Our Crowdfunding Groups
Hello,
Many of you know this has been a big semester for me – I have had the privilege of serving as Acting Director of the Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies, and will complete my term in the spring. What you might not know, though, is that I turn FIFTY this week – and I am using this momentous occasion to raise funds to advance equity for our students.
This week is also fall graduation! We're so proud of our graduates.
Last week our seniors completed their capstone projects - we were fortunate to have two local nonprofit organizations join, Elder Care Services and Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra. It was an inspiring reminder of the transformative potential of internships. It is important not only to local agencies, having fresh eyes, perspectives, and questions and helping get work done that wouldn't have otherwise. Service learning and internships are integral parts of college education, particularly for NNGO.
And as is generally known - and several NNGO alumni who are local nonprofit leaders can attest to - internships are an important step to securing employment in the sector.
Offering and increasing internship stipends is an equity issue... many of our students, especially our BIPOC students, first gen, and/or what used to be called ‘nontraditional’ students have family responsibilities and cannot afford not to work.
NNGO students benefit from the generosity of the Douglas C. and Lynn M. Roberts Family Foundation, who has from the very beginning understood the importance of equity and access in internships and has fiscally supported internship collaboration with NNGO and the DeKalb County Nonprofit Partnership.
We would like to extend and diversify this support... offering and increasing stipends opens the door for diversifying tomorrow's leaders. Other service learning opportunities such as hands-on activism, visits to Chicago nonprofits, and the People's Organizing Weekend Empowerment Retreat (POWER) complement internships and NNGO's unique blend of justice, liberal arts, and management in the classroom.
As I turn a half century old this Thursday, can you please help us build and diversify tomorrows nonprofit and NGO professionals? I'm asking 50 people to make a donation of $50 or more. No donation is too large or too small.
Please help spread the word.
Thank you!
Mark Schuller, Acting Director
Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies
