science

Nonprofit studies

Nonprofit studies is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nonprofit studies rather than just read about it. In short: Nonprofit studies or nonprofit management is a multidisciplinary field of teaching and research that focuses on practices of the nonprofit sector and can date back to the 1920s. This area of inquiry examines the management and effectiveness of the nonprofit sector.

Key takeaways

Nonprofit studies belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nonprofit studies to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nonprofit studies from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nonprofit studies or nonprofit management is a multidisciplinary field of teaching and research that focuses on practices of the nonprofit sector and can date back to the 1920s. This area of inquiry examines the management and effectiveness of the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit studies may also refer to studies of the voluntary sector, third sector, nongovernmental organizations, or civil society.

Training The Master of Nonprofit Organizations (MNO or MNPO), Master of Non-profit Management (MNM), Master of Not-for-Profit Leadership (MNPL), Master of Nonprofit Studies (MNpS), Master of Public Affairs (MPA), Master of Philanthropic Studies, Master of Nonprofit Administration (MNA), Master of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management (MPA), Master of Business Administration in Nonprofit Management (MBA), and similarly named degrees offer graduate-level training in nonprofit studies, management, and leadership in the nonprofit sector. As evidenced by the lack of a uniform name, degrees in nonprofit management are a relatively new phenomenon. While some universities have established centers for nonprofit studies, such as the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University, the Institute for Nonprofit Organizations at the University of Georgia, the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, and the ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation at Arizona State University, most nonprofit management programs are within schools of social work, public administration, or management. However, as the field has grown, there are increasing numbers of free-standing graduate and undergraduate programs not bound within traditional disciplines. The Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC) has developed curricular guidelines for degree programs in the nonprofit and philanthropic studies field that has helped to guide many universities in the development of their degree and certificate programs. In 1983, the School of Management at the University of San Francisco was the first institution in the nation to offer the Master of Nonprofit Administration (MNA) program.

Curriculum A typical nonprofit Master's program would require coursework in most or all of the following subjects:

Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and/or Nonprofit Finance Fundraising Ethics Program Evaluation Human Resource Development and/or Volunteer Management Nonprofit Law Program structures include traditional resident graduate programs, part-time programs for working professionals, and correspondence or online programs. In addition, many universities offering master's degrees also offer graduate certificates for students pursuing a graduate degree in another discipline.

USA institutions offering master's degrees in nonprofit organizations All Hallows College American International College American Jewish University Arizona State University Bay Path University Capella University Case Western Reserve University Cleveland State University DePaul University Eastern University Florida Atlantic University Hamline University Heidelberg University Indiana University John Carroll University La Salle University Louisiana State University in Shreveport Metropolitan State University The New School New York University Wagner Graduate School for Public Service North Park University Northeastern University Notre Dame of Maryland University Oklahoma City University Oral Roberts University Graduate School of Business Regis University Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Seattle University Universidad del Sagrado Corazón University of Central Florida University of Colorado Denver University of Delaware University of Georgia University of Houston–Downtown University of Northern Iowa University of Notre Dame University of San Diego University of San Francisco University of Southern California University of Oregon University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Washington University in St Louis Worcester State College

USA institutions offering online master's degrees in nonprofit organizations Adler University Bay Path University Capella University La Salle University Lasell College Louisiana State University in Shreveport Marylhurst University North Park University Our Lady of the Lake University Regis University Southern New Hampshire University University of Central Florida University of Houston–Downtown University of Northern Iowa University of the Rockies University of Southern California Upper Iowa University Walden University

Nonprofit research

Academic journals Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics The Foundation Review Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance Nonprofit Management and Leadership Nonprofit Business Advisor Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing Journal of Community Practice Third Sector Review Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing The Nonprofit Review Social Enterprise Journal Journal of Nonprofit Law (by NYU / IRS-related policy groups) The Foundation Review Nonprofit Policy Forum Voluntary Sector Review Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research The China Nonprofit Review Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership (JNEL) Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs (JPNA) Journal of Muslim Philanthropy & Civil Society International Review of Philanthropy and Social Investment Journal of Nonprofit Innovation (JoNI) Philanthropia Financial Accountability & Management Journal of Social Entrepreneurship Philanthropy & Education Journal of Civil Society Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics Journal of Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting

References

Further reading Weber, P. C., & Witkowsky, G. R. (2016). Philanthropic Disruptions: Changing Non-Profit Education for an Engaged Society. Journal of Public Affairs Education,22(1), 91-106. Retrieved April 30, 2018.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nonprofit studies

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nonprofit studies claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nonprofit studies before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nonprofit studies ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nonprofit studies

In research: Nonprofit studies appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nonprofit studies in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nonprofit studies is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Non-profit organizations, Social philosophy, Volunteering, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nonprofit studies outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nonprofit studies in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nonprofit studies means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nonprofit studies out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nonprofit studies in simple terms?

Why does Nonprofit studies matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nonprofit studies?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nonprofit studies.