The Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy

Philanthropic and nonprofit organizations have a long history of community support and social change in the United States. The unique position and regulation within the economy allows these organizations to be risk takers and sources of innovation. As a result, many important programs, policies, and innovations have been the result of nonprofit organizations or their funding.

How Nonprofits Impact Drug Development R&D

Figure from: Graddy-Reed, A. (2020). “Getting Ahead in the Race for a Cure: How Nonprofits are Financing Biomedical R&D,” Research Policy, 49(8). 

These courses presents an overview of the nonprofit sector and the organizations that comprise it. We will discuss the history and growth of the sector within a US context. Careful attention is placed on the process of philanthropy and how individuals and foundations can best support nonprofit organizations and the production of public goods.  The implications for and challenges of policy, strategy, and management are also discussed. Students work to develop their own grantmaking strategy and in the undergraduate course, implement a class strategy and distribute actual grants. 

• PPD 371 The Nonprofit Sector & the Public Interest (Undergraduate)
• PPD 689 The Nonprofit Sector & Philanthropy (Graduate) ​