Community-based initiatives (CBIs) are groups of citizens operating as a community in order to provide public goods or services. CBIs can contribute to social change to tackle persistent challenges, but this depends on their encounters with the state. We argue that CBI scholarship lacks the conceptual tools to capture the full scope of these encounters. We position CBIs beyond a public service context as part of a democratic and contested public sphere. From this, we propose a relational understanding of state–CBI encounters as dynamically made up of diverse relationalities, drawing on state–society scholarship from multiple disciplines. Through an integrative literature review, we develop a two-step heuristic that distinguishes between functional, transformational, confrontational, and cohabitative encounters and identifies possibilities for shifts in the encounter. The heuristic aids both scholars and practitioners in understanding state–CBI encounters in relation to change and in navigating encounters in the pursuit of public goals. We conclude with a research agenda for further understanding state–CBI encounters.

While institutionalization is often treated as a route to legitimacy, in civil society organizations (CSOs) it can harden into donor-driven formalities that reduce responsiveness in extreme contexts. This paper advances informalization not as a rejection of structure, but as a deliberate community-anchored response to rigid institutionalization that restores local flexibility and legitimacy while retaining a minimal formal backbone. Using a single case study of Palestinian CSOs operating under prolonged occupation and shrinking civic space, we draw on 30 semi-structured interviews, a small purposive survey, and document analysis. Findings identify three mechanisms of reinstitutionalization, mainly governance decentralization, knowledge-sharing routines coupled with organized bricolage, and the operationalization of Sumud in service delivery. Together, these mechanisms constitute a process of selective formalization that recouples practice to local logics, improving responsiveness and perceived legitimacy while reallocating administrative capacity from compliance to stewardship.

Third sector organizations (TSOs) increasingly operate in culturally diverse and politically unequal contexts in which global welfare models intersect with local traditions, knowledge systems, and institutional frameworks. This article develops a postcolonial approach to analyzing these dynamics by conceptualizing TSOs as “Third Spaces” in the sense of Homi K. Bhabha. It brings postcolonial theory into dialogue with approaches to organizational hybridity and argues that TSOs can be understood as hybrid contexts in which cultural, organizational, and political-economic dynamics intersect. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature and illustrative examples from Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, the article demonstrates how TSOs mediate between local knowledge and global governance structures, negotiate competing accountability regimes, and produce forms of cultural translation shaped by unequal power relations. The framework contributes to third sector research and highlights practical implications for context-sensitive and culturally grounded social welfare.

Scholarship on volunteering often highlights transformations in civic engagement and their implications for democracy and social cohesion. This article examines one influential perspective—the discourse of change in volunteering—emphasizing declining participation, shifts in organizational preferences, and changing forms of engagement. We critically review this discourse with attention to the Scandinavian context and compare its claims with empirical evidence on formal volunteering in Sweden from 1992 to 2024. Drawing on cross-sectional survey data, we analyze trends in the scope, structure, forms, and values of volunteering. Contrary to narratives of decline or radical transformation, our findings indicate relative stability. To interpret these findings, we apply the theoretical perspective of the “reversed social engine” and argue that resilience offers a valuable yet underexplored lens for understanding civil society. This perspective shifts attention from change to stability as a phenomenon warranting further study.

Crises intensify and affect the work of civil society organizations (CSOs). This paper looks at three moments of crises—austerity and budget cuts, right-wing surge, and the war in the Middle East—and analyzes their impact on CSOs working in the field of anti-discrimination and diversity promotion in Germany. Situating the study within debates on shrinking civic space and the concept of “post-migrant alliances,” the paper demonstrates that multiple crises create a spectrum and complexity of restrictions and reactions. Based on data on 74 CSOs from a longitudinal mixed-methods design carried out between 2020 and 2024, we show that the crises amplify each other. Restrictions are caused by both state- and non-state actors, occur directly as well as indirectly, and latently. The CSO responses range from paralysis to internal coping strategies and the formation of new alliances. The study contributes empirical evidence on shrinking and changing civic space in Western democratic countries. It offers insights into the contested character of post-migrant society, where actors in favor of a pluralist society face growing challenges in a situation where diversity is increasingly challenged.

Faith groups played an important role in initiating and sustaining the movement against Japanese military sexual slavery in Korea. However, individual activists’ experiences related to the connection between their faith and activism have not been extensively discussed, particularly in a transnational context. Given the transnational nature of the issue and the movement, this article explores the role of faith in meaning-making practices through activism, drawing on public narratives of survivor-activists from Korea and Australia and interviews with Korean migrant activists. It identifies the influences of faith on the perceptions and experiences of gender-based violence and related activism, as understood by those engaged in “comfort women” activism. Despite the different focuses and practice contexts of each faith, research participants link their understanding of and response to gender-based violence with religious and spiritual teaching, particularly with human dignity as a common thread. While faith—particularly Christian faith—is widely suggested to be aligned with values such as human rights and social justice, this research also identifies tensions between religious and activist identities, as well as between spiritual teachings and approaches to social change. The potential misalignment in faith and activism, along with the influence of transnational contexts in migrant activism, warrants further investigation.

Debt financing plays a critical role in the financial sustainability of nonprofit organizations, yet scholarly understanding of the factors influencing nonprofits’ access to debt remains limited. This study explores the antecedents of creditworthiness among Chinese nonprofits, focusing on the role of political connections, revenue diversification, and organizational size. Drawing on signaling theory, we argue that these factors serve as credible signals to lenders, reducing information asymmetry and thereby enhancing nonprofits’ access to debt. Using survey data from Chinese nonprofits, we find that political connections and organizational size significantly improve creditworthiness, while revenue diversification does not. The findings also reveal a heavy reliance on debt among Chinese nonprofits, highlighting the importance of debt financing as a useful financial tool in resource-constrained environments. This study adds to the literature on nonprofit debt by presenting evidence from the unique and underexplored authoritarian context of China and by offering practical insights for nonprofits seeking to enhance their creditworthiness.

Indonesia has ranked as the world’s most generous nation for seven consecutive years, yet the processes through which personal values shape humanitarian intention giving remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Norm Activation and Value–Belief–Norm (NAM/VBN) frameworks, warm-glow, and signaling/trust theories, this study examined donation intentions in Aceh—the nation’s most charitable province—using a moderated value–resources model that integrated socioeconomic position, altruistic, social, and emotional values and organizational reputation, with religiosity as a moderating factor. Data from 400 adult respondents were analyzed via Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), revealing that altruistic, social, and emotional values, together with organizational reputation, significantly influenced humanitarian giving, whereas socioeconomic status showed no effect. Religiosity amplified these relationships, acting as a moral compass that transformed personal values into durable commitments to donate. These findings indicate that, in Aceh, moral and religious principles rather than material wealth primarily drive sustained philanthropic behavior. Based on these results, humanitarian organizations can improve fundraising effectiveness by segmenting donors according to religiosity and value orientation, using faith-consistent messaging, and providing transparent, real-time reporting of fund utilization. By uniting individual, organizational, and religious dimensions in a theory-informed framework, the study advances understanding of value-based humanitarian engagement in Muslim-majority contexts. The results, therefore, offer operational guidance for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), policymakers, and faith-based institutions seeking to strengthen donor trust, engagement, and long-term participation.

This study addresses critical gaps in cross-cultural philanthropy research by examining charitable giving in Taiwan and the United States. It identifies distinct empirical patterns through which individual characteristics are associated with voluntary giving across different institutional contexts. Utilizing propensity score matching, linear regression, and random forest analysis on nationally representative data, the study enhances ecological validity and offers a robust framework for cross-national comparison. Findings indicate that US giving is more individualized and evaluative, whereas Taiwanese giving is more socially embedded. The results provide theoretical and practical implications for culturally adaptive fundraising strategies. Overall, the study demonstrates how institutional contexts condition the relationships between individual characteristics and charitable giving, extending nonprofit research beyond Western contexts.

Informal volunteering remains underrecognized in both research and public discourse, partly due to two interconnected issues: an analytical focus on who volunteers and what they gain from volunteering, and persistent measurement challenges that make it difficult for respondents and researchers to define and identify informal volunteering. Both issues originate from frameworks of volunteering developed in the context of formal volunteering and the assessment of informal volunteering through the conceptual lens of formal volunteering, emphasizing individual benefits and organizational affiliation. This article argues for a shift in analytical attention from a volunteer-centered framework to a task-centered framework that focuses on what volunteers do and accomplish through volunteering. Such a task-centered framework contributes to volunteering literature by including recipients of volunteering, and by providing a framework to approach informal volunteering on equal terms with formal volunteering.

This study examines how grassroots gender NGOs in China navigate online fundraising amid tightening regulations and declining external funding. Drawing on a longitudinal analysis of 463 crowdfunding projects by 124 gender NGOs on Tencent Charity, it shows how these organizations pursue gender equality under pressure from the state and the platform economy. The study identifies two interrelated strategies: (1) strategic conformity through issue reframing to ally with state agendas for algorithmic visibility and (2) strategic stealth in intersectional boundary-spanning, calibrating (in)visibility while leveraging cross-sectoral collaboration to sustain gender advocacy. These practices reflect how gender NGOs continually negotiate visibility, legitimacy, and autonomy. The findings suggest that digital philanthropy, rather than diversifying fundraising, often reproduces hierarchies of attention and access. Conceptualizing strategic stealth in intersectional boundary-spanning as adaptive, issue-expanding practices, this study deepens understanding of NGOs’ constrained agency and highlights platform governance as a key force channeling state priorities in civic fundraising.

International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) play a vital, yet contested, role in responding to global challenges. Do INGOs serve to advance the interests of grassroots social movements or temper demands as they bring popular voices into institutional power settings? This study focuses on how civil society in Spain engages with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate action and argues that INGOs simultaneously provide voice for some and temper the message of others. The seemingly contradictory impacts can be understood by examining the interplay of institutional political opportunity structures and network relations. A transcalar examination reveals that Spanish environmental INGOs work in network coalitions with domestic environmental social movements developing common positions. While limited by domestic political opportunity structures, these relations are mutually beneficial. In contrast, transnational environmental social movements do not closely coalesce with INGOs due to their loose organizational structures and lack of specific policy positions.

This qualitative study investigates social participation and recognition through volunteering for people with disabilities in Thailand. Using data from 65 participants across five provinces, and employing Social Role Valorization (SRV) as the framework, this study examines how volunteering can transform people with disabilities from recipients of aid into valued social contributors. The results revealed that volunteering can enhance self-esteem, skills development, and community connections. However, significant barriers impede access to valued roles, including societal attitudes, physical environment limitations, and a lack of support. Despite these challenges, many volunteers with disabilities exhibited leadership by participating in volunteering activities and successfully shifting society’s perceptions about their abilities. Nonetheless, acceptance in the broader society remains limited due to insufficient promotion of their social contributions in the media. In conclusion, inclusive volunteering supported by both the private and government sectors is crucial for promoting the valuable social contributions that people with disabilities can provide.