The Aspen Institute's Nonprofit Sector Research Fund (NSRF) has marked its tenth anniversary by awarding 13 grants — ranging from $18,000 to $50,000 — to academic and practitioner scholars, including five doctoral students. The grant awards totaling $425,390 will improve understanding of nonprofit activities and inform the work of nonprofit leaders and managers, policymakers, and others.

NSRF was established in 1991 by the D.C.-based Aspen Institute, an international nonprofit educational institution, to increase understanding of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy. NSRF operates as a funding intermediary, raising funds from foundations and other donors and awarding grants to university-based scholars and other researchers studying the nonprofit sector. Since its inception, the Fund has awarded a total of $9.1 million to support 366 research projects on a broad range of topics.

Research projects funded by this year's awards include "The Volunteer Organization Environment: Key Dimensions & Distinctions"; "Outsourcing in Public Policy Implementation: Implications for Accountability in Nonprofit Provider Organizations"; "A Cross-Sector Comparison of Community-Based Conservation Programs in Tanzania: NGOs, Government Institutions, and Private Enterprise"; and "Information Use by Nonprofit Service Organizations."

For a complete list of research award recipients, see http://www.nonprofitresearch.org/newsletter1525/
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