What are the differences between the official and counter maps?
Philanthropy itself is a contested term; even within the sector, there is not one fully encompassing definition. One fairly widely accepted definition of philanthropy is the Payton and Moody definition: “voluntary action for public good.” This definition clearly shows how philanthropy goes beyond the bounds of registered 501(c)(3) organizations. In order to fully understand the scope of the educational nonprofit sector in Floyd County, IN, more than what is on the official map must be considered. Grassroots organizations, community action groups, small mutual aid associations, and even smaller, more informal organizations may be being excluded from the presented narrative. However, despite their tax status, they are still contributors to the sector within the county. This is exactly what Smith argues in the article, The rest of the nonprofit sector: Grassroots associations as the dark matter ignored in prevailing" flat earth" maps of the sector. The author uses the following definition: “grassroots associations as locally based, significantly autonomous, volunteer-run, formal, nonprofit groups that have official membership of volunteers and that manifest significant voluntary altruism” (Smith, 1997,p. 115). Furthermore, this article illustrates that the U.S. nonprofits are not required to register with the IRS “if they have less than $25,000 annual revenues at present, if they are religious, or if they are affiliates of some larger entity that has an IRS tax exemption” (Smith, 1997, p. 116). Additionally, in the article, the author argues that many studies of the nonprofit sector ignore the grassroots associations. He called for more research on grassroots associations to improve the nonprofit sector map in the future. This “dark matter” is what we are calling light to in the following analyses of philanthropic action in Floyd County.
This unlisted activity that would not be seen in databases, such as GuideStar, is what the counter map sought to elucidate. To fully understand the organizations that were being excluded by the formal map, two different categories of criteria were used. The first was registered 501(c)(3) organizations that have educational components or programs, but do not directly list education as a priority area in their mission statement. These would not be included in the formal map, but still help to demonstrate all the ways that education is being supported within the county. The second category is truly informal, meaning unregistered, organizations. These organizations would not be listed on GuideStar, but still are operating in ways that directly support education. These include tutoring groups, clubs, unregistered PTOs, and parents groups.
Formal Map Exclusions
As stated above, registered 501(c)(3) organizations that have educational components or programs, but do not directly list education as a priority area in their mission statement are one of the two types of organizations listed on the counter map. Under Payton and Moody's definition, philanthropy includes not only the action but also the purpose. To clarify, "the definition also specifies that action, in order to be classified as philanthropic, must have a particular purpose—to achieve some vision of the public good” (2008). Thus, even if the public good is mixed in with other purposes, "the action should be considered philanthropic,…if it is voluntary and if it is seen by the actor as action to achieve the public good—or at least a public good." (Payton & Moody, 2008, p. 28). Therefore, this is why we decided to count any educational activity providing knowledge even if it is mixed with other purposes. However, we tracked these organizations in a different color and area on the counter map. Moreover, this is why we specified that organizations in our research had to be organizations that support students/individuals educationally and/or through the process of receiving or providing systematic instruction. Since there are two categories of voluntary service: “service to others as individuals, and service to community” (Payton & Moody, 2008, p. 43). Obviously, educational activities benefit both individuals and communities.
Although we chose the education field, our findings cover some organizations that provide funds, support, or services to other areas besides education. For instance, some of the organizations of our project are charitable organizations that “are generally expected to benefit the broader community by delivering education, health, religion, culture, charitable, or other programs benefiting the general public” Grønbjerg & Paarlberg (p. 692). This is why we decided to add a category to our map that listed registered 501(c)(3) organizations with educational components or programs, but do not directly list education as a priority area. These organizations have educational components that benefit the community and fall within our definition of education used for defining our map.
To analyze the location of these organizations on the counter map, we see a trend in where these organizations are located. The downtown New Albany, IN area and Southeast border of Floyd County are where all of these organizations reside. This is not surprising due to the trends of the official map and other category on the counter map. The most densely populated area of the county is where we are seeing most of the registered organizations and unregistered organizations residing. These organizations are indicated in green on the map and listed below:
Clark-Floyd County Child Abuse Prevention Council Inc
Community Foundation of Southern Indiana, Inc.
Daughters of America
Fairmont Elementary School PTO
Floyd County Lodge 2548 Loyal Order of Moose
Jonathan Morgan Autism Foundation Tr
Theatreworks of Southern Indiana Inc
The last category of the counter map are the truly informal, meaning unregistered, organizations. These organizations would not be listed on GuideStar, but still are operating in ways that directly support education. These include tutoring groups, clubs, unregistered PTOs, and parents groups. However, even though these organizations would be considered nonprofit grassroots organizations, they are also incredibly run organizations. In Smith, D. H. (1997) study, “The rest of the nonprofit sector: Grassroots associations as the dark matter ignored in prevailing "flat earth" maps of the sector”, he defines grassroots associations as “locally based, significantly autonomous, volunteer-run, formal, nonprofit groups that have official membership of volunteers and that manifest significant voluntary altruism” (p. 115). However, from this project, we learned that it is false to say that grassroots associations “do not exist or that if they exist, they are not nonprofits” (Smith, 1997). Also, it is false that they “are unimportant even if they do exist and are nonprofits” (Smith,1997, p. 114).
On the counter map image, we saw recurring trends from the formal map and first category of the informal map. All, but two, unregistered organizations are located within the densely populated area of Floyd County, near downtown New Albany, IN. There are two specific areas on this map that have more than one purple dot located on the same spot, this is due to the fact that in Floyd County there is a public university, Indiana Southeast, and there are a few unregistered educational organizations operating. Unlike the first category of the counter map, registered 501(c)(3) organizations that have educational components or programs, but do not directly list education as a priority area in their mission statement, the informal organization map has two outliers. These organizations are indicated in purple on the map and listed below:
Accounting and Finance Club
Alpha Alpha Alpha
Alpha Phi
Alpha Kappa Psi-Indiana Inc
CA EARLY LEARNING CENTER PTO
Computer Security Group IU Southeast
Criminal Justice Student Association
Green Valley Parent Teacher Organization PTO
Greenville Elementary PTO
Kappa Sigma Fraternity
Math Resource Lab IU Southeast
S Ellen Jones Elementary School PTO
S Ellen Jones Voices Organized in Children’s Education Incorporated