Starting Your Own Non-Profit Organization

Syllabus

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Class Syllabus Starting Your Own Non-Profit Organization

Description of the Course

In this 4-week course, students that are interested in making an impact on their world learn how to design a non-profit organization that focuses on a community- and research-driven approach. Students learn about the different models of non-profit organizations (non-profit, for-profit, hybrid) and the benefits and trade-offs of each type. Students also learn about how to design solutions that are based on a community’s needs in a sustainable fashion, so the focus can be on the work, not fundraising.

By the end of the course, students will have developed a plan for a non-profit organization (non-profit, hybrid, or for-profit) based on a community’s specific needs. During this project, students identify the goal of their non-profit organization, how they will keep a community’s needs at the forefront of their decision making and program design, identify those most in need of the solution/program, determine a programmatic solution, and a plan for sustainability.

Course Structure

Students learn how to create a non-profit organization with the support of successful non-profit founders. They also participate in three live online classes with personal support from industry mentors, gaining real-world skills in community-focused problem solving, research-driven decision making, marketing and messaging, and presentation delivery. At the end of the course, students present their findings in a live session so they can showcase their plan for their non-profit organization and earn a certificate of completion to feature on their resumes and applications.

Course Objectives

In this course, students will:

• Design a community-focused and research-based plan for a non-profit organization

• Identify what type of organization and funding structure they would like to create, clearly identifying tradeoffs and benefits of their chosen model

• Complete a bullseye exercise to determine key stakeholders in the community and design programs to impact those that are furthest from the center

• Identify own biases to be able to design a community-focused program designed for the community, not the student

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• Identify how to message and market the organization so as to be able to create a sustainable organization

Course Outline

Week 1: The Why

• Video Introduction: Building a Non-Profit Organization

• Preparation: Types of Non-Profit Organizations

• Activity: Who You Want to Help

• Live Session: How Non-Profit Organizations Solve Problems

• Discussion Board #1

• Assignment 1: The Community and the Problem

Week 2: The Solution

• Video Lecture: Using Mixed Research Methods to Determine a Community’s Core Problems

• Preparation: Different Approaches to Solving Community-based problems

• Activity: The Bullseye Method

• Live Session: Creating Programs and Solutions for Communities

• Weekly Office Hours

• Discussion Board #2

• Assignment 2: The Solution

Week 3: Launching a Non-Profit Organization

• Video Lecture: How to Ensure Sustainability of Your Organization

• Preparation: Different Funding Types

• Activity: Marketing Your Message

• Live Session: Launching a Non-Profit Organization

• Weekly Office Hours

• Discussion Board #3

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• Final Project: The Plan

Week 4: Presentation

• Preparation: Presentation Basics

• Activity: Presentation Prep

• Live Session: Presentations

Grading Policy

Component Percentage of Grade

Assignment 1 25%

Assignment 2 25%

Discussion Boards 15%

Final Presentation 35%

Please note that you must attend all classes and receive an 80% or greater to receive the certificate of completion for the course

Technology Requirements

Students will need access to the internet and the Canvas Learning Management system.

Course Project Overview

In this project, students will develop a plan for a non-profit organization (non-profit, hybrid, or for-profit) based on a community’s specific needs. During this project, students identify the goal of their non-profit organization, how they will keep a community’s needs at the forefront of their decision making and program design, identify those most in need of the solution/program, determine a programmatic solution, and a plan for sustainability.

Part 1: The Community and the Problem

In this project, students will identify a community that they are a part of or interested in learning more about. Through research into the community (online and in-person), students will develop a hypothesis of a problem that the community needs help with.

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Part 2: The Solution

In this project, students will build a plan for a program or solution based on their community focus and research. Students will identify what the core audiences are and how best to reach them with their program/solution.

Final Project: The Plan and Presentation

In their final project, students develop a plan for launching their organization including the community, the problem, the proposed solution, what type of organization they are creating, and how they will ensure sustainability of their organization.

Academic Integrity

Honesty is an essential aspect of academic integrity. Individual students are responsible for doing their own work and submitting original assignments as per the course directions. Plagiarism and cheating of any kind will not be tolerated.

Plagiarize: “To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own without crediting the source; presenting as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source” (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield: G. & C. Merriam Company, 1973, 870).

This includes using information from the Internet without citing the website. Avoid plagiarism by appropriately acknowledging the source of the author’s words and ideas. Cheating: Submitting or presenting an assignment as your own when it was written or created by someone else is not permissible in this class.