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Dr Wesley Lindahl, the Dean of Business and Non-Profit Management at North Park University in Chicago spoke to our Club about his school's program. North Park has been at the forefront in recognizing and developing educational curricula for future nonprofit leaders. They realized early on that the requirements for a solid background in non-profit organizations was quite different from what was required in "for-profit" oriented businesses.
Some of the key differences center around the requirement to learn about unique governmental regulations pertaining to nonprofit organizations, fundraising approaches, working with mission boards, nonprofit financing, working with volunteers and nonprofit marketing.
In the University's Master of Nonprofit Administration curriculum there are thirteen required core courses and five elective. Included in these are givens like Ethical Leadership, Nonprofit Financial Management and Decision Making, but also Annual Gift Fundraising for Non Profit Organizations and Measuring Outcomes and Assessment. Crucial topics like Nonprofit Strategic: Planning and Management Capstone and Nonprofit Law, Policy and Government Relations keep the dedicated student grounded and focused with the purpose and drive needed to succeed in this worthy field.
The feedback from last year's Student Survey, found they appreciated the flexibility to choose relevant classes and small class sizes. The practical applications to work as well as the strong emphasis on ethics and diversity resonated well with them also.
If you know of anyone interested in this program, please have them contact Dr. Lindahl at wlindahl@northpark.edu or 773-244-5667.
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