Request for Proposals: 15th Symposium on Public Policy for Nonprofits
Paper Proposals Due June 26, 2026
Symposium on Friday, February 19, 2027 | Convened Virtually
This request for proposals invites applications from researchers, nonprofit and philanthropic professionals, and other sector stakeholders interested in preparing papers for delivery at the online, February 2027 Symposium on Public Policy for Nonprofits. As described further below, proposals are due by June 26, 2026.
The annual symposium, now in its 15th year, is co-sponsored by the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), Independent Sector, and Nonprofit Policy Forum. Last year’s online symposium attracted nearly 1,000 registrants interested in exploring important issues affecting nonprofits and philanthropy. Registration for the February 19, 2027 symposium will open this fall.
In this year of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we are reminded that the nonprofit sector is deeply rooted in American history. As Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in Democracy in America in the early 1800s, associational, or nonprofit activity, was a critical feature of life in colonial America. As Tocqueville noted at the time, “Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations. They have not only commercial and manufacturing companies, in which all take part, but associations of a thousand other kinds, religious, moral, serious, futile, general or restricted, enormous or diminutive…”
And since that time, nonprofits have grown with our nation to remain a vital part of American culture, comprising a substantial portion of the nation’s hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics; universities; soup kitchens, shelters, and social service providers; arts and cultural institutions; religious congregations; and more.
But recent years have presented significant challenges for America’s nonprofit sector. A variety of shocks – the COVID pandemic, new policies promulgated by the Trump administration, the rapid development of AI technology, and more – have jolted nonprofits from their usual ways of doing business. And other longer standing trends – the aging of the population, the influx of large numbers of immigrants, the increasing polarization and harshness of American politics – are also impacting nonprofits in a variety of ways.
The February 2027 symposium will focus on these and other developments affecting nonprofits and philanthropy, asking how resilient individual nonprofits – and the charitable sector as a whole – have been able to be in these challenging times. For the purposes of this symposium, resilience may include such dimensions as financial sustainability, workforce stability, governance capacity, technological adaptation, policy engagement, service delivery, and others.
Proposal Content
Content Theme: Beyond Survival: Resilience in the Charitable Sector
The symposium invites proposals from nonprofit and philanthropic professionals, researchers, and other sector stakeholders by June 26, 2026. Submissions should address the following and related questions at the national, state, or local level:
- Context: What are the major near-term and longer-term changes that are impacting nonprofits and philanthropy? These may include shifts in: government funding, tax, regulatory, and monitoring and enforcement policies; public opinion, including public understanding and trust of nonprofits; demographics; technology; and other contextual factors.
- Responses: How have nonprofits and philanthropy responded to the challenges they have faced? This may involve efforts to replace lost revenue through increased support from new sources of philanthropy, enterprise income (fees and other earned revenue), and government; restructuring, retrenchment, and dissolution; collaborations and mergers; communications and advocacy, including civic engagement activities; litigation; new approaches to grantmaking, such as increased capacity building and unrestricted grants; and others.
- Impacts: In light of the various challenges they have faced and their efforts to respond, what has been the net impact on nonprofits and philanthropy and the people they serve? What is the state of nonprofit finances, workforce, technology capacity, service delivery ability, and other capabilities? Have some nonprofits and some nonprofit clients been affected more than others? How is philanthropy faring?
- Key Actors: In considering the state of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy, what have been the roles of key actors and institutions, including individual nonprofits, nonprofits in particular subsectors, infrastructure organizations, foundations, corporations, individual donors, donor advised funds, policymakers, and others?
- Future Prospects: What have been effective practices for nonprofits and philanthropy in addressing the many challenges they have faced? What new practices should be tried by nonprofits and philanthropy? What further policy changes should nonprofits be advocating for? How does the current period of multiple stresses compare to previous periods of challenges, and what can we learn from history? What are prospects for nonprofits and philanthropy in the years to come
While the symposium primarily focuses on developments affecting the U.S. nonprofit sector, proposals offering comparative or international perspectives that provide insights into nonprofit resilience across policy environments are also welcome.
Proposal Requirements
Submissions are encouraged from across the nonprofit ecosystem, including researchers and nonprofit and philanthropic professionals. In addition to traditional research papers, the symposium welcomes practitioner-oriented submissions such as policy analyses, program case studies, sector data analyses, and reflective essays on nonprofit or philanthropic practice.
Paper proposals are due on June 26, 2026 and should be submitted online by using this form as a single PDF document that includes:
- Proposal title.
- 600-word proposal outlining the applicant’s preliminary plan for a 2,000 to 4,000-word research or experience-based article, essay, case study, or commentary. The proposal should discuss the connection of the proposed paper to the symposium theme.
- The proposal should briefly describe the central research question or issue being addressed, the approach or methodology to be used (if applicable), and the expected contribution to understanding nonprofit and philanthropic responses to current challenges.
- Proposals should also indicate the relevance of the proposed paper to policy debates or sector practice.
- Short bio and short resume/CV for all authors.
Review Process
Proposals will be evaluated based on their relevance to the symposium theme, clarity of the proposed argument or research question, potential contribution to policy or sector knowledge, and overall quality of the proposal. The symposium planning committee’s review panel will be composed of academic and practitioner reviewers. Authors will be notified no later than August 28, 2026 of their invitation to the online policy symposium. Final papers for presentation at the symposium are due January 15, 2027. Applicants selected to present at the online symposium on February 19, 2027 will receive a $250 honorarium.
Papers presented at the symposium can be revised by the authors and then should be submitted no later than June 1, 2027 for consideration for inclusion in Nonprofit Policy Forum’s special issue on the Nonprofit Policy Symposium. Submissions to NPF may take the form of research articles, research notes, policy briefs, commentaries, case studies, or other relevant formats. Please see the Nonprofit Policy Forum website for details about the process for submitting to the journal.
For further information about the symposium, please contact Emily Rogers at emilyr@independentsector.org, Mirae Kim at mkim216@gmu.edu, or Lindsey McDougle at lindsey.mcdougle@rutgers.edu.
