Aaron Horvath

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society with a PhD in Sociology. My research explores how civic organizations of all sorts—everything from soup kitchens to philanthropic foundations—construct the meaning of civic engagement and structure the possibilities for democracy. I’ve published on a range of topics along these lines including the fraught and evolving relationship between philanthropy democracy from 1900 to present, the transformation of quantitative accountability in the nonprofit sector over the last two decades, the organizational conditions under which civic participation breeds political inaction, and the vital public health role civic organizations have played during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find my CV as well as a complete list of publications (both academic and public-facing) at aaronhorvath.org.