correspondence, financial
and administrative records, incomplete runs of CPVAA and the newsletter, membership
directories and brochures, conference programs, and grant proposals and paperwork.

ACCESS

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs
the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

PREFERRED CITATION

Cite as: The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary
Action Records, 1972-1995, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, University
Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

ACQUISITION

Presented by ARNOVA, Indianapolis, IN, February 1997. A1997-005

Processed by Kirsten Meisenheimer, June 1997.

HISTORICAL NOTE

The Association of Researchers on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action
(ARNOVA) was founded and incorporated in 1971 by David Horton Smith and Bill Ready
as the Association for Voluntary Action Scholars (AVAS).Their vision was to create
an independent and impartial forum for researchers in the fledgling field of voluntary
action and citizen participation.For a long time, AVAS’ annual conferences and
quarterly journal were the only outlets available to scholars interested in this
area of research.

AVAS originally held parallel conferences with the Association for Volunteer
Administration and the Association of Volunteer Bureaus. The first conference was
held in Denver, Colorado in 1974. The first solo conference was held in 1982 in
Lansing, Michigan. These annual conventions allow the organization to fulfill its
purpose, as stated in the by-laws, to "stimulate, coordinate, and otherwise aid
the efforts of those engaged in research, other scholarship and professional activity
related to the understanding and improvement of nonprofit organizations and voluntary
action" by creating a face-to-face forum for idea exchange.

AVAS’ publications were a major part of its contribution to the research community.
The newsletter, begun in 1973, contained information about events and individuals
in the research