Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: NPL   NPL 273  Introduction to Nonprofit Leadership


Term:  Summer, 2015

Instructor:     Tony Filipovitch, 507-388-2264 (home)

Office Hours:  I check my e-mail daily (usually several times during the day), and have an answering machine on my home phone. 

There is no reason to flounder around, unsure of what “he wants” or confused about what you are doing; and even if everything is going fine with the coursework, there is more to learning than completing the assignments.  I encourage you to visit me, in person (know any good coffee shops?) or at a distance by phone or e-mail, many times during the course.

Text:

Worth, Michael.  2014.  Nonprofit Management Principles and Practices,3rd Ed.  (You will use this book again in NPL 473)

 Course Overview:

This course provides an introduction to the third (or nonprofit) sector.  It is designed to provide undergraduate students with a potential career path, or to enhance the skills of those who have some experience in the third sector.  This course is also a foundation for students working toward a certificate in Nonprofit Leadership.  The course addresses the historical and philosophical foundations in nonprofit leadership, elements of board/committee development, public policy, and the trust the third sector holds in relationship to other social sectors.   

Learning Outcomes:

Students will demonstrate competency in knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed to function in the following areas:

·       Historical/Philosophical Foundations of the Nonprofit Sector

·       Public Policy Issues in the Nonprofit Sector

·       Organization Design of Nonprofit Organizations

 There is a lot more to it than that.  For details, click here

Requirements:

In order to effectively address the three competency areas, this course will combine (online) classroom and field projects.  Students are expected to actively participate and contribute positively to the learning process.

1. Readings:

Students are required to read and understand the chapter(s) assigned at the beginning of each topic.   I have included my notes on the topics, but they are not a substitute for reading the chapter.  There will not be any tests or quizzes over the material in the readings; rather, you will demonstrate how well you have understood the readings through your weekly essays.

2. Weekly Essay & Class Discussion:

Since we do not meet as a class, the closest thing we have to this is the Discussion tab on D2L.  I will pose a question to start out the discussion, and each student must

·       Report on a professional journal article related to the discussion question,

·       Respond reflectively to the discussion question, and

·       Respond to at least one posting by a classmate to the discussion question.

You will be graded for the quality of your discussion of the journal article and the general topic for each unit.  There is more information about that here.

3. Service Learning:

Besides knowledge, really understanding a subject requires a dimension of knowledge-in-action (in other words, skills and abilities).  To help you along this path, each student will identify a nonprofit organization with which to volunteer over the course of the semester.  For the details about what you are supposed to do, click here

4. Exercises

Throughout the course, I will assign exercises, sometimes to each of you individually, sometimes to all of you as a group, to give you the opportunity to practice the skills that you are learning about.  Each exercise will contain its own instructions and deadlines.

 

 

Course Calendar

Due Date

Topic

Reading

Exercises

Assignments

5/19

Introduction

 

 

“Introduce Yourself” post

Historical/Philosophical Foundations

5/21

1.  Historical Perspectives

Text, Ch. 1 & 2

 

Discussion

5/28

2.  Social Institutions and discussions about political action

Text, Ch. 3

Getting to Know Them

Discussion; “Getting to Know” posting

Public Policy Issues

6/4

 3.  Legal Framework of nonprofits

Text, Ch. 4

IRS Code, Sect. 501

MN Guide to Charities’ Law; “Nonprofit Property Tax” (in D2L Content)

Build Your Own

“Build” assignment

Discussion on Legal Framework due

 

 

 

 

 

6/11

4.  Lobbying

Text, Ch. 13

 

Discussion

6/18

Internationalization of nonprofits

 “Doing Well” (in D2L Course Content)

Getting to Know Them 2

Discussion & “Getting to Know” posting

6/25

6.  Ethical decision-making, MCF Principles for Grantmakers, and MCN Principles and Practices

Text, Ch. 7

“Who Speaks” case study (in D2L)

Attend Board meeting by now; Discussion & Who Speaks” posting

Organizational Design

7/2

Board Leadership & Development, Good Management Principles, & What Should I Know

Text, Ch. 5

 

Discussion

7/9

8.  Staff functions & duties

Text, Ch. 6

 

Discussion

7/16

9.  Strategic Planning & Strategic Alliances & Mergers

Text, Ch. 15 & 16

Greenhill Community Center case study

Discussion; Greenhill Case due

7/22

10.  Careers in nonprofit organizations

Text, Ch. 1 (again); “So You Want to Work for a Nonprofit?” (Content tab)

Design your professional portfolio

Portfolio due

7/24

Service learning report due; course evaluation due

 

Course Expectations:

Are You Ready for an Online Course?

Online learning is different from face-to-face.  The mix of skills is different, and sometimes students who do well in face-to-face classes do not do well online.  Click here to see if this method of learning is for you.

Attendance & Class Participation:

It is your responsibility to post your responses in a timely fashion, interact with your mentors, and engage in online class activities.  I expect all the work for each unit to be posted by 6PM on Monday for the week listed in the Course Calendar.  If there is an emergency which requires you to be away from your computer, please contact me immediately.  I will give partial credit for assignments that come in during the next time period; assignments posted after that will not earn course credit unless there is a prior agreement.  You are paying for this class—make sure to get your “money’s worth.”  Most importantly, this is an excellent foundation of knowledge for future activities, and it is a chance for you to learn, teach, and grow with others.

 

Loss of computer connection or network services are not an excuse for not getting work submitted on time (if you lose your connection, go to another location to do your work—a public library, the University’s Academic Computer Center, a friend’s computer, etc.)  You can get help with technical problems from the MSUM computer help desk at help@mnsu.edu or go the 3rd floor of the Library. 

Grading:

There are 100 points for the course, divided as follows:

            1) Weekly essays & discussions (10@5 pts.)                        50

              2) Exercises/Case Studies (5@5 pts.)                      25

              3) Build Your Own project                                      10

             4) Final paper—report on service learning              15

The final grade may be based on a curve, but students can expect at least an A if they achieve 90%, a B with 80%, etc.

Other Matters:

All assignments are due on the assigned date.  Partial credit may be given for assignments that are less than one week late, unless other arrangements have been made in advance.

Written reports are expected to be free of grammatical, spelling, and content errors.  They should be submitted in typewritten, standard formats (APA, MLA, URSI Style Sheets).  You must familiarize yourself with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.  I encourage you to draw on the ideas of others—but you must also identify when you do so (you gain “brownie points” for citing the work of others!).  Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic behavior and will result in an F for the course.

I will help you in whatever manner humanly possible.  However, once the semester is over, there is not a great deal I can do.  If there is something that you don’t understand, are having problems with, or need help on, please get in touch with me as early as possible.

Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities.  If you area student with a documented disability, please contact me as early in the semester as possible to discuss the necessary accommodations, and/or contact the Disability Services Office at 507-389-2825 (V) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY).

Bibliography

There are a number of interesting and useful books and articles that might help you dig deeper into the issues raised in this course.  The link above takes you to a list of some of my favorites.


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MSU

© 2003 A.J.Filipovitch
Revised 12 May 2015