Name of Center
Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, United States
www.helenbaderinstitute.uwm.edu
About the Center
The Helen Bader Institute was established in 2001 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukeeas the first—and still the only—nonprofit academic center in the state of Wisconsin. Its mission is to improve the leadership and effectiveness of nonprofit organizations through education, research, and service.This mission is accomplished through significant partnerships and collaborations and is currently carried out through comprehensive, graduate-level, as well as continuing education programs; research; and capacity building services. The Helen Bader Institute has emerged as a unique professional resource for nonprofits in the Milwaukee area. The Institute’s governing body is a Leadership Council that includes representatives from nonprofit organizations, Milwaukee-area foundations and the university. Dr. John Palmer Smith is Executive Director of the Helen Bader Institute, and also currently serves as President of the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC) board.
Major Education Initiatives:
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Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management Degree Program
The multi-disciplinary, 15 credit-hour, Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management program, launched in Fall 2003, is the first graduate program of its kind in the State of Wisconsin. The program attracts a wide range of students including individuals who are “pre-career”, “mid-career” and “career changers” as well as graduate students who enroll in other master’s or doctoral degree programs at UWM and who choose to combine the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management with those degrees. -
Proposed Master of Science in Nonprofit Management and Leadership Degree Program
A proposed thirteen-course, 39 credit-hour, Master of Science in Nonprofit Management and Leadership degree program is currently under review within the University system and may be approved to begin as early as the fall 2006 or spring 2007 semester. -
Non-Credit (Continuing Education) Programs
Launched in the fall of 2002, in cooperation with the School of Continuing Education at UWM, the “Professional Certificate in Nonprofit Management” program represents another approach to expanding educational opportunities in nonprofit management and leadership in the Greater Milwaukee area. The Professional Certificate program is supported by a “Policy and Accreditation Board” that sets curriculum guidelines.
Major Research Projects
The Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management provides financial and other support for the following applied research programs:
- Studies on issues of local and national importance to the nonprofit sector have been completed, disseminated and used for decision-making. Recent studies include: Assessing Capacity-Building Needs of Wisconsin Nonprofits, a survey of nonprofit organizations throughout the state released in November 2005. Nonprofit Executive Leadership and Transitions Survey, supported by the Helen Bader Institute and conducted by the Donors Forum of Wisconsin in collaboration with the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. Arts and Culture in Southeastern Wisconsin, a study of the arts and cultural sub-sector of the nonprofit sector in the Greater Milwaukee area. Exploring the Perceptions of Bias and Discrimination: The Utilization of Nonprofit Consultants of Color in the Greater Milwaukee Area focused on the provision of technical and other management support services by consultants of color working in the Greater Milwaukee area.
- The Faculty Research Mini-Grant Program, a “small grants” program designed to support and disseminate research by university faculty on a variety of topics related to the nonprofit sector was launched and continued for a second year.
- The University-Community Research Mini-Grant Program, an expansion of the “small grants” research program, was successfully launched in 2005. This program is designed to promote research on nonprofit organizations and the nonprofit sector by a team that includes a university or local research organization partnering with a nonprofit organization in Greater Milwaukee.