Brad R. Fulton

Brad R. Fulton is an Associate Professor at the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. He directs The Philanthropy Lab, co-directs the Observing Civic Engagement (OCE) Lab, and leads the National Study of Community Organizing and the National Study of Congregations' Economic Practices. His work focuses on the social, political, and economic impact of foundations and community-based organizations, analyzing data on 200,000 foundations, 1 million nonprofits, and 10 million grants to construct a foundation-grantee network of the entire U.S. nonprofit sector.

Education:

• Ph.D. from Duke University
• A.M. from University of Chicago
• B.S. from U.C. Berkeley

Brad Fulton's research centers on civil society, civic engagement, nonprofit management, philanthropy, and quantitative methods. He examines how organizations navigate diversity and inequality, with particular focus on faith-based organizing, community organizations, and the nonprofit sector. His work integrates organizational theory and network analysis to understand sector-wide trends and organizational effectiveness, with applications to social policy and health. As producer and host of three podcasts with over 250,000 streams across 147 countries, he makes complex statistical concepts accessible to broad audiences.

Fulton's publications reveal a strong methodological focus alongside substantive contributions to understanding organizational dynamics within the nonprofit sector. His work spans innovations in data collection techniques like systematic social observation, analysis of foundation-grantee networks, and studies of community organizing across racial, socioeconomic, and religious lines. A recurring theme is how organizations can leverage diversity to advance social equity and racial justice, with particular attention to leadership practices that promote inclusive organizational cultures.

Scientific Awards:

• Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award (2023)
• ARNOVA Data and Analytics Section Award (2023)
• Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly Outstanding Article Award (2022)
• ARNOVA Outstanding Book Award in Nonprofit Research (2016) for 'A Shared Future'
• ARNOVA President's Award for Nonprofit Research (2013)
• 18 international awards from academic associations spanning six disciplines

Fulton has raised $8.6 million in external funding from organizations including the National Science Foundation, AmeriCorps, Lilly Endowment, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Kellogg Foundation, Mott Foundation, and Hearst Foundation. He has built and developed multiple research teams totaling 132 research assistants (4 Postdocs, 20 PhD students, 66 MA students, and 42 undergraduates). His collaborations include the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Federal Reserve Bank, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, and Appalachia Funders Network. He serves on editorial boards for the American Journal of Sociology, Sociology of Religion, and Social Service Review.

Fulton directs multiple research initiatives including The Philanthropy Lab (analyzing data on 200,000 foundations and 1 million nonprofits), the Observing Civic Engagement Lab (which has trained 62 research assistants and observed over 2,000 convenings), and the National Studies of Community Organizing and Congregations' Economic Practices. His labs apply systematic social observation across multiple cities to gather detailed information about organizations' internal dynamics at scale, using multiple trained observers and carefully constructed protocols to collect rich, comparable data from observable settings.