An integral part of The Graduate Center of The City University of New York, the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (CPCS) focuses on giving, volunteerism, and nonprofit entrepreneurship by individual donors, foundations, and corporations in the United States and around the world.

Since its inception, CPCS has worked to highlight the philanthropic activities of different institutions and groups, with a particular emphasis on multiculturalism - the patterns of giving and voluntarism by different religious, ethnic, racial, gender, and economic groups. As reflected in its partnership in the Coalition for New Philanthropy, CPCS is committed to linking academic approaches with practitioner needs.