Metallica's All Within My Hands is a workforce education initiative that provides direct support to community colleges to enhance their career and technical education programs. In 2019, AWMH--alongside initiative sponsor the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)--provided 10 schools with $100,000 each for tuition help, safety gear and…

In June 2023, the Commonfund Institute hosted 36 nonprofit leaders on the campus of Yale University for our premier educational event -- the Investment Stewardship Academy (ISA). Much has changed since the last convening in 2019 -- a global pandemic, a deep racial reckoning, war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures, ongoing and distressing impacts…

A service-learning (SL) version of the Intercultural Communication course was designed in collaboration with a nonprofit refugee resettlement agency. Through the collaborative discussions prior to the start of the semester, the instructor and community partner identified the needs and possible ideas for problem-based SL projects. In the SL course,…

The Aurora Institute works to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all. In pursuing this mission, Aurora has built the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as well as anti-racism, into its strategic plan. To support its…

This article shares wisdom from three leaders in the Baltimore nonprofit sector on university engagement with local communities. In conversation with the directors of Towson University's Grant Writing in Valued Environments (G.I.V.E.) program, the community leaders give practical advice to be used in grant writing and community engagement efforts,…

In recent years, a significant focus has been placed on addressing systemic inequities that exist within the education system. While considerable strides have been made to address disparities in urban education, a new conversation is emerging--one that centers on the unique challenges faced by students living in rural communities. These challenges…

Cooperative Extension professionals utilize proven qualitative techniques to collect and analyze information to make data-driven decisions that guide program direction and determine impact. While the process may not always look the same, it is indeed essential to ensure findings are credible and reflective of the data. A codebook is a valuable…

Parental involvement is crucial for children's academic success, with their engagement known to play a significant role in enhancing learning outcomes. Despite this recognition, the current learning crisis highlights a lack of effective mechanisms to foster parental engagement, resulting in disenfranchisement from the learning process for many…

Background: In 2006, the United Nations agreed the "Convention On the Rights Of Persons With Disabilities." Article 19, 'Living independently and being included in the community' sets out the 'equal rights of all persons with disabilities to live in the community, with choices equal to others…' A generation earlier, a small group of…

Learning about how economic well-being--or the lack of well-being--shapes peoples' lives can enhance social work students' and professionals' efforts to "champion social progress powered by science," a stated aim of the Grand Challenges for Social Work. Yet social work and economics have pursued divergent paths since the late 20th…

When the federal government banned incarcerated students from accessing Pell Grants in the mid-1990s, a new model for supporting Higher Education in Prison (HEP) programs emerged--utilizing Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) as third-party facilitators to fill the gaps left behind in the absence of federal financial aid. With the long-awaited…

Accreditation is a major barrier to higher education reform. Constitutional or not, accreditors are an administrative anomaly: private nonprofit agencies that nonetheless possess life-and-death power over higher education. To maintain federal funding, universities must satisfy the administrative requirements and whims of these unelected entities.…

This case study describes the complex relationships between nonprofit boards of directors and executive directors, especially when the executive director is the organization's founder. The case takes the perspective of an MPA student, with limited professional experience, who is asked to serve on a board of a new nonprofit. It is an exciting…

Research has pointed to a critical need for primary prevention and intervention strategies. This has only been magnified since the COVID-19 pandemic and with the shortages of school-based mental health providers. Active Minds is a national organization dedicated to "changing the conversation about mental health" (Active Minds, n.d.-b) by…

Over the last quarter-century, tax-credit scholarship (TCS) policies have helped hundreds of thousands of American families provide their children with the learning environment that meets their individual needs. Although less well-known than school vouchers, TCS policies are the most-used form of private school choice. Now available in 23 states,…