Preparing for Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector in the US: An Opportunity for Service Learning

Preparing for Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector in the US: An Opportunity for Service Learning

Grant:
Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the Improvement of Teaching
Academic Year:
2009 - 2010 (June 1, 2009 through May 31, 2010)
Funding Requested:
$10,000.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
tropman
Overview of the Project:
This project proposes to reach out to undergraduates interested in nonprofit organizations and presenting material on the nonprofit sector at home and abroad to them; Using an interdisciplinary approach (several disciplines plus nonprofit executives), it will provide not only knowledge but a team-based project opportunity in local nonprofits.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:
Our Whitaker Award is as follows: Reaching out to undergraduates interested in nonprofit organizations and presenting material on the nonprofit sector at home and abroad; Presenting material on leadership in nonprofits to those undergraduates; Using an interdisciplinary approach; Providing an opportunity for civic engagement in a structured way through a team project;
Project Achievements:
This undergrad course will focus on the role of the "nonprofit" organization in American society and in countries around the world. While other countries do not have 'nonprofits' as we do, they do have "NGOs-Non Governmental organizations- which serve some of the same functions. Sometimes these organizations are called "social benefit" organizations, or "public goods" organizations (museums, orchestras, parks, etc.) The course will examine the role and functions of nongovernmental, noncommercial organizations in the US and abroad in meeting civic and social needs. Many UM undergraduates have an interest in the nonprofit sector, and the sector , facing the "boomer exodus" through "aging out" of the workforce needs them. It is our hope to work with campus ministers and service to touch base with interested upper classpersons.
Continuation:
We are just beginning the course this Fall (2010), for which Shaefer is the lead instructor. The course was significantly over subscribed and we had to limit it to 20 enrollees based on our capacity. We know there is huge interest out there for courses such as this one because many of those who wished to get in talked with us. So far, the current stage 1 course is going quite well. Attendance is very high, and participation in class discussions is vigorous – often all 20 students contribute during a 1.5 hour session. As discussed previously, the course has two portions – a classroom portion on “leadership” and a filed portion on “consulting.” Students have suggested that a specific course on “Consulting in the Social Benefit Sector” would be great. That is what we are proposing here.While evaluation is in process, we know of interest because of the large number of students who wanted to get in, because of the energy and enthusiasm of the class itself, and because of the high in-class participation. We never finish our content because of the eager discussion.
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