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This paper provides a framework for understanding the role of member-based, politically active 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations in U.S. civil society. Tax-exempt social welfare (501(c)(4)) organizations make up the second largest group of nonprofit organizations in the United States. Among them are a mix of membership organizations, social clubs, professional associations, and advocates that are permitted to lobby and engage in partisan political activities. Informed by the literature, case study research, and a dataset of politically active 501(c)(4) organizations, we identify categories of politically active (c)(4) organizations involved in electoral and policy change actions including national advocacy organizations, local and state member organizations, (c)(4) funders, and shell entities. We discuss four analytic considerations that can guide future research on member-based, politically active organizations including (1) engagement activities, (2) organizational characteristics, (3) context, and (4) outcomes. We then provide an example of how we have applied this approach to a subset of organizations that build civic leadership and political capacity in communities that have experienced structural inequality and racism. We explain how these organizations engage members in grassroots organizing and advocacy strategies in order to impact elections and policy change. By explaining how the (c)(4) structure can enable organizations to involve members in political action, we enhance theoretical understanding of politically active (c)(4)s as mediating structures of political engagement. The paper concludes with proposed avenues for further empirical investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the typological attributes, practical characteristics, and policy connotations of Christian social service organizations in present China. This is achieved from the perspectives of religion, public administration, social work, and history. Data collection and analysis are based on the literature research and field research methods. The main points are as follows: (1) Christian social service organizations are simultaneously faith-based organizations, legal-person organizations, and professional organizations. These different types of characteristics put forward different requirements for their service functions and performance standards. It is necessary to understand their corresponding boundaries in theory and coordinate or optimize their corresponding functions in the system; (2) Christian social service organizations present the characteristics of pluralism and transition in the practice process, as well as form complex symbiosis and embedded relationships with non-religious professional service systems. Further, they have begun to reach a consensus on industry codes of practice, service concepts, and clinical models, especially in regard to the culturally sensitive service centered on the clients; and (3) the triple-type attributes of Christian social service organizations require government departments and professional circles to direct more attention to the "matrix" of policy tools—in other words, formulate more discerning and diverse policy measures in line with policy objectives, as well as strengthen the legalization of the policy implementation mechanism and the level of collaborative governance of religious social service organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of qualitative research in terms of supervision in social work organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected by applying an interview guide, to which 22 social workers responded. The results of the research refer to how the measures taken during the pandemic affected social workers. It is also presented to what extent the supervision done within the organizations responded to the needs of social workers in this period of crisis. This research confirms the fact that supervision is an indispensable activity in social work organizations, especially in Romania, where, as a professional activity, it is still in the beginning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]