Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
December 2015; 44 (6)
http://nvs.sagepub.com/content/current

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To Volunteer or Not: The Influence of Individual Characteristics, Resources, and Social Factors on the Likelihood of Volunteering by Older Adults
Sarah Dury, Liesbeth De Donder, Nico De Witte, Tine Buffel, Wolfgang Jacquet, and Dominique Verté
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly December 2015 44: 1107-1128, first published on November 13, 2014 doi:10.1177/0899764014556773
Abstract
The study examines a hybrid theory containing individual characteristics, resources, and social factors and volunteering of older adults living in Belgium. As scholars have pointed out the under-researched importance of taking the recruitment potential of older adults into account, this study investigates whether potential volunteers, actual volunteers, and non-volunteers in later life are different from each other in terms of individual characteristics (e.g., religiosity), resources (e.g., socioeconomic status), and social factors (e.g., social networks and social roles). Data for the present research were derived from the Belgian Aging Studies, a sample of 31,581 individuals aged 65 to 80 years. Logistic regression analyses indicate that altruistic and religious values, physical health, frequent contact with friends, and providing help to others are important predictors for potential volunteers as well as actual volunteers. Overall, the results indicate important insights for recruitment and retention of older volunteers.

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The Effect of an Online Self-Assessment Tool on Nonprofit Board Performance
Yvonne D. Harrison1, Vic Murray2
1University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
2University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Abstract
This article reports on perceptions of the effectiveness of nonprofit organization boards of directors and changes in governance behavior obtained from the first 1,446 users of a free online board performance self-assessment tool known as the Board Check-Up (www.boardcheckup.com), Board Effectiveness Survey Application (BESA). Respondents came from 122 organizations in Canada, the United States, Australia, and other countries. The article describes the conceptual framework for the study and the underlying theory of change on which it is based. It presents findings on the types of governance issues respondents perceived as most problematic in their boards. It also describes changes in governance behavior and practices reported by respondents, who completed an impact assessment some time after the use of the online self-assessment tool. The results provide empirical support for the value of utilizing the online board performance self-assessment application and insights into its impact as a means of making changes in the governance process. Next steps in this international longitudinal research study are discussed.

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Fraud and Corruption in U.S. Nonprofit Entities
A Summary of Press Reports 2008-2011
Deborah S. Archambeault1, Sarah Webber1, Janet Greenlee1
1University of Dayton, OH, USA
Abstract
The charitable sector is vulnerable to fraud losses, with these losses negatively impacting the organization’s reputation, future funding, and ability to advance its mission. Research on nonprofit fraud is relatively scarce, due mainly to limited availability of data. We create a database that summarizes and describes basic facts (nature and timing of fraud, description of organization, magnitude of loss, and perpetrators) for 115 incidents of detected fraud occurring in U.S. nonprofit organizations. We find a disproportionately high incidence of nonprofit fraud in the Health and Human Services National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities Groups, a high percentage of females committing misappropriation frauds, and that the organizational role of the perpetrator is related to the size of the fraud loss. We also investigate whether organizations detecting a nonprofit fraud report this information, as required, on Internal Revenue Service Form 990, and find that many organizations do not comply.