Education

• Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1974

• M.A., University of Chicago, 1970

• B.A., Pitzer College, Claremont, CA, 1968

Biography

Dr. Kirsten Grønbjerg is a nationally recognized scholar on nonprofit and public sector relationships. She has been with O'Neill since 1997 and is also an adjunct professor in the Sociology Department. In addition, Grønbjerg has held the Efroymson Chair in Philanthropy at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (2001-2020) at Indiana University, located at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), where she is also professor of Philanthropic Studies.

For the last 20 years, Grønbjerg has directed the Indiana Nonprofits Project: Scope and Community Dimensions, analyzing and disseminating information about Indiana nonprofits and their contributions to the state and local community. The project aims to help community leaders and public policy makers develop effective and collaborative solutions to community needs.

Her other research and publications focus on nonprofit funding relations, nonprofit capacity, nonprofit data sources, and the American welfare system. 

In 2016, Grønbjerg was named a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow. In 2005, she received the Award for Distinguished Achievement and Leadership in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).

She is active in public service as a member of the Giving USA Advisory Council for Methodology since 2000, active in the Nonprofit Open Data Collective seeking to advance quality nonprofit data sources, and a member of the Board of United Way of Monroe County.