Non-Profit Management
Program Summary
Tax-exempt nonprofit organizations can, and do, operate in all other particulars like any other sort of business. They have bank accounts, own productive assets, receive income from sales and other forms of activity, employ staff; and enter into contracts of all sorts. They can range in size from extremely large organizations, like the Red Cross, to extremely small companies, that operate with volunteer staff only. But, the similarities end there.
What non-profit companies cannot do is distribute the proceeds from its operations to its owners, employees, and/or volunteers as profit. Instead, non-profits are formed to satisfy the needs of the community – typically for religious, charitable, educational, literary, or scientific purposes. Values are the driving force in a nonprofit. The bottom line is the realization of a social mission, not profits. This poses complex problems for the leadership team including other areas of knowledge that are generally unique to nonprofits:
- Donations, grants, and passive investments
- Fundraising and grant writing
- Governance by a volunteer board of directors
- Specialized budgeting and accounting
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- Program development, reporting, and evaluation
- Public policy
- Volunteer programs
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Employment Trends
- America’s nonprofit sector has significantly outpaced the for-profit and government sectors in employment growth.
- According to the latest measures available, nonprofit employment grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent between 1997 and 2001, adding over 1 million jobs to the nation’s economy. During the same time period the business sector grew at 1.8 percent annually, and employment in the government sector grew at a rate of 1.6 percent.
- Nonprofit employment, which has doubled in the past 25 years, encompasses 12.5 million workers—nearly 10 percent of total employment in the United States. By 2010, this total should reach approximately 15 million, with growth forecast specifically in the areas of health services and social/human services.
Program Objectives
- Successful completion of each course earns a Certificate of Completion
- Nonprofit Management courses are designed to stand alone. There is no fixed curriculum or program requirements.