The University of Texas at Austin

Francie Ostrower, Ph.D. is Senior Research Associate at the Urban Institute Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, where she conducts research on philanthropy, governance, and cultural participation. Dr. Ostrower received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Yale University, where she also served as Associate Director of the Program on Nonprofit Organizations. Prior to joining the Urban Institute in 2000, she was a sociology faculty member at Harvard University.

Dr. Ostrower is the author of books on Trustees of Culture and Why the Wealthy Give, which received awards from ARNOVA and Independent Sector, and co-author of Race, Ethnicity and Participation in the Arts. Among her articles and monographs are Attitudes and Practices Concerning Effective Philanthropy (recipient of Independent Sector's 2006 Virginia Hodgkinson Research Prize); Nonprofit Governance in the United States; The Reality Underneath the Buzz of Partnerships; The Diversity of Cultural Participation and a co-authored chapter on governance in The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook.

In recent years, she has served on the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly board, the advisory committees of the Aspen Institute's Community Foundation Initiative and the National Endowment for the Arts 2007 SPPA Planning Study, and as Vice President for Publications and board member of the Association for Research on Voluntary and Nonprofit Action.

Education

Ph.D. Sociology, Yale University

M.Phil Sociology,Yale University

M.A. Sociology, Yale University

B.A. with Honors, Philosophy, Swarthmore College

Current Positions

2000 - Present. Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, The Urban Institute. Senior Research Associate. Served as Principal Investigator of multiple Urban Institute research projects, such as: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Concerning Effective Philanthropy; National Survey of Nonprofit Governance; National Survey of Cultural Participation; Limited Life Foundations: Philosophies, Strategies, and Consequences of Spending Down.

Previous Positions

1990-2000. Department of Sociology, Harvard University. Associate Professor, 1995-2000. Assistant Professor, 1991-1995. Instructor, 1990-1991.

1988 1989. Yale University Program on Non Profit Organizations. Associate Director and Assistant Director.

1988. Research Assistant to Paul DiMaggio for research done on behalf of the Independent Committee on the Arts.

1986-1987. Research Associate. "Race, Ethnicity and Participation in the Arts." Paul DiMaggio, Principal Investigator.

Summer, 1986. Predoctoral Fellow/Research Associate. "Determinants of Innovation in Nonprofit Theatres." Paul DiMaggio, Supervisor. Yale University Program on Non Profit Organizations.

1984 1986. Predoctoral Fellow/Research Associate. "Foundation Formation, Growth and Termination Study." Teresa Odendahl, Project Manager. Yale University Program on Non Profit Organizations.

1985. Research Assistant. "Size and Composition of the Nonprofit Labor Force." Project conducted by Gabriel Rudney. Yale University Program on Non Profit Organizations.

1983 1984. Research Assistant. "The Mental Health Service System: A Contextual Analysis." Phil Leaf, Program Director. Institution for Social and Policy Studies and Department of Psychiatry, Yale University.

"Multiple Motives, Multiple Experiences: The Diversity of Cultural Participation." with Bill Ivey and Steven Tepper (editors)

Engaging Art: The Next Great Transformation of America’s Cultural Life. New York: Routledge (2008)

Nonprofit Governance in the United States: Findings on Performance and Accountability from the First National Representative Study. Washington, DC: Urban Institute (2007)

"Foundation Approaches to Effectiveness: A Typology." Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (2006)

Attitudes and Practices Concerning Effective Philanthropy: Survey Report. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute 2004.

Culture
Nonprofit Management and Governance
Philanthropy
Wealth