Nonprofit Management

Earn an O'Neill MPA with a Nonprofit Management concentration

The Nonprofit Management concentration prepares students with the ideas and technical skills needed to address the challenges and opportunities found in and surrounding nonprofit organizations.

The Nonprofit Management concentration leverages the expertise of O’Neill’s faculty in combination with the vibrant nonprofit community in and around Indianapolis to provide students with applied learning experiences. Students will understand the roles nonprofit organizations play in society while learning about different management practices such as financial management or human resource management.

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The critical role of nonprofit organizations

A nonprofit recruiter speaks with a SPEA student at a job fair.

There are about 1.8 million nonprofit organizations recognized by the IRS providing a wide range of services ranging from education and research, arts and culture, human services, and the environment.

The nonprofit sector contributes about 5% of annual GDP to the U.S. economy. Nonprofit organizations, thus, are major actors in the economy.

Degree requirements

In addition to the MPA core, management, and finance requirements, students that choose to pursue a concentration in Nonprofit Management must complete the following required courses:

This course focuses on the interaction between the public, private, and non-profit sector to achieve consensus in decision making to influence federal, state, and local policies. The courses conveys theoretical and practical aspects of multi-sector collaboration to achieve more effective outcomes that each sector could individually conceive.

The theory, size, scope, and functions of the nonprofit and voluntary sector are covered from multiple disciplinary perspectives including historical, political, economic, and social.

An examination of nonprofit organizations and their role in society. Management issues and public policy affecting these organizations are discussed. Primary emphasis is on U.S. organizations, but attention is given to the global nature of the sector.

This course emphasizes a thorough understanding of the language and key concepts of nonprofit financial management. A working knowledge of the basic analytical tools used in financial decision making for nonprofit organizations will be examined through the use of computer software.

Important aspects of the fundraising process in nonprofit organizations are covered, including techniques and strategies for assessing potential sources of support, effective use of human resources, process management, theory to underlay practice, analysis of current practice, practice standards, and discussion of ethical problems.

Some courses required for your concentration may count toward the MPA core curriculum. When this occurs, you may choose elective courses that match your interests and career goals while still meeting the degree requirements. All students pursuing the Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree are required to complete 39 credit hours.

Solve problems at the crossroads of policy, management, and science.