Grassroots Associations

Front Cover
SAGE Publications, May 11, 2000 - Social Science - 360 pages

This volume explores the world of grassroots organizations and outlines their history while differentiating them from the more familiar paid-staff nonprofit organizations. David Horton Smith, a leading scholar on the nonprofit and voluntary sector, examines the available empirical research on the topic and analyzes the theoretical concepts that have come to define such associations. He affords the reader a complete, detailed description of the nature and characteristics of grassroots organizations, their formation, structure, leadership, life cycle, effectiveness, and their integral role in postmodern societies.

 

Contents

Introduction
3
Chapter 1 Definitions and Metaphors
7
The Rest of the Voluntary Nonprofit Sector
33
Part II The Distinctive Nature of Grassroots Associations
65
Introduction
67
Chapter 3 Formational Characteristics
71
Chapter 4 Internal Guidance Systems
91
Chapter 5 Internal Structure
107
Part III Theoretical Paradigms and Conclusions
213
Introduction
215
Chapter 10 FlatEarth Paradigms and a RoundEarth Paradigm Outline
217
The Advent of Homo Voluntas
243
Description of the Largely North American Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action
263
Creating a Local Nonprofit Sampling Frame Including Grassroots Associations An American Example
267
Methodology of the Smith OneSuburb Study
279
References
283

Chapter 6 Internal Processes
127
Chapter 7 Leaders and Environments
149
Chapter 8 Life Cycle Changes
167
Chapter 9 Impact and Effectiveness
195
Index
321
About the Author
342
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information