Our Mission
The mission of the Stanford University Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS) is:
To engage students, faculty, and practitioners in scholarship and dialogue that examines ways in which philanthropic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and other key elements of civil society work to address public interests, both in the United States and abroad.
The PACS mission is intentionally broad; reflecting the founders’ desire to focus scholarly attention on questions surrounding philanthropy, civil society, and social change. PACS-sponsored courses and seminars engage students and scholars from across campus in discussing core issues facing the sector, building a common frame of reference that enables conversation across disciplines. This mission also provides the Center with the flexibility to attract faculty and students with diverse and ever-changing research interests.
PACS is a program of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences and the Haas Center for Public Service.
Events
November 17th
New Models of Effective Philanthropy in the 21st Century
Join 21st century leaders in philanthropy to learn about how they launched successful new philanthropic models impacting social change.
Due to the overwhelming response we have received, we have relocated this event to the Tresidder Union Oak West Room. Please feel free to RSVP by visiting the link below:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PACS Center Small Grant Program
PACS is now excepting applications for small grant opportunities.
The small grants program will award grants from $500 to $2,500 to undergraduate and graduate Stanford students who are pursuing research in philanthropy or civil society.
To apply, visit the link below and review the criteria, the deadline for submissions is January 8, 2010
Student Testimonial
PACS Undergraduate Lauren Finzer '09 speaks about the influential role PACS had on her Stanford academic career and how PACS is creating the next generation of philanthropic change agents.
PIPE Conference
PACS recently hosted a research conference to launch the project on Private Initiatives in Public Education (PIPE) that brought together leading scholars and practitioners who are working on projects related to emerging trends and cross-sector innovations in public education. Specifically, the conference explored the following themes:
1) The influence of philanthropic and private intermediary organizations in education;
2) Models of organizing diverse providers (charters and district schools) of public education;
3) Innovations in the development of human capital for education;
4) Entrepreneurship in the era of Obama.
The conference also set out to establish an agenda for future research in these areas.
