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News
This is an exciting time for building at the Center for Nonprofits. In collaboration with the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies in the School of Human Ecology, the Center is creating a new graduate program in nonprofit and community studies and has recruited new faculty to help design the program and teach in the newly approved undergraduate major, Community and Nonprofit Leadership.
News on Nonprofits:
Philanthropy News Digest
Hospitals Will Fight Legislation Requiring Charity Care Standards
June 3, 2009
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=253700037
Wisconsin State Journal
Diocese's closure of center for minorities, poor shocks community
May 29, 2009
http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/452888
Philanthropy News Digest
Obama Administration Plans $50 Million Fund for Nonprofits
May 8, 2009
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story_print.jhtml;jsessionid=0JSFGBAQZZI3PL
AQBQ4CGXD5AAAACI2F?id=251600019
Philanthropy News Digest
More than a Third of Family Foundations Uncertain about Lifespan or Expect to Spend Down, Report Finds
April 30, 2009
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story_print.jhtml;jsessionid=HBX4VAHEUJ5BP
LAQBQ4CGW15AAAACI2F?id=250900006
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
President Signs National-Service Bill and Issues Call to Volunteer
April 21, 2009
http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/index.php?id=7936
Philanthropy News Digest
U.K. Charities Feeling Effects of Economic Downturn
April 11, 2009
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=249000043
Philanthropy News Digest
Nonprofits Strained to Breaking Point by Recession, Survey Finds
March 27, 2009
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story_print.jhtml;jsessionid=NJWGYNGZIK5JLL
AQBQ4CGW15AAAACI2F?id=247500028
Philanthropy News Digest
February 18, 2009
Billions in Nonprofit Projects on Hold Due to Credit Crisis, Report Finds
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=244000016
WI State Journal
January 27, 2009
Hospitals will have to prove they deserve tax break
http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/434405
Events
Communiversity Sessions Updates!
The University of Wisconsin Center for Nonprofits hosted four Communiversity Sessions this past semester. We enjoyed attendance from interested faculty, staff and students from the UW as well as nonprofit executives, volunteers, and foundation leaders from across our community. If you were able to join us, we thank you for participating. In the event you were unable to join us and wish to share with others, here are the media links to view the past four sessions:
Wayne Glowac (March 23, 2009):
http://mediasite.cae.wisc.edu/Mediasite/Viewer/?peid=e9122ca9-0db7-4201-bd8d-
68f74ad89765&playerType=WM64Lite&mode=Default&shouldResize=true
Nikki Busch (March 2, 2009):
http://mediasite.cae.wisc.edu/Mediasite/Viewer/?peid=aad3064d-4b6d-410c-9902-
81a750e0d8cf&playerType=WM64Lite&mode=Default&shouldResize=true
Bobby Hackett (April 13, 2009):
http://mediasite.ics.uwex.edu/mediasite5/Catalog/pages/catalog.aspx?catalogId=af
e50764-9dd6-4cf2-a173-93e23603bcd6
Paige Goldner & Marshall Heyworth, QTI Professional Staffing (April 27, 2009):
Mission
The Center is a place through which university and community stakeholders convene and collaborate to understand and strengthen the nonprofit sector. It is a place that builds public awareness of the sector, the demands for its service, and the challenges it faces.
Toward these ends, the Center provides innovative research, quality education, and engaged outreach to current and future leaders of the nonprofit sector.
Director's WelcomeWelcome to the UW Center for Nonprofits. The Center was formally established at the University of Wisconsin in May 2008 but in the two years prior to that engaged hundreds of nonprofit professionals from across our campus and community as well as many others across the country who hold interest in advancing the nonprofit sector. The Center is currently developing a program committed to academic degree programs, research on the nonprofit sector and professional connections in the form of outreach that will engage, enlighten and enhance the learning opportunities of the nonprofit sector’s current and future leaders. Many thanks go to the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation for their generous support of our Center’s development. Additional support has been provided through the Alliant Energy Foundation as well as many other organizations and individuals who have invested time and intelligence to this effort. As we develop our program, we hope you will share your thoughts on how we might best serve the interests of the sector. Please feel free to be in touch with me personally at yasiri@wisc.edu. Opportunities for affiliation and sponsorship are available and we hope to connect you to our efforts. Executive Director |
Why a Center on Nonprofits?
There has been great interest in the field of nonprofits among faculty, staff and students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During the planning process of the Center, many came forth to express their interest in participating. There is great interest on the part of multiple and diverse university stakeholders to share their expertise and contribute to the growth of the Center.
By the same token, there is equal drive on the part of the nonprofit community to engage with UW based faculty, staff and students on networking, mentorship and educational opportunities. Through the course of the Center development process, community representatives have been invited to participate and have willingly invested time and intelligence in forming the preliminary program and agenda for how the Center can be of best service to their needs to advance community interests. In the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea, the vision of the Center’s program includes regular convening, interaction and involvement of both the academic and community stakeholders of the nonprofit sector.
Understanding the Impact of the Sector
The nonprofit sector in the United States and across the world is going through transformative change. Its contribution to the U.S. economy includes 1.4 million nonprofit organizations in the U.S., employment of more than 11 million people including the equivalent of 5.7 million full-time volunteers. Nonprofit organizations in the U.S. have annual revenues that exceed $1 trillion dollars.
Beyond the economic impact, the structures the sector has become responsible for shepherding in our society are tremendous and span housing, hunger, healthcare, youth development, environmental, aging and economic development areas among many other areas that promote community health and well-being.
Study of this sector which addresses the basic needs of most communities is an integral process to understanding its current status and future capacity. Engaging the interdisciplinary talent of world class academicians at the University of Wisconsin will provide a platform for outreach and understanding of the variety of issues that sector faces and academic partners can inform, develop and advance.
Need for Academic Investment
A Center is needed because of the vital role that the sector plays in democratic, civil society. The sector not only delivers essential services, but it serves as a monitor/watchdog of the public sector. It is a protector of rights. Through philanthropy, the sector identifies priority community needs and leverages investments to address them. These are functions that will continue to grow in importance and require a concerted and focused range of study and research so that the sector can be understood by its many stakeholders and strengthen over time.
The University of Wisconsin has long embraced a tradition of interdisciplinary research and education. In tandem with that concept, the Wisconsin Idea -- advancing that the “boundaries of the University are the boundaries of the state” – ensures that the work performed at the University be relevant and accessible to all communities who need it.
Establishing and investing in a Center for Nonprofits at the UW holds practical importance to the academic, community and sector stakeholders for certain.
The opportunities for rich collaboration between sector stewards with the UW serving as a base of operations holds great promise for all involved.
