At age 22 during the COVID-19 pandemic, I enrolled in British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Nonprofit Management Associate Certificate program. 1 year, 8 courses, and a lot of iced coffee later, I graduated!
Being a relatively younger professional in the nonprofit field, I was drawn to the program to ….
- advance my career
- learn industry-specific knowledge
- validate my career identity
- build my resume
- reactively respond to the COVID-19 employment-crisis
Therefore, upon enrolling, I had high expectations that this opportunity would better prepare me for a life-long career in the Canadian nonprofit sector. After completing the program in 2021, I was amazed by everything I learned! The following is a list of the 10 main learning outcomes I gained about the program itself and about the nonprofit industry.
1. Passion is key. If the number one rule of real estate is “location, location, location”, then the number one rule of nonprofits is “passion, passion, passion”. You need to have an innate love of helping others and learning how to do so. This is essential not only for succeeding in the industry, but also to succeed in any nonprofit program.
2. Past nonprofit experience is helpful but not essential. While most nonprofit programs are designed for experienced nonprofit professionals, anyone can succeed in them! Of course, having some basic experience and knowledge about nonprofits, charities, and/or governments will help. Despite this, truly any experience(s) (e.g. retail and customer service) can be related to class concepts (e.g. how to build trust with community members).
3. Canadian charity law is a double-edged sword. Canadian charity laws and regulations are vital yet annoying. On one hand, this oversight is designed to (1) protect donors, (2) better serve communities, and (3) ensure that all activities are related to an organization’s purpose. However, this (often outdated) oversight also causes constant fear that a mistake might result in a charity’s status to be revoked. This can unintentionally constrain an organization’s creativity and growth.
4. You only get out what you put into it. Studying involves an active engagement into all learning materials and exercises. In other words, if you don’t try to learn, you likely will not. So, nonprofit management programs should be viewed not only with the objective of earning good grades and an academic credential, but also with the objective of meaningfully engage in and remembering the content.
5. Knowledge is power. After completing my program, I was amazed by the amount of industry-specific terminology, concepts, and practices I had learned! Some concepts that I studied and can now engage in include:
- Annual, major, and planned giving
- The Pemsel Case and its implications
- Human resources procedures
- The CRA, Canadian, and BC-specific charity and nonprofit law
- Defining target markets
- Creating a government advocacy plan
- Fiscal year operational budget basics
- How to determine a gift receipt eligibility and amount
6. Google is your best friend. Google is a shameless lifesaver! Need to know a specific bylaw in your area? Have trouble remembering how to write a donation receipt for a golfing tournament? Forget what the CRA’s guidelines are for related business? Ask Google! Of course, be critical and only use trusted websites (e.g. Imagine Canada, the CRA, Canada.ca, and other professionally recognized industry resources).
7. Add to your work portfolio. Most nonprofit management programs, mine included, require students to create various resources and documents to supplement learning. Viewing these projects as potential additions to your work portfolio (i.e. samples of work collected and given to prospective employers) is a great proactive career strategy and can help you view learning through a more practical lens.
8. Hoard resources. One of the benefits of studying nonprofit management is that instructors will often give students vast amounts of curated nonprofit resources. These resources are advantageous to help support one’s academic studies and to help nonprofit professionals during real world situations. Therefore, organize and keep all resources given; you never know when you might need them!
9. Studying can only get you so far. While learning about nonprofit management in a classroom is extremely useful, there is no replacement for experiential learning. In other words, learning by doing. For example, many concepts distinguish between what should happen in the real world versus what actually happens. Therefore, while learning foundational knowledge is beneficial, this should ideally be supplemented with some form of real-world learning whenever possible.
10. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed. It is important to remember that nonprofit management is an extensive topic. Therefore, studying the field or any of its related disciplines does not mean that you will or should know everything. Rather, it will allow you to be more competent in the field. Additionally, learning is a lifelong endeavour, so it is okay to not know everything right away!
Final Thoughts
If you are considering studying nonprofit management in Canada, here is my final advice: (1) honestly reflect on why you want to study nonprofit management, (2) research what program(s) best suits your needs and resources (e.g. ideally a school in your province or territory within your time, budget, and accessibility constraints), and (3) do your best to learn as much as you can!
Additional Resource
Post Secondary Nonprofit Management Programs (Charity Village)
Julia Halabourda is an experienced Burnaby art and recreation programmer, educator (focus in the fine arts and theatre), and nonprofit writer. She has her Bachelor of General Studies from SFU’s Faculty of Education with Minors in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Psychology, and Social Justice in Education. She also has her Nonprofit Management Associate’s Certificate from BCIT. Julia has been writing with Charity Village since August 2020 and her past articles can be accessed here. Julia can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-halabourda/.
