A collection of 33 working papers for presentation at a research forum on the Constitution and the independent sector is presented. Thirteen sections cover: (1) the Constitution--"The Metapolitical Role of Voluntary Organizations in the United States" (Hall), "The Evolution of the Law of Nonprofit Organizations" (Hansmann); (2) management issues--"Effective Managers of Nonprofit Organizations" (Heimovics and Herman), "The Decision Making and Allocation Process in Corporate Philanthropy" (Useem), "Recruitment, Management, and Retention of Volunteers--From a Volunteer's Perspective" (Finlay); (3) economics--"The Independence of the Independent Sector" (Rose-Ackerman), "Nonprofits in a Mixed Economy" (Weisbrod), "Toward a New Economics for the Nonprofit Sector" (Gassler); (4) tax reforms effects on giving and volunteering--"Individual Giving Under the Tax Reform Act of 1986" (Lindsey), "Tax Reform and Volunteering" (Schiff); (5) philanthropy abroad--"Themes in International Research on the Nonprofit Sector" (Anheier), "Voluntarism in France: Sketches from Life, Pictures of Research" (Ferrand-Bechmann), "Charitable Giving by Individuals in Great Britain" (Brophy); (6) philanthropic activities of the wealthy--"Varieties of Philanthropic Logic among the Wealthy" (Schervish and Herman), "The Values of the Wealthy" (Boris); (7) philanthropic activities among minorities--"The Charitable Giving and Voluntarism of Black Americans" (Carson), "Giving to Jewish Philanthropic Causes" (Silberstein, Ritterband, Rabinowitz, and Kosmin); (8) legal issues--"The Buck Trust" (Dale),"The Combined Federal Campaign" (Dale), "Legal Issues Involving Competition by Nonprofits with Small Business" (Hopkins); (9) voluntary organizations--"A Community Institutional Response to a Crisis in Social Service Funding: The Twin Cities Case" (Galaskiewicz), "An Information System for Public-Private Decision-Making" (Von Elm), "Changing Public/Private Roles in Human Services" (Musselwhite and Salamon); (10) competition--"Entrepreneurial Activities of the Nonprofit Sector" (Young), "Commercial Activities in Human Service Organizations" (De Vita Salamon); (11) history and values--"The Public and Independent Sectors: Separate Strategies or Partnership?" (Chambers), "Philanthropy and Social Values" (Paul and Ahrens); (12) women in philanthropy--"Lady Bountiful and Her Good Works?" (Odendahl), "Philanthropic Activities of Wealthy Women" (Ostrander), "Older Generation, Younger Generation: Transitions in Women's Volunteer Lives" (MacLeod); and (13) the Constitution and the independent sector--"The Constitution and Voluntary Organizations" by (Wyszomirski), "Democracy and Voluntarism" (Van Til), "Groping for Groups: The Case of Non-Profits" (Soifer). (SM)