Nonprofit Leadership

We are not accepting new students in this major.

Why choose this program?

The interdisciplinary major in nonprofit leadership is designed to prepare you for a career in the nonprofit sector. You'll learn fundraising, leadership, financial management, human resources, volunteer management, strategic planning as well as ethics and social responsibility. Through your coursework, you will have opportunities to work directly with nonprofit organizations, complete one or more internships, attend Nonprofit Connect Shadow Day and network with nonprofit leaders in Kansas City.

We also offer a minor in nonprofit leadership for those with another primary major with career interests in health care, human service organizations, international nongovernmental organizations and many others.

Nonprofit Leadership majors must choose one area of emphasis:

  • Emphasis in Arts (music and theatre)
  • Emphasis in Educational Studies
  • Emphasis in History
  • Emphasis in Healthcare
  • Emphasis in Psychological Science

Preferred Internship Program

We are committed to providing you with dynamic, outcomes-based internship opportunities that will ultimately lead to career opportunities in your area of vocational focus. Curriculum preparation, competency development, formal feedback and evaluations, and a strong partnership with the internship provider are critical elements to ensuring success.

Our Certificate Option

The Jewell Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program prepares and certifies you to serve your communiy through careers in the nonprofit sector. This certificate program, which is based on competencies and courses, is open to students from any major and complements the Pryor Leadership Studies Program and the curricular and co-curricular activities already in place at William Jewell. The program offers targeted studies/experiences in the core competencies necessary for effective leadership in nonprofits.

You will have numerous opportunities to interact with nonprofit leaders through workshops, conferences and internships, with a highlight being the annual Philanthropy Midwest Conference. The Jewell Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program creates career opportunities for both traditional and non-traditional students who graduate with a liberal arts education and a heart for service.

Play Video

Marcus Jones

Wyandotte High School and KC Scholar

Marcus shares how the nonprofit leadership major is shaping his Jewell experience and preparing him to give back to urban communities.

Play Video

Grace Garbe

Shawnee Mission East High School (Kansas)

Hear how nonprofit leadership allows students like Grace to spend time with leaders at organizations to help make an impact.

What can I do with a nonprofit leadership degree?

Jewell's program prepares you for a variety of roles in both the public and private sector.

  • Internships

    In the past few years, nonprofit leadership majors have interned at organizations such as:

    Hillcrest Hope
    Westside Housing
    A Broader View (Kenya)
    Hispanic Economic Development Corporation
    Jewell Urban Impact Partners
    KC Common Table
    Operation Breakthrough
    Ronald McDonald House Charities
    United Way
    Kohala Mountain Educational Farm (Hawaii)
    Youth Volunteer Corps
    Mary L. Kelly Center
    Starlight Theater
    Olathe Chamber of Commerce
    Truman Heartland Community Foundation

    Toggle Accordion

  • Job Placements

    Young alumni are making a difference in these roles:

    Harvesters Community Food Network
    Guide Dogs for the Blind
    YMCA
    American Cancer Society
    Americorps
    Youth Volunteer Corps
    Kansas City Public Library Refugee and Immigrant Services
    Mission Adelante
    Church World Service
    Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
    Federal Reserve Bank
    Rainbow Mennonite Church
    North American Primary Care Research Group
    Alzheimer's Association
    Citizens of the World Charter School of Kansas City

    Toggle Accordion

Classes and Program Goals

  • Required Courses

    The major builds on the Critical Thinking and Inquiry curriculum and leads to a BA degree. If you earn a BS degree in conjunction with your primary major, you may earn a second major in Nonprofit Leadership by fulfilling the academic core requirements for the BS degree and all Nonprofit major requirements listed below.

    Required courses for the major:

    • BUS 202                          Principles of Management (4)
    • ENT 207                         Change Management (2)
    • NPL 100                           Foundations of Philanthropy, Civil Society, and the Nonprofit Sector (4)
    • NPL 150                           Introduction to Nonprofit Financial Decision Making (2)
    • NPL 320                          Nonprofit Governance (2)
    • NPL 390                          Nonprofit Strategic Planning & Evaluation (2)
    • NPL 420                          Advanced Fundraising (4)
    • NPL 450                          Capstone in Nonprofit Leadership (4)
    • NPL 481                          Nonprofit Leadership Internship (2)

    In addition to the above courses, each major must choose one area of emphasis and may choose up to two emphases.

    Toggle Accordion

  • Goals for Student Learning

    Graduates obtaining the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree with a major in Nonprofit Leadership will:

    • develop a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion;
    • gain knowledge on how to increase their ability to put one’s-self in another individual’s, community’s or society’s circumstances to understand what they desire for themselves and what is ethically responsible;
    • garner the mastery of innovative and creative solutions to nonprofit challenges through the collection and analysis of empirical evidence; and
    • learn that citizens in a civil society voluntarily engage to advance common goals and how an individual’s devotion to an organizational mission leads to personal fulfillment.
    Toggle Accordion