The research notes are published quarterly. Previous editions can be found at the Member Portal.

 

 

 

Issue XV: June 2026

 

Philanthropy for Systems Change: An Exploratory Study

Author(s): Arthur Gautier – ESSEC Business School

Provided by: Tina Ajuonuma – The Better Org

The concept and practice of systems change have enjoyed increased visibility in recent years across the non-profit sector. Philanthropic organisations have also participated in systems change discourse but there are questions as to how systems change philosophy and principles have impacted philanthropic funding decisions and processes. This study asks: How do foundation leaders conceptualise systems change, and how do their current funding practices reflect this?

XXX

Charity Checkouts: (Potential) Downsides for Customers, Nonprofits and Businesses Involved

Author(s): Tine Faseur – KU Leuven | Tine De Bock – KU Leuven

Provided by: Mårten Palmefors – Giva Sverige

Charity checkouts (CCs) — where companies ask customers to make a small donation at the point of sale — have become a widely adopted fundraising tool in practice. While CCs are often framed as a win-win-win for all parties involved – raising billions of dollars globally, providing companies an easy way to demonstrate corporate social responsibility and offering consumers an easy way to donate small amounts – there is still large uncertainty of what possible negative effects the use of CCs can produce. This study systematically reviews academic and grey literature to provide a comprehensive overview of the (potential) downsides of CCs for all three stakeholders in the triad: customers, businesses, and nonprofits.

 

Not All Wine and Roses: Nonprofit Consulting as Nonprofit-Sector-Adjacent Work

Author(s): Marlene Walk – Universität Freiburg, Institute of Economics | Amanda Stewart – North Carolina State University, School of Public and International Affairs | Kerry Kuenzi – University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Center for Public Affairs

Provided by: Dr. Michele Fugiel Gartner – MFGChange Consulting

This article examines the growing role of consulting as a form of nonprofit sector adjacent work, focusing on how consultants influence nonprofit organizations at individual, organizational, and sector levels. The authors position nonprofit consulting as both increasingly prevalent and insufficiently understood, particularly when compared to the more established literature on consulting in the for-profit sector.

X

Why Germans Don’t Donate: The Five Faces of Non-Donors

Author(s): Silke Boenigk – University of Hamburg | Amelie Knaus – TRIBUTE to BAMBI Foundation, Munich | Laura Hesse – Bauhaus University Weimar | Carolin Saltzmann – German Red Cross, Berlin | Tom Neukirchen – Fundgiver Social Marketing and external Fundraising Lecturer, University of Hamburg

Provided by: Eva Sebbane

This study explores why Germans don’t donate, identifying five distinct non-donor clusters based on attitudes and financial ability. This is relevant for people working in philanthropy because it reveals targeted strategies to recruit new donors effectively. What are the main reasons Germans don’t donate, and can distinct non-donor clusters be identified for targeted recruitment?

XXX

Opening the Box: Why Volunteers for Refugees Quit — And What Leaders Must Do

Author(s): Maikel Meijeren – Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University | Lucas C.P.M. Meijs – Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

Provided by: Vaishnavi Rana

Volunteer turnover is a persistent challenge for organisations working with refugees, yet research has largely focused on why people start volunteering or how they can be retained. Much less attention has been paid to why volunteers leave. This study addresses that gap by examining the reasons why volunteers disengage from refugee aid organisations and what this means for practice. The study asks: Why do volunteers quit refugee aid organisations, and what distinguishes the three distinct profiles of those who leave?

X
Building a Stronger Volunteer Pipeline: Why Empathy Matters Most

Author(s): Iwona Nowakowska – Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw | Joanna Rajchert – Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw

Provided by: Anh Phuong Nguyen – Happier Me

Volunteer pipelines are often fragile, and organizations need better ways to identify and retain likely long-term volunteers. Therefore, understanding what really predicts long-term willingness to help matters for recruitment and retention. This paper examines why people in the general population intend to volunteer in the future. What personal motivations predict sustained volunteering intentions over time in the general population, and how do these motives interact over time?

 

Mapping Philanthropic Foundations’ Characteristics

Author(s): Tobias Jung – University of St. Andrews | Jenny Harrow – City, University of London | Diana Leat – City, University of London

Provided by: Vinzenz Janßen

Clouded by inconsistent terminology and socio-legal differences, foundations as a distinct organizational form lack conceptual clarity. The paper addresses this by proposing an integrative typological framework, making it relevant for researchers, policymakers, and those working within the philanthropic sector. How can the diverse ways in which philanthropic foundations are distinguished be synthesized into a coherent, cross-national classification scheme?

XXX

Revenue Streams of Social Impact Incubators and Accelerators: The Influence of Program Benefits

Author(s): Lucca Nietlispach – Center for Philanthropy Studies, University of Basel | Georg von Schnurbein – Center for Philanthropy Studies, University of Basel

Provided by: Ivan Blazevic – The European Fund for the Balkans

Social impact incubators and accelerators (SIIAs) support early-stage social enterprises worldwide, yet many struggle to secure sustainable funding. This research matters for philanthropy practitioners because it shows that an organisation’s programme focus directly predicts its best funding strategy. How do the benefits provided by SIIAs affect the composition of their revenue sources?

 

Facial Emotion in Charity Ads: How Sympathy and Perceived Manipulation Shape Giving

Author(s): In-Hye Kang – University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Marijke C. Leliveld – University of Groningen | Rosellina Ferraro – University of Maryland

Provided by:Konstantina Koutsoupia

How do facial expressions in charitable ads affect donations and campaign attitudes, not only from a sympathy but also from a manipulative-intent standpoint? This research reveals that, while the use of sorrowful facial expressions in charity marketing evokes a compassionate response, they also trigger concerns for manipulative influence tactics.

About the ERNOP Research Notes Most academic research on philanthropy is underutilised, while on the other hand, there is a need for practitioners to learn from academics. Given limited resources within the academic and philanthropy community, academic insights should be used as much as possible. However, practitioners rarely have time and access to the work published in academic journals. Besides, not all content of academic papers is relevant for practitioners. At the same time, academics often do not have time and/or skills to make their work accessible for practitioners and, what’s more, they get little rewards for doing so as the number of individual publications is often too limited to build a constituency. Therefore the European Research Network On Philanthropy (ERNOP) –  the academic network of philanthropy researchers in Europe – develops the ERNOP Research Notes. The Research Notes are an initiative by ERNOP and endorsed by the European Fundraising Association (EFA), Philanthropy Europe Association (Philea), the Centre for European Volunteering (CEV) and Impact Europe.

 

More information about the Research Notes can be found here.