Journal profile · SOCIAL ISSUES
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
ISSN 0899-7640 · eISSN 1552-7395 · SAGE
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.56; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,650; review about 366 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 16.1% (journal website); 87 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly is published by SAGE and is in Zone 2 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering, Religion, Society, and Development and Social Capital and Networks, together about 53.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ), peer-reviewed and published bi-monthly, is an international, interdisciplinary journal for nonprofit sector research dedicated to enhancing our knowledge of nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and voluntarism by providing cutting-edge research, discussion, and analysis of the field. NVSQ … | View full journal description This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SOCIAL ISSUES
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 1%); most named United States 48, Netherlands 3, United Kingdom 2, Germany 2, Canada 2 (72 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Nonprofit Sector and VolunteeringSocial Sciences36.6%
- Religion, Society, and DevelopmentSocial Sciences10%
- Social Capital and NetworksSocial Sciences7.2%
- Tourism, Volunteerism, and DevelopmentSocial Sciences5.8%
- Public Policy and Administration ResearchSocial Sciences5.7%
- Community Development and Social ImpactEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.4%
- Corporate Social Responsibility ReportingBusiness, Management and Accounting2.7%
- Service-Learning and Community EngagementSocial Sciences2.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.56LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 3.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.29LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.01LetPub ·
- h-index
- 135OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,419OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.78OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 18.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 45.5%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 72LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,943 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 65 | 26 | 6 |
| 2025 | 87 | 45 | 126 |
| 2024 | 59 | 35 | 244 |
| 2023 | 81 | 51 | 602 |
| 2022 | 85 | 27 | 1,372 |
| 2021 | 87 | 24 | 1,327 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
366 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 16.1%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 77 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 366 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 46 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,650 / GBP 2,676 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- No page charges
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- APA
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
Article types accepted5, with length limits
- book reviewsBook Reviews: We welcome Book Reviews for recently published books or comparing texts in a given research area on any topic of interest to NVSQ readers.Length not stated
- perspectiveResearch Articles: Manuscripts should be no more than 10,000 words (including the main text, references, appendices and endnotes). As an international and inter…Length not stated
- research articleResearch Articles: Manuscripts should be no more than 10,000 words (including the main text, references, appendices and endnotes). As an international and inter…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- research articlesResearch Articles: Manuscripts should be no more than 10,000 words (including the main text, references, appendices and endnotes).Length not stated
- research notesResearch Notes: Research Notes should be no longer than 5,000 words (including the main text, references, appendices and endnotes).Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- Authorship 2.2 Authorship
All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Spreading the News: Donor Response to Disclosures About Nonprofit Fraud
Erica E. Harris Christine M. Petrovits Michelle Higgins Yetman
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 3.1 Publication ethics
Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Copyright held by Association For Research On Nonprofit Organizations And Voluntary Action Model summary
Copyright © 2026 by Association For Research On Nonprofit Organizations And Voluntary Action
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access 3.3 Open access and author archiving
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice program and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 2.1 Peer review policy
Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process. Model summary
Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism 3.1.1 Plagiarism
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the Journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be chec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- SAGE
- ISSN
- 0899-7640
- Electronic ISSN
- 1552-7395
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
What CAS zone is Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Social Issues. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.56; CiteScore 6.9, h-index 135.
How long does peer review take at Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly?
The publisher reports about 366 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 16.1%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: APA; Suggested reviewers: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly based?
Of the 72 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 1%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (48), Netherlands (3) and United Kingdom (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly open access, and what is the APC?
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,650.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .