Academic Director for the Gradel Institute of Charity

Peter Frumkin is the Executive Director for the Gradel Institute of Charity and Academic Director for the Gradel Institute of Charity at New College, University of Oxford and the Heyer Chair in Social Policy and Faculty Director of the Center for Social Impact Strategy, both at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice (on leave). His research and teaching focus is on philanthropy, nonprofit management, and social entrepreneurship.

Peter Frumkin is the author of On Being Nonprofit (Harvard University Press, 2002), which considers the changing roles and responsibilities of nonprofit organisations in American democracy. His book, Strategic Giving: The Art and Science of Philanthropy, was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2006. It has been touted by reviewers as the “benchmark text for the field” and “the most penetrating exploration of contemporary philanthropy now available”. In 2010, two books by Frumkin were published: Serving Country and Community (Harvard University Press), which examines the effectiveness of the volunteer service programs AmeriCorps and VISTA, and The Essence of Strategic Giving: A Practical Guide for Donors and Fundraisers (University of Chicago Press). Additional books by Frumkin include The Strategic Management of Charter Schools (Harvard 2011), Building for the Arts (Chicago 2014) and Social Impact (UPenn 2017).

Prior to coming to Penn, Peter Frumkin taught at the University of Texas’ Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Before academia, Frumkin worked as a foundation program officer and as a program evaluator in both nonprofit and public agencies. Frumkin received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago.