NIU program preps students for nonprofit world

Maria Torres of Elgin says her college coursework made a difference in her successfully breaking into the nonprofit world.

Torres was among the first graduates of Northern Illinois University's community leadership and civic engagement program, the only one of its kind in Illinois, and among only three in the country, school officials say.

After graduating in December 2012, Torres got a job with Family Focus in Aurora and later as a congregational organizer for Community Renewal Society, working with churches in Chicago and suburbs such as Wheaton and Aurora.

“The program is designed thinking of professionals who are actually going to work in the nonprofit sector,” she said.

“It's not like you learned stuff that you're never going to use again. Everything that I learned there really put me ahead of the game in entry-level positions.”

The program “combines coursework on nonprofit management with elements of grass-roots organizing and social movements, social justice, and civic engagement,” said Ben Bingle, outreach coordinator for NIU's Center for NGO Leadership and Development, which offers the program.

Twenty students have majored since 2012, and another 180 are in the pipeline to major, minor or get a certificate, he said.

“It's a new program, so we're really pleased with that number,” he said.

Center for NGO Leadership and Development Director Nancy Castle says the program combines classroom teaching — such as about nonprofit management — with concrete, hands-on experience.

Students can work on specific projects with local nonprofits and serve as nonprofit board members. A new pilot program offers internships with a stipend, she said.

“They get the conceptual and the mechanical of all of it,” Castle said. “One of the things I'm really pleased with is they do get that real world exposure.”

Having students serve on nonprofit boards is a great experience for both students and board members, said Brian Reis, executive director of the Elwood House Association in DeKalb.

The nonprofit is among agencies matched last month with students to serve on their boards.

“I love the concept of it,” Reis said. “For the students, they're getting this real-time experience, to know what it's like to serve on the board. For the board, it's nice to have a fresh experience from someone starting out, and always knowing some day, when they relinquish, there will be someone to take over.”

NIU senior Brooke Russell of South Elgin, a U.S. Navy veteran, said she initially wanted to major in psychology to work as an advocate for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

When she found out about the program, she realized it was perfect for her, she said.

“They have the advocacy and the activism part,” she said. “It fit with what I wanted to do.”

Learning about the business model for nonprofits will be especially useful, she said.

“The point of nonprofits doing good is that it has to run very smoothly, and a lot leaner that most businesses,” she said. “They have the same business model, but it's tailored for a leaner expense. That was my biggest take-away.”

The program's capstone class requires students to pull together knowledge from various disciplines, Castle said.

“One of the things I love about this major is, we help students piece together what could seem to them a bunch of random classes, and hopefully help them structure how everything is connected,” Castle said.