NVSQuarterly

Organizing Civility: Bridging Practices in Islamic Welfare Organization

Photo from Dr. Kalia’s field work

Sumrin Kalia¹ and Gregory Jackson²

¹Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, ²King’s College London, UK

Often when we think of non-profits, we tend to focus on efficiency, organizational image, or fundraising. However, these organizations also play an important social role, leaving lasting impacts on the relationships, values, and social boundaries that shape civic life. They can promote inclusion, justice, and enable dialogue across social boundaries, but the opposite may also be true.

What can civil society organizations do to enable a coexistence that values justice over exploitation, cooperation over conflict, and inclusion over exclusion?

This question anchors our recently published article, “Organizing Civility: The Ethics of Adab in an Islamic Welfare Organization”. We look at the case of ‘Saylani Welfare Trust’ an Islamic welfare organization that engages in what we call ‘practices of civility’. Saylani draws inspiration from Sufism a mystical tradition of Islam that emerged in the eighth century.

How Can Nonprofits Support Migrant Inclusion in Global Cities?

Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com

Yan Long¹, Wei Luo², and Berta Terzieva³

¹University of California, Berkeley, USA, ²Peking University, Beijing, China, ³Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria

In today’s increasingly diverse urban landscapes, nonprofit organizations are often hailed as champions of inclusion—especially for migrant communities. Yet a crucial question remains: are they truly bridging divides, or unintentionally widening gaps? More importantly, under what conditions do they foster inclusion—or reinforce exclusion? Our recent paper in NVSQ sheds light on these complex questions through a relational comparison of nonprofits in Vienna, Austria, and Shenzhen, China. We provide insights into factors that influence how well nonprofits include, reach, and serve migrants in a manner proportionate to their presence in the community.

Virtual Philanthropy: Definition and Social Impact

Photo by Junior Teixeira on pexels.com

Shihua Ye¹, Zhongsheng Wu², Xiaochen Gong³, Yiming Dai², and Jieyu Wu¹

¹Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen, China, ²Zhejiang University–Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, China, ³Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China

Imagine a day where every step, search, ride, game, or online purchase contributes to charity. From Charity Miles to Ecosia, Ant Forest, and to JustPlay, your digital actions are captured, transformed into data, and matched by sponsors to fund real-world charitable causes. This is Virtual Philanthropy, a new form of philanthropy where donations aren’t measured in money or goods, but in digital traces embedded into everyday routines. By lowering barriers and turning ordinary online behaviors into acts of charity, virtual philanthropy democratizes giving and redefines what it means to ‘be a donor’.

Despite the growing prevalence of virtual philanthropy, academia has not established a clear definition or systematic framework for its analysis. Addressing this gap, a recent mixed-method study by YE Shihua, WU Zhongsheng, GONG Xiaochen, DAI Yiming, and WU Jieyu—entitled “Virtual Philanthropy: Exploring Its Definition and Perceived Social Impact Through a Mixed-Method Approach”— represents the first systematic attempt to comprehensively examine this phenomenon. Their study provides a foundational framework to delineate the boundaries, dimensions, characteristics, and associated social impact of virtual philanthropy.

Notably, their study employs a novel approach, a modified snowball sampling method based on ChatGPT, to identify 40 global cases that offer new insights into this new emerging form of philanthropy in the digital era.

Volunteers’ interest in skill-based rewards and in awards in nonprofit organizations: a study of volunteer recognition in France

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

Guillaume Plaisance¹

¹Bordeaux University, IRGO UR4190, IAE Bordeux, France

While many non-profit organizations rely solely on the voluntary commitment of the people around them, the challenge of retaining these individuals has become paramount. In a context where the number of civil society organizations is increasing and the terms of engagement are becoming increasingly volatile, it is up to researchers to better understand the mechanisms of recognition of engagement in order to promote volunteer retention. However, recognizing engagement is complex, as it involves understanding the unique characteristics of each organization, as well as those of each individual volunteer. Indeed, volunteers do not all have the same motivations, the same drivers for engagement, or the same expectations in terms of recognition.

That is why the study I conducted sought to investigate adapted forms of rewards and awards in a specific context: that of France. French organizations are central to society, but they vary greatly in size: 75% of them have an annual budget of less than €10,000, and only 10% employ staff. The aim of the article was therefore to determine whether certain individual features and characteristics specific to volunteering could explain the interest – or lack thereof – in awards, as well as in rewards dedicated to recognizing skills. Given the context of this survey, I also wanted, in consultation with Recherches & Solidarités, to understand whether the economic, social, and political crises had an effect on volunteers’ need for recognition.