Laura Littlepage

Laura Littlepage serves as a Clinical Professor at Indiana University's Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, holding affiliate status with the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. She advises the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance and teaches courses including Nonprofit Management, Grant Writing, and Homelessness in America.

Her educational background includes an M.P.A. in Urban Public Policy from New York University (1982) and a B.S. in Public Affairs from Indiana University (1980).

Littlepage's research centers on civic engagement, nonprofit management, and homelessness, with significant contributions to understanding volunteer retention, social return on investment, and university-community partnerships. Her work bridges theoretical frameworks like public service motivation with practical applications in homelessness intervention and nonprofit capacity building.

Her publication trajectory shows evolving expertise from early policy analysis (1990s) to contemporary research on rural homelessness (2020s), with consistent focus on volunteer management and nonprofit effectiveness across three decades.

• Trustees Teaching Award (2021)

As Principal Investigator, she has led major projects including Rural Homelessness in Greene County (2020), The Impact of Inadequate Child Care on Indiana’s Workforce (2018), and multi-year Point-in-Time Count research (2007-18). Her grant portfolio demonstrates strong community partnerships with organizations like Early Learning Indiana and the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention.

Littlepage integrates her research through the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance and collaborates with the IU Public Policy Institute, where she served as senior researcher from 2000-2018.