NextGen places each participating student on a local nonprofit board of directors. The students act as a full board member, attending meetings, participating in a committee, and in most cases having voting rights. At the same time, they meet as a group each week for training, projects, and discussion/reflection/support. The program is 2 semesters: Spring then Fall.
In the first semester, students learn about nonprofits organizations in general and the roles and responsibilities of nonprofit board members. They work with their organizations to perform an organizational capacity assessment and to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that apply to the organization's current situation. Students also assess their own unique value to the organization and what they bring to the table in order to create a plan for engagement that suits all stakeholders.
In the second semester, learn how to identify grants that match their organization's needs and then how to create a grant proposal, including budget, that is worthy of grant funding. Students compete for real dollars for their organization and benefit from experiencing both sides of the philanthropic process; as grantor and grantee."
The program can be taken as a class for academic credit or can be done as a co-curricular/volunteer project. We work with each student to figure out how to make it work for them. We also build the meeting times for the group around their class schedules.
Students Gain
- Experience within the nonprofit sector
- The ability to gain specific skills and experiences
- An ongoing cohort-based learning opportunity
- A chance to get involved in the local community
- An opportunity to network with board members
- An increase in personal leadership capacity
- The opportunity to share thoughts and ideas with fellow students and board members