The MPNL curriculum is designed to prepare students to act ethically and effectively in leading and managing philanthropic and nonprofit organizations, and to transcend traditional boundaries in the pursuit of prosperous, safe, and healthy communities.

Grand Valley State University educates students with the mission to shape their lives, their professions, and their societies. Nowhere is this mission more effectively realized than when Grand Valley alumni become leaders of our voluntary and charitable organizations. Furthermore, there is no better way to prepare students for this role than through a program that builds the theoretical and practical knowledge critical to leading and managing these organizations.

Program of Study

Internship Guide

Student Organizations

Student Recognitions

Scholarships

Library Subject Guide

MPNL Graduate Student Orientation

Why Study Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Grand Valley?

•      Faculty Research Opportunities. Opportunities to collaborate with faculty on research projects.
•      Innovative Curriculum. Innovative curriculum designed to meet diverse educational needs.
•      Real-world Learning. Develop skills in effective, ethical leadership and management.
•      Flexibility. The program meets the needs of part-time and full-time students with evening and weekend courses, workshops, and Web-enhanced learning.
•      Academic Resources. Grand Valley library's endowed Johnson Collection for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership is one of the country's most comprehensive collections of books, journals, and audiovisuals on the nonprofit sector.

The completion of the MPNL requires a minimum of 36 credits. For information on tuition per credit hour and other fees, please visit the costs portion of the GVSU Financial Aid website. 

For scholarship information please visit the SPNHA scholarship page. For graduate assistant information, please visit the SPNHA graduate assistantship page. For other financial support and filing for FAFSA, please visit the GVSU Financial Support website.

The Graduate School provides funding for student conference attendance and research projects through the Academic Conference Fund and Presidential Research Grants.

Graduate Program Director: Donijo Robbins

Career Center contact: Dayna Phillips

Library liaison: Ashley Rosener

College Dean: Sherril Soman

Department Chair: Neal Buckwalter

Faculty:

Salvatore Alaimo 

Michael Breon 

Neal Buckwalter 

Raymond Higbea  

Lara Jaskiewicz  

Richard Jelier

Susan Johnson  

Priscilla Kimboko

Sebastian Linde  

Danyale Phillips

Michael Reagan  

Donijo Robbins 

Michelle Wooddell

Connect Early, Connect Often

Make regular appointments with your faculty advisor to discuss your post-graduation plans.  (Consult Banner to identify your advisor.)

Articles of Interest:

• Governing Magazine: Are Nonprofits the New Go-To Choice for Altruistic Jobseekers?
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Nonprofits in America: new research on employment, wages, and establishments
• The Case Foundation: The Pros and Cons of Working in the Nonprofit Sector
• US News Money: Thinking About a Nonprofit Job? Here's What You Should Know

BLS Occupational Outlook:

• Nonprofit Pay and Benefits

Selected job boards

• CMF Job Bank (Michigan)
• ICMA Job Center
• IdealistCareers.org
• Foundation List
• Koya Partners
• Lumity NPO.net (Chicago area)
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy
• Michigan Municipal League
• MNA Nonprofit Job Center (Michigan)
• State of Michigan Job Openings
• PublicServiceCareers.org
• Work for Good
• More nonprofit and philanthropy focused job boards

Accreditation

The Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC) accredited our MPNL Program for their pilot year one, 2018 - 2019

Class sizes

• The average MPNL class size was 15 in 2017-2018
• This is below the average class size for the School of Public, Nonprofit & Health Administration as a whole which was 17 students in 2017-2018

Registration:

• 5% of MPNL students registered full-time (9 or more credits) in Fall 2017
• 95% of MPNL students registered part-time in Fall 2017
• the average student course load was 6.45 credit hours in Fall 2017

Post-Graduation

• The majority of MPNL students are already working at the time of enrollment and throughout their degree. GVSU alumni are working in nonprofits throughout the state and form a network to support students upon graduation
• The median salary of Executive Directors of nonprofit organizations is $77,511 according to PayScale.com (Nov 2017)

Student Learning Outcomes

• Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, MPNL

Student Body Profile

MPNL students Fall 2013 to Fall 2017

• Age 24 and under: 2% 
• Age 25-29: 16%
• Age 30-39: 33%
• Age 40+: 49%
• Female: 88%
• Male: 12%
• African-American / Black: 4%
• Hispanic/Latino: 2%
• Mixed-race: 6%
• White: 86%
• Race not reported: 2%