Publications Database
Welcome to the new Schulich Peer-Reviewed Publication Database!
The database is currently in beta-testing and will be updated with more features as time goes on. In the meantime, stakeholders are free to explore our faculty’s numerous works. The left-hand panel affords the ability to search by the following:
- Faculty Member’s Name;
- Area of Expertise;
- Whether the Publication is Open-Access (free for public download);
- Journal Name; and
- Date Range.
At present, the database covers publications from 2012 to 2020, but will extend further back in the future. In addition to listing publications, the database includes two types of impact metrics: Altmetrics and Plum. The database will be updated annually with most recent publications from our faculty.
If you have any questions or input, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Search Results
Michelle Benson, Chao Guo, Daniel G. Neely, and Gregory D. Saxton (2025). "Dirty Air, Empty Coffers? Nonprofit Donations and Volunteering in the Context of Severe Air Pollution", Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 37(6), 324–353.
Abstract
Purpose
Poor environmental conditions pose profound societal challenges, yet their impact on the nonprofit sector, particularly in terms of financial and organizational sustainability, remains largely unexplored. To address this concern, we investigate how hazardous air quality influences donations and volunteering in nonprofit organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Combining county-level US EPA air quality data with 1.63 million IRS Form 990 filings by 248,749 nonprofits between 2010 and 2022, we examine the impact of air pollution on organizations across time and space. Instrumental variables regression and entropy-balancing techniques are employed to address potential endogeneity concerns. Additional analyses examine the roles of industry sub-sector, service orientation, donor sophistication and government funding in conditioning the relationship between air pollution and our two outcome variables.
Findings
Organizations in areas experiencing more hazardous air quality days are associated with lower levels of donations but higher levels of volunteering. Additional cross-sectional analyses suggest that environmental, health and human service nonprofits experience increased donations in the context of severe air pollution while arts and mutual benefit organizations see increased volunteering. Additional analyses on the conditioning effects of donor sophistication, service orientation, and government funding provide further insights into the empirical relationship between air pollution and nonprofit engagement.
Originality/value
This study provides one of the first large-N examinations of the organizational impact of localized environmental factors on charitable activity. In providing evidence for how air quality appears to be a robust, but underexplored factor affecting donor and volunteer behavior, our study underscores the importance of understanding how environmental challenges influence civic engagement.
Tahmina Ahmed, Mohammad Maruf Hasan, Xing Huan, and Gregory D. Saxton (2025). "Climate Risk and Donations to Nonprofit Organizations", Journal of Business Ethics, 1–22.
Abstract
This study investigates the overlooked, yet critical, impact of climate risk on nonprofit organizations. Leveraging data from the IRS and the Spatial Hazard Events and Losses Database for the United States (SHELDUS), the study analyzes the relationship between climate risk and donations to nonprofit organizations across a sample of 1.23 million IRS Form 990 filings by U.S. nonprofits from 2010 to 2021. The findings show a significant positive relationship between climate risk and donations that is robust to alternative specifications incorporating organization fixed effects, alternative climate risk measures, instrumental variables, entropy balancing, and difference-in-differences analysis. Additional subgroup tests reveal that hospitals and human service organizations see the largest increases in donations under elevated climate risk, while others, particularly mutual benefit organizations and international-focused nonprofits, experience declines. Additional analyses also indicate that donor-oriented organizations in high-risk areas are more likely to benefit from increased donations. Finally, cross-sectional analyses suggest that government funding, in the context of heightened climate risk, appears to partially “crowd out” private donations. The results underscore the importance of understanding how environmental challenges influence donor behavior and provide ethical implications and practical insights for nonprofit financial planning in an era of increasing climate risks.Tahmina Ahmed, Mohammad Maruf Hasan, Jerome Niyirora and Gregory D. Saxton (2025). "The Cost of Noise: Noise Pollution and Nonprofit Expenses", Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management, 37(1), 86-108.
Keywords
Abstract
Purpose
Design/methodology/approach
Findings
Originality/value
Daniel G. Neely , Gregory D. Saxton , Paul A. Wong (2023). "Nonprofit Organizations’ Financial Obligations and the Paycheck Protection Program", Management Science, 69(7), 4353-4361.
Abstract
We examine nonprofit organizations’ involvement in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP provided participants with forgivable loans to pay employee salaries, increasing participants’ financial flexibility during the pandemic. We examine the associations between nonprofits’ prepandemic financial obligations (e.g., long-term debt and donor-restricted net assets) and PPP participation and participants’ loan characteristics. First, we find nonprofit organizations participated at a lower rate than other small business industries and that nonprofits with greater financial obligations were more likely to participate in the program. Second, we find financial obligations were positively associated with the loan amount received as a percentage of total payroll costs. Last, although approximately 11% of nonprofits failed to obtain loan forgiveness, we find nonprofits with restricted net assets were more likely to have their loans forgiven. Our results suggest nonprofits with greater debt and donor obligations used the PPP to increase their financial flexibility.Anderson, K. and Saxton, G. (2016). "Babies, Smiles, and Status Symbols: The PersuasiveBabies, Smiles, and Status Symbols: The Persuasive Effects of Images in Small-Entrepreneur Crowdfunding Requests Effects of Images in Small-Entrepreneur Crowdfunding Requests", International Journal of Communication, 10, 1764-1785.
Keywords
Abstract
This article examines the persuasive effects of images in the context of online peer-topeer microfinance. The theoretical framework—based in self-presentation and impression management—relates micro-entrepreneurs’ loan-request image choices to lending decisions and lenders’ perceptions of the borrower’s trustworthiness and need. We explore effects of three specific visuals: (1) genuine enjoyment (Duchenne) smiles; (2) material status symbols; and (3) babies, children, and husbands. Using loan-request image data from 323 women micro-entrepreneurs on the Kiva.org website, results suggest smiling behavior is not associated with funding speed. However, loan-request images that include a baby are associated with significantly quicker funding, and those that include a man or an indication of relative material well-being are associated with delays in the average funding speed.Saxton, G., Wu, H. and Zhuang, J. (2014). "Publicity vs. Impact in Nonprofit Disclosures and Donor Preferences: A Sequential Game with One Nonprofit Organization and N Donors", Annals of Operations Research, 221, 469-491.
Keywords
Abstract
Charitable giving is one of the essential tasks of a properly functioning civil society. This task is greatly complicated by the lack of organizational transparency and by the information asymmetries that often exist between organizations and donors in the market for charitable donations. The disclosure of financial, performance, donor-relations, and fundraising-related data is thus an important tool for nonprofit organizations attempting to attract greater donations while boosting accountability and public trust. There are, however, varying payoffs associated with such disclosure depending on the nature of donor preferences and the relative openness and effectiveness of competing organizations. To help understand the interplay between nonprofit organizational disclosures and individual donations, we present a novel game-theoretic model of disclosure–donation interactions that incorporates the predominant forms of both donor preferences and “value-relevant” information.Lovejoy, K., Saxton, G. and Waters, R. (2012). "Engaging Stakeholders Through Twitter: How Nonprofit Organizations are Getting More Out of 140 Characters or Less", Public Relations Review, 38, 313-318.
Abstract
While it may seem difficult to communicate in a meaningful manner with 140 characters or less, Twitter users have found creative ways to get the most out of each Tweet by using different communication tools. This paper looks into how 73 nonprofit organizations use Twitter to engage stakeholders not only through their tweets, but also through other various communication methods. Specifically it looks into the organizations utilization of tweet frequency, following behavior, hyperlinks, hashtags, public messages, retweets, and multimedia files. After analyzing 4655 tweets, the study found that the nation's largest nonprofits are not using Twitter to maximize stakeholder involvement. Instead, they continue to use social media as a one-way communication channel as less than 20% of their total tweets demonstrate conversations and roughly 16% demonstrate indirect connections to specific users.Guo, C. and Saxton, G. (2012). "Conceptualizing Web-Based Stakeholder Communication: The Organizational Website as a Stakeholder Relations Tool", Communication & Science Journal.
Keywords
Abstract
With the near ubiquity of the organizational website, organizations’ online stakeholder relationships have dramatically increased in prevalence, complexity, and financial and strategic importance. To help advance our understanding of these relationships, we introduce and test the multi-dimensional concept of Web-based stakeholder communication using original data on US community foundations. After presenting the conceptual foundations of Web-based stakeholder communication, we develop operational measures of its key dimensions, namely stakeholder targeting and the balance of organizations’ online stakeholder portfolios. We then explore the outcomes of Web-based stakeholder communication by testing for its relationship to subsequent levels of charitable contributions. We end with an in-depth discussion of the most important implications for organizational theory and practice.Lovejoy, K. and Saxton, G. (2012). "Information, Community, and Action: How Nonprofit Organizations Use Social Media", Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(3), 337-353.
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Abstract
The rapid diffusion of “microblogging” services such as Twitter is ushering in a new era of possibilities for organizations to communicate with and engage their core stakeholders and the general public. To enhance understanding of the communicative functions microblogging serves for organizations, this study examines the Twitter utilization practices of the 100 largest nonprofit organizations in the United States. The analysis reveals there are three key functions of microblogging updates—“information,”“community,” and “action.” Though the informational use of microblogging is extensive, nonprofit organizations are better at using Twitter to strategically engage their stakeholders via dialogic and community-building practices than they have been with traditional websites. The adoption of social media appears to have engendered new paradigms of public engagement.Nah, S. and Saxton, G. (2012). "Modeling the Adoption and Use of Social Media by Nonprofit Organizations", New Media & Society, 15, 294-313.
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