles that have an active role in reducing transactional costs, and selective incentives that have been used to elicit participation. The text also analyzes the volume of corporate contributions in relation to the market position held by the firm and the social position of the executives in the community. Each firm has different rationalizations for its contributions. The role of the agencies has also developed to overcome some uncertainties present in the corporation's contributing to nonprofits organizations. The text focuses on the production of collective goods, the peer-group which ensures participation in the collective enterprise, the institutionalization and socialization of values, as well as, the interaction of various agency roles. The book can prove valuable for social scientists, for heads of non-profit organizations, for officials of social and welfare departments of local governments, or for political scientists, economists, and historians.