Advocate And Serve

ReferencesRobert D. H. & Associates (2005). THE JOSSEY-BASS HANDBOOK OF NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The diversity of nonprofit organizations, services provided and the problems faced shows that nonprofits require leadership with an in-depth understanding of the multifaceted nonprofit landscape. Understanding the culture of nonprofit work is also crucial and much easier to understand once you have been through a nonprofit management program. My career interests lead me towards an avocation of a deeper knowledge of strategic management/planning, legal structure and standards, increase my skills in quantitative analysis of policy, financial governance and developing fundraising strategies. These areas allow for macro management within the nonprofit

An example I think of this would be advocating for services for homeless veterans to get access to mental health services and medical treatments.

Collaboration among organization members and community stakeholders is very important, we must begin to study and understand nonprofits not merely as organizations housed within four walls but as catalysts that work within, and change, entire systems. The most effective of these groups employ a strategy of leverage, using government, business, the public, and other nonprofits as forces for good, helping them deliver even greater social change than they could possibly achieve alone (Crutchfield, 2012). There is also an understanding that community partnerships and assistance from caring individuals will be of a great benefit to the organization and the young men they serve. The different chapters in the organization are funded through member dues, grants and contributions from corporations, foundations, individuals and combined federal

The nonprofit sector in America is a reflection some of the foundational values that brought our nation into existence. Fundamentals, such as the idea that people can govern themselves and the belief that people should have the opportunity to make a difference by joining a like-minded group, have made America and its nonprofit sector what it is today. The American "civil society" is one that has been produced through generations of experiments with government policy, nonprofit organizations, private partnerships, and individuals who have asserted ideas and values. The future of the nonprofit sector will continue to be experimental in many ways. However, the increase of professional studies in nonprofit management and the greater

I began working for ABCD Head Start as a Family Advocate because I have always had a passion for social justice. This passion was what pushed me to work in an environment where I could commit myself to making meaningful change in people’s lives. It wasn't until I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree that this passion became fully realized. During the course of my education I took classes in sociology, such as Working for Social Justice, psychology and cultural studies, that provided a unique comprehension of the various issues that underprivileged people face. I learned the mechanics behind their oppression, as well as the key roles that non-profit institutions play behind eradicating them. It takes more than passion to be able to navigate the various systems that are complicit in poverty and those that are in place to help eradicate it. Thanks to my education I am now keenly aware of the intersectionality between socio-economic status, race and gender, and that acute understanding allows me to use my passion and the resources provided by ABCD to make lasting change.

Habitat for Humanity is a good example of a nonprofit organization that through its volunteer gathering and fundraising attempts may actually be hindering more of the people they are trying to help than actually helping them.(679,680) Habitat’s marketing gives the idea that a person in poverty that needs help wear dirty torn clothes and live in run down shack will have no home at all.(679) The idea is to put these perceptions of poverty into people’s minds in hopes that it will elicit the good in them to not only give their money but their time.(680) The problem is this gives the public the idea that poverty has one face and does not provide them with a picture of what the full spectrum of poverty looks like.(682) Another problem is, these ads perpetuate the idea that poverty is an individual issue that’s easy to spot and just as easy to fix with a little money and volunteer

The Alliance for Better Nonprofits (ABN), located in the Regas building in Downtown Knoxville, exists to provide resources, training, consulting, networking, and standards of excellence for nonprofit organizations in the 25 counties of Upper East Tennessee (What We Do, 2017). The remainder of this paper will discuss the personal interaction I had with Alliance employees during a visit, as well as the services and opportunities the Alliance offers the nonprofits in the community.

1. Connors, T. D. (2001). The Nonprofit Handbook. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [US].

Over the course of my two years at Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver), a certain nonprofit organization has really stood out to me. This particular non-profit is a critical piece to the MSU Denver community and the greater Denver community as a whole. Food for Thought currently provides food for six impoverished title one elementary schools, where many children would go hungry over the weekends otherwise. MSU Denver students and Denver business leaders volunteer for Food for Thought on a weekly basis during the school year. Every Friday morning, volunteers pack sacks of food into crates, which later get shipped out to the schools in need. Ever since I volunteered for Food for Thought the second semester of my freshman year,

When one talks about ‘Nonprofits’ many things come to mind; People often use phrases such as 501c3’s, charitable, ambassadors of the poor, and tax free organizations to umbrella the whole nonprofit sector. However, what large portions of our country fail to note is that there are differences within the nonprofit branch. There are two man categories of Nonprofits: Public, and Private; within those categories there are differing distinctions that allow for the separate identities of these organizations to in function and scope.

For this reason, nonprofits were chosen as the mode of production and management of new affordable units because they had a wholesome image with the American public (Bratt, 1998). This image, coupled with a track record for having the health, welfare, and safety of the public in mind made nonprofits very attractive to legislators and popular with the public.

EVEN IN THE SPLINTERED AND OFTEN FRACTIOUS world of social justice movements, Black Lives Matter doesn't fit easily into existing categories. Few grassroots uprisings have done as much, in such a short period of time, to focus attention on long-neglected issues of racial justice, gender, and economic inequality. Yet so far, BLM has not followed up on its initial victories by building the kind of lasting, hierarchical organizations that grew out of the civil rights movement; nor has it dedicated itself to a single, easily identifiable goal, like enacting the Voting Rights Act. How are we to make sense of organizers who themselves remain so loosely organized? And if Black Lives Matter isn't devoting itself primarily to bringing about substantive legal and legislative change, then how can it hope to transform its resistance into lasting and meaningful gains in human rights?

Social entrepreneurship is gaining such strong interest in nonprofit world because of the economic challenges that have plagued this sector with cuts in philanthropic and government funding. According to Nash (2010) not only are there cuts, there are many organizations vying for the limited funding. Studies support, the attitudes in capitalistic America, and the ease of nonprofits to embrace this concept; evidenced by their ability to sell their once free services, to meet the demands of the consumer. According to the IRS (2010) nonprofits have increased their selling power on unrelated business income, to the tune of 184% increase, in a sixteen-year time frame. This writer, believes these numbers are evidence which support this trend is

I was working in the African community in St. Louis Missouri that believes in interfaith dialogue, welcoming the stranger and conflict resolution. The agency created so many innovative forums that promoted dialog and respect. It promoted the shared experiences of humanity to create an inclusive society. It was against hate crimes and bullying. It struggled to remove ethnic or color conflict. It castigated charities that take contracts and pay themselves huge sums of money to bring communities together. It struggled to promote the historical bonds of people outside the system who were marginalized including immigrants. The press and rich grant makers did not like such budding and hopeful organization that criticized CEOS that claim themselves