Nonprofit-Related Course Descriptions 

(last update 7/22/11)

Advanced Fundraising (PA581) Focuses on the understandings, processes, and skills that are necessary for successful major gift development. Addresses the process of developing advanced fundraising techniques, beginning with the formulation of the development plan, moving through developing a gift management system, and concluding with application and design of effective gift stewardship. The steps in the process are identified in general terms with specific appli­cation applied to the context of student experi­ence or projects. Also covers the role of leadership especially volunteer leadership, and the relation­ship of that leadership with other human resourc­es such as the Development Officer or the Chief Executive Officer. Expected preparation: PA 526.

Advocacy and Political Participation by Nonprofit Organizations (PA538) Exploration of the role of citizen advocacy and political participation in the United States in the twenty-first century. Investigates the many mean­ings of the term "civil society," as well as the role of nonprofit and voluntary organizations in lob­bying and advocacy, and the role of citizen move­ments in shaping local, national and global democracy. Will discuss and analyze specific advocacy campaigns with a focus on strategy.

Arts Administration (not official description) (PA510) Sessions will focus on the role of artists in society, arts organizations’ involvement in community, arts program development, art creation and commissioning, art curating and presenting, arts education, partnerships and collaborations, public relations and audience development, fundraising and sustainability, and arts advocacy locally and nationally.  These topics will be explored in class through a variety of presentations, readings, case studies, films, field trips, and weekly discussions with visiting arts leaders.  Students will be asked to visit various art venues and events, and to share what they learn during discussions in class.  Students will complete a “real” project for Caldera (the arts organization that the course instructor directs) or for another arts organization of their choice;  they will also develop their own personal “Code of Meaning” by the end of the course.  The goal is to immerse ourselves in as much of the Portland art scene as we can in ten weeks, and to define the kind of participation we would like to develop for ourselves in this very alive, wide reaching field.

Creating Collaborative Communities (PA543) Collaboration is perceived as an important method for addressing complex community issues through alliances with other organizations in the nonprofit, for-profit, and government organizations. This course introduces students to the theory and prac­tice of collaboration through in-class and “living” case studies in the community. Students will learn the success factors, barriers to, and preconditions of collaboration at the intraorganizational, interorganizational, and intersectoral levels. They will explore the potential for using collaboration in a variety of community settings.

Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations (PA 524) Designed to provide participants without formal accounting or finance training with the conceptu­al framework and practical tools needed to pro­vide strong fiscal management and fiscal leader­ship in the nonprofit environment. For students with formal finance and/or accounting back­ground, the course will provide opportunities to compare and contrast fiscal management objec­tives and functions in nonprofit with those found in for profit and/or governmental entities. It is structured to illustrate the nonprofit fiscal man­agement cycle: planning, execution, recording, reporting, and monitoring.

Fundamentals of Fundraising in Nonprofit Organizations (PA526) Creating an environment for successful fund development within a nonprofit organization is a serious undertaking that requires a substantive understanding of, and experience with, develop­ment programs and fundraising practices. Course provides the learner with the basic theories, prin­ciples, and techniques for fund development.

Governance of Nonprofit Organizations (PA522) This course addresses the history and functions of boards in the nonprofit sector, including an examination of the roles of boards in governance and leadership; policy and administration; decision-making processes; board-staff relations; resource development; board composition and recruitment; ethics and liability; and current research on boards and organizational effectiveness.

Grantwriting for Nonprofit Organizations (PA425/525)The process of grant acquisition, beginning with the formulation of a fundable idea and concluding in an application and its review. Students are expected to identify potential funding sources, initiate inquiries, and develop an application for funds to support a program or study of special interest. The steps in this process are discussed in general terms and in the context of each student's application. The focus is the development of grants from private rather than public funders.

History and Foundations of the Nonprofit Sector (PA 521) Provides an introduction to the history and devel­opment of the private, nonprofit sector in the United States. It explores theories and concepts that describe the social, political, legal, and eco­nomic meaning of volunteerism, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector as a sector separate from government and business. It provides a specific focus on the relationship of nonprofit to govern­ment in the delivery of public services within the context of a welfare state.

Introduction to Nonprofit Management (PA420/520) Introduces students to a wide range of management needs, problems, and issues of not-for-profit organizations. It considers such items as the following: the executive director as manager; working with a policy board; volunteer/staff relations; personnel administration; budgeting and financial management; fund raising and sources of revenue; long-range planning; and community organization.

Introduction to Philanthropy (not official description) (PA 510) will provide students with an overview of recent forms of philanthropy, such as charitable giving, volunteering, civic engagement, charitable foundations, corporate philanthropy or social investment. In this class we will reconstruct historic and intellectual sources of philanthropy; we will critically analyze contemporary forms of philanthropy, review current literature and ask the question, whether contemporary philanthropy has the means to solve the problems it actually tackles. But besides those analytic and intellectual tasks, we will support each other in answering the question, what it takes to be a philanthropist. The class aims at a fundamental understanding of philanthropy and intends to bridge the gap

Managing Philanthropic Foundations (PA510) tba

New/Emerging Nonprofits: Development and Management (PA527) Intended to develop knowledgeable leaders for the nonprofit sector that understand how to establish and manage newly emerging organizations. Examines a wide range of management and lead­ership needs, problems and issues that arise for an organization in its early years. Explores how an organization develops and emerges and how the traditional tasks of management: supervision, planning, budgeting, fundraising and marketing can be most effectively administered. Recommended prerequisites: PA 520 or PA 521.

Nongovernmental Organizations: Nonprofits on the World Stage (PA523) Introduction to the history and development of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) and the roles they play on the world stage. Examines the causes of the growth and significant role of NGOs in creating civil society, as well as the roles of NGOs in fighting oppression, safeguarding the environment, building and training workforces and advocating major societal changes.

Nonprofit Field Study in Oaxaca, Mexico (PA529) An intensive immersion program in Oaxaca, Mexico, offered by the Institute for Nonprofit Management in the Hatfield School of Government. Course includes nonprofit field study and site visits, cultural immersion homestays, and visits to cultural sites. The program varies in the types of nongovernmental nonprofit organizations the students visit, based in part on the interests of the students who register. On-site translation is pro­vided so that proficiency in Spanish is not necessary, but Spanish language study is part of the immersion experience.

Organizational Leadership and Decision Making in Nonprofit Organizations (PA528) Introduces students to the theory and practice of leadership and decision-making in the nonprofit sector. It focuses on the relationship of leadership to management, governance, and organizational effectiveness of nonprofit organizations. It covers classic, modern, and contemporary theories of leadership, including trait, style, situational, con­tingency, charismatic, transactional, transforma­tional, team, and contemporary approaches to leadership and decision-making.

Program Evaluation and Management (PA 555) Examines program evaluation from the perspec­tive of the public administrator. Covers the major approaches, methods, and concepts in the field of program evaluation. Topics include impact assess­ment, research design, qualitative evaluation methods, performance auditing, benefit-cost anal­ysis, and other selected topics.

Public Administration (PA511) The role of administration in a democratic soci­ety. The course surveys the field, the development of the profession and practices in public adminis­tration, and examines the legal, historical, eco­nomic, and political foundations of the American governmental and nonprofit traditions.

Public Contract Management (PA556) Explores what happens when public sector organi­zations form working relationships with other agencies, communities, nonprofit organizations, or for-profit firms through contracts. It seeks to understand key elements of the formation, opera­tion, and termination (or transformation) of these relationships and to do so from the perspective of the generalist manager rather than from a narrow technical view. The purpose here is not to debate whether government at all levels should do more contracting or less but to assess what happens when the decision is made to use contractual arrange­ments to perform services or provides materials.

Social Entrepreneurship (PA541) tba

Strategic Planning (PA536) Provides an overview of the application of plan­ning systems to public sector functions and explores newer “stakeholder” theories of planning, planning models, and the step-by-step process for initiating and engaging in strategic planning pro­cesses at various levels of government. Through the use of case studies and hands-on exercises, stu­dents are exposed to practical applications of stra­tegic planning approaches and techniques.

Values-based Management (PA598) Introduces the model of values-based management as a method to enhance compatibility between the individual and the organization that is essential for decision-making and supervision, particularly in nonprofit organizations. Students will develop a the­oretical understanding of the elements of effective supervision and of the impact that a director/super­ visor has on the human resource system in their organizations. Students will work through the pro­cess of clarifying agency mission, purpose, and values and develop skills for aligning their practices with these values.

Volunteerism and Volunteer Management (PA592) Examines the historical, social, and cultural con­text of voluntarism in America as a way of under­standing who volunteers and why, and what dif­ference it makes in the lives of organizations and communities. The course includes skill develop­ment in the management and administration of volunteer programs in a nonprofit organizational context, including volunteer program planning, evaluation of volunteer programs, recruitment, training, and retention of volunteers.

Women’s Development and Microfinance (not official description) (PA510) This course focuses on international development, particularly among women in rural villages and urban slums.  It is common throughout the developing world—what is often referred to as the “third world” or “the South”-- for women to use microfinance and microcredit schemes to develop small businesses—vegetable stands, weaving enterprises, milk sales, rag picking, basket making—to earn money to support the health, education and wellbeing of their families.  This course will cover a variety of related subjects:  the economics of microfinance; diverse microfinance models used throughout the developing world; international governmental and non-governmental involvement in microfinance and development; diversity of microenterprise schemes; the relationship of microfinance to women’s empowerment, leadership and emancipation. While this course focuses on women, poverty and development, it is not a course only for women students.  Poverty in the third world pervades the families of men, women, children and the communities in which they live.  It is the development efforts women have undertaken that have resulted in significant strides in family health and welfare, education, community infrastructure development.  The broad success of microenterprise schemes worldwide explains—in part--why national and international governments and funders have invested significantly in its expansion across the globe as well.  More recently NGOs have established supports for community microenterprise schemes as well.  While the research has largely lauded the benefits of microenterprise, there is evidence of abuse in some of these schemes by lenders, by investors domestic and foreign, as well as local corruption.  These latter experiences are important to understand in assessing the upsides and downsides to microenterprise.  We will be exploring both and developing recommendations for assessment and monitoring.  It is a story continuing to unfold in the growing field of development.