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FOR RELEASE MARCH 16, 2001: CONTACTS:
Kellogg Study Offers First Glimpse of Nonprofit Management Students Battle Creek, Michigan -- A new study released by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation gives both the nonprofit and higher education communities their first quantitative look at the demographics of students in the emerging nonprofit management field. Though not generalizable to the population, this research is a vivid snapshot describing the type of student who is currently enrolled in nonprofit management courses. The research, conducted by Applied Research (East Lansing, Michigan), surveyed 256 students of certificate and master’s programs in nonprofit management at six universities across the country. The six universities are part of a larger Kellogg Foundation initiative entitled ‘Building Bridges between Practice and Knowledge in Nonprofit Management Education.’ Dr. Robert Long, Kellogg program director for the initiative, is excited about the results. “The field [of nonprofit management] is still growing and changing.” Long said. “And there is already solid research on the academic or ‘supply’ side – what kinds of courses are being offered and where. This new research begins to describe the ‘demand’ side of the equation: the students. Who takes nonprofit management courses? Why are they pursuing an education in nonprofit management? What do they think of the education they are receiving? At least now” Long continued, “We have a place to start…we can say that in the year 2000, this sample of nonprofit management students had these characteristics.” President of Applied Research, Dr. R. Sam Larson thought it was important to try to establish a baseline for other research that is sure to follow. Larson said, “Most academic administrators can describe the characteristics of students attending his or her program. There is little, if any, demographic data of nonprofit management students aggregated across multiple institutions. The Building Bridges Initiative connects nonprofit management education programs of varying sizes and types from all corners of the country and is an ideal group to sample.” Although these data are not representative of all nonprofit management students and, therefore, should not be generalized to all students, they present a picture of nonprofit management students not available elsewhere. SURVEY FINDINGSStudents were asked their sex, age, race, educational background, about their current and past employment and about their educational programs. The findings showed the following:
Perhaps the characteristic that distinguishes this group of students is that they were working students – most were employed full-time and most were employed in the nonprofit sector. The students represented a wide range of educational backgrounds – most had bachelor degrees but these degrees were from a variety of disciplines and colleges. The students as a collective could be thought of as “interdisciplinary.” The sample was somewhat racially diverse (16% are students of color), mostly female (80%), and varied in age. Data from the 1990 census (Independent Sector, 1993) shows nonprofit employment to be two thirds female/one third male and 15.2% minority. If these patterns hold over time, the sample over-represented female students but did capture the diversity of the sector. In general, students enrolled in certificate programs tended to be older and students in the master's programs tended to be younger, though not to the level of statistical significance. Researchers also found older students enrolled in master’s programs and younger students in certificate programs. The same holds for sex and ethnicity/race. These
research findings are published in a paper entitled “Building
Bridges Initiative Cluster The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), now in its fourth year, supports the development of comprehensive educational programs for managers and leaders in nonprofit and public organizations. There are 19 BBI projects based in the United States and eight BBI programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The ultimate goal of the Building Bridges Initiative is to raise the quality of life in communities by enabling nonprofit managers serving those communities to be more effective through increased opportunities for training and education, as well as greater relevance of nonprofit management curricula in higher education. Grantees have designed projects and programs to conduct research, train future nonprofit leaders, or improve knowledge about nonprofit management practices. The W. K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 to “help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations.” Its programming activities center on the common vision of a world in which each person has a sense of worth, and accepts responsibility for self, family, community, and societal well being. It is believed that each individual has the capacity to be productive, and to help create nurturing families, responsive institutions, and healthy communities. To achieve the greatest impact, the Foundation targets its grants toward specific focal points, or areas. These include Food Systems and Rural Development; Youth and Education; Health; and Philanthropy and Volunteerism. When woven throughout these areas, funding is also provided for leadership; information and communication technology; efforts to capitalize on diversity; and family, neighborhood and community development programming. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the southern African nations of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, and South Africa. For more information about the Kellogg Foundation, please visit http://www.wkkf.org. For more information about the Building Bridges Initiative, please visit http://www.CenterPointInstitute.org/Bridges.
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