MBAs Serving Nonprofits
With only eight percent of MBA graduates indicating interest to work in the nonprofit sector, it’s no surprise that business schools and organizations across the country are looking for ways to connect top business talent to a good cause.
Typical challenges associated with nonprofits hiring MBAs are low salaries, low visibility of nonprofits on campus recruiting events, and the overall lack of understanding for what a nonprofit career can offer to an MBA graduate.
One of the ways some schools have dealt with this issue is by offering loan assistance programs to MBA graduates who otherwise may be deterred from working in the nonprofit sector. Helping MBAs pay off their student debt encourages some to work for the public good.
Other schools have launched Nonprofit Board Leadership Programs that pair MBA students with local nonprofit boards. Such programs allow MBAs to serve as Board Fellows, attend board meetings and most importantly, get involved with nonprofit’s strategic planning while utilizing their technical skills. Though serving on a nonprofit board is typically an endeavor assumed by a more experienced generation, getting involved as a Board Fellow attracts MBAs as it provides access to valuable connections and opens doors for future board-membership opportunities.
Apart from school efforts to encourage MBAs to work for nonprofits, there are a number of organizations that commit to the same mission. For example, MBA-Nonprofit Connection is an organization dedicated to bring MBA skills and energy to the nonprofit sector. They provide schools with hundreds of career and summer job opportunities that are carefully evaluated to ensure a good fit for an MBA graduate.
The graduates of William Woods University are finding work in a number of Missouri nonprofit organizations covering a range of industries from healthcare to education.
Business plus social good is not a new concept for the students at William Woods MBA in Entrepreneurial Leadership program. One of the ten required courses in the program is Managerial Ethics— a course designed to immerse the students in the ethical decision-making process and issues. The course also provides introduction to basic leadership theory, helping to ensure that the leaders of tomorrow are considerate about the social good as they are about the bottom line.