The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

seeks to expand understanding and accelerate critical thinking about civil society among scholars, practitioners, policy makers and the general public, by encouraging scholarship, developing curriculum, fostering mutual learning between academics and practitioners, and shaping policies that enhance the sector and its role in society. The Hauser Center was established by

Rita Hauser Rita Eleanor Hauser (born July 12, 1934 in New York) is an international lawyer known for persuading Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization to renounce violence in 1988. She also served as United States Ambassador to the United ...

and her husband Gustave M. Hauser in 1997. Located at the

Harvard Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

, the Center's concerns include

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, nonprofit organizations, voluntarism, and

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.informal economy An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countri ...

. The Center hosts three important blogs: Humanitarian and Development Nonprofit Organizations, Nonprofits in China and Nonprofit News & Comment.

People

Christine Letts is currently the Interim Faculty Director, having assumed the faculty leadership position following Christopher Stone, who served as Faculty Director from 2008–2012. Aviva Luz Argote serves as executive director. Other notable faculty members include Mark Moore, Marion Fremont-Smith,

Marshall Ganz Marshall Ganz (born March 14, 1943) is the Rita T. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Introduced to organizing in Civil Rights Movement, he worked on the ...

Christopher Winship Christopher Winship (born March 5, 1950) is Diker-Tishman Professor of sociology at Harvard University, and principal of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard. He is best known for his contributions to quantitative methods in so ...

Peter Dobkin Hall Peter Dobkin Hall (February 22, 1946 – April 30, 2015) was an American author and historian. He was Professor of History and Theory in the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York, and Senior Research Fellow at th ...

, Archon Fung, Herman "Dutch" Leonard, Luther Ragin, Nathalie Kylander, Alnoor Ebrahim, Jim Honan, and Bryan Hehir.

References

External links

* {{Harvard University Civil society Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts Harvard University