Personal Statement: Social Entrepreneurship And Nonprofits

For years, it had been my goal to work at a nonprofit. I slowly worked toward this goal by obtaining my Master of Accountancy at Truman State University and doing a variety of volunteer work along the way. I won the Sister Ann Kessler annual community service scholarship my junior year of undergraduate school for volunteer and leadership work and continued to assist through the SERVE Center during graduate school.

Raygene Parks is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Microbiology with a minor in non-profit leadership at Clemson University. Raygene has demonstrated her interest in service through undertaking the role as a Clemson Community Scholar. Her involvement in the program has ignited her interest in pursuing a variety of service-related avenues. She has gained a better understanding of non-profit functionality and community engagement through participating in board meetings for a local food bank, serving as a grant-writer for an international health-focused organization, and undertaking national-based alternative break trips. She is passionate about using leadership roles to assist in constructing servant leaders. She has been able to assist in helping

The horrific terrorist attack on the United States that took place on September 11, 2001 significantly changed the definition of freedom in America. This event resulted in an immediate call to action by the US government to protect and defend its citizens and country. The Department of Homeland Security was created to “coordinate efforts to improve security at home, and it imposed sever limits on the civil liberties of those suspected of a connection with terrorism and, more generally, on immigrants from the Middle East.” The country was left feeling vulnerable and suspicious of things they previously took for granted. Heightened security measures around travel were put in place. Americans were asked to report suspicious activity. Muslim people were and still are subject to prejudice because of their religion being linked to the terrorist group.

These interests and my detail-oriented organizational skills, determination and compassion have instilled within me the goal of a goal career in facilitating international humanitarian aid. My recent involvement with tutoring refugees in Elizabeth, New Jersey has really opened my eyes to the many problems people face daily and given me social consciousness

In a nonprofit organization, managers are concerned with “generating some social impact” (Daft, 2013). Stakeholders for nonprofit organizations include the community, taxpayers, the government, private donors, employees, and volunteers. Each one of these stakeholders poses a challenge for managers. For instance, in a nonprofit organization, there is a “continual struggle to pursue vital social missions in the face of

With this degree, I expect to gain a better sense of policy with nonprofit management, and to concentrate on what it takes to build effective, multi-cultural organizations, as well as what it takes to run them. My goal is to open and manage community centers for inner-city youths. This is important to me because there are students who excel academically, but live in unsupportive and poverty-stricken neighborhoods. Through my experiences working with inner-city adolescents, I have met students distracted and disconnected from their academics because of the lack of resources within urban communities. It is important to understand time as an asset; students spend one-third of their day in school, while using the other two-thirds ineffectively outside of school. My community centers will offer a space where students can find refuge and a safe environment to seek guidance. Through recreational and after-school programs, along with parental and family support, I intend to give students the life tools necessary to succeed. While creating my community center, I will be able to show my talents and knowledge to the best of my ability while providing help to youths and families. The leadership development and supplementary training in budgeting, accounting, principles of management, and policy practice will help me conceive and carry out future solutions. Most importantly, I will make the centers accessible and affordable for

In high school, I served on the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation’s Youth Council. As a member, I was responsible along with 24 other high schoolers to allocate $80,000 in grant money each year. This council was completely student-run with only one adult advisor, so we were forced to efficiently collaborate and manage diverse opinions. Not only did I learn a great deal about the nonprofit world, but I also became better at critically evaluating proposals and clearly expressing my opinion to others. In addition, I was recently hired as an Associate Consultant for SOURCE, CMC’s student-run nonprofit consulting group. Although I have only been on SOURCE for a short period of time, I have already improved my interpersonal skills while interacting with our client and have grown more comfortable with working on independent and collaborative projects. More than anything, I will a bring a passion for nonprofits to the Kravis Prize Council. I am genuinely excited to bring innovative ideas to the council and to improve the Kravis Prize in any way that I

Giving to the world is a rewarding experience; my effort and dedication towards bettering the world reciprocates and molds me into a better person. Circle K International (CKI), a community service organization, grounded me and revitalized my sense of purpose when I was unfamiliar with the college dynamics and undecided on my career and academic goals. Fully embracing the club’s motto, “live to serve, love to serve,” I worked alongside fellow board members and led a large team of volunteers as the Single Service Co-Chair to create an affordable, but festive and educational Halloween night for children in Davis. Academically, I declared my major in Biological Sciences with an emphasis on Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior and later double majored in Psychology after finding myself drawn to the human mind and its connection to behavior and action.

At a young age we are often taught certain principles that push us to grow into positive and productive members of society. Growing up I was surrounded by the act of giving. Whether it was time, money, or energy it was something that I saw not only in my family but was also taught in school. Having this ingrained into me during my formative younger years has shaped me into a person that I admire and introduced me to the world of helping others. Entering college and exploring all my options was overwhelming but through trial and error I learned that my true calling was to follow a path of working towards change for the numerous issues that trouble our world. Prior to college these desires were not fully developed but letting the principle of giving guide my daily life I became involved with things that benefited others, which led me to the Augustine Literacy Project. My volunteering with this program and others with a similar mission, further reinforced what my future goals were and what path would be best to carry them out. My research of program choices at Appalachian State University resulted in me choosing to major in Global Studies and minor in French and Non-profit management. This selection would open doors to the nonprofit sector and a community of individuals with like-minded goals and values. By reading Deborah Brandt’s article “Sponsors of Literacy”, I’ve learned how to not only succeed through my growing literary skills in this field but to also recognize and

Social entrepreneurship is gaining such strong interest in nonprofit world because of the economic challenges that have plagued this sector with cuts in philanthropic and government funding. According to Nash (2010) not only are there cuts, there are many organizations vying for the limited funding. Studies support, the attitudes in capitalistic America, and the ease of nonprofits to embrace this concept; evidenced by their ability to sell their once free services, to meet the demands of the consumer. According to the IRS (2010) nonprofits have increased their selling power on unrelated business income, to the tune of 184% increase, in a sixteen-year time frame. This writer, believes these numbers are evidence which support this trend is

Following college, I moved to Portland, Oregon and looked for ways to continue developing my skills and fostering my passion for social responsibility. I started at Impact NW as an AmeriCorps member, where I served two terms helping run the AKA Science program. In my role, I managed hundreds of volunteers, wrote curriculum, and trained instructors; but above all, I learned how to work with corporate partners. Aided by corporate volunteers, our program served thousands of students each year. I quickly realized the importance of establishing meaningful, long-term relationships. Companies gave back to our community and in return we provided them a chance to hold an engaging experience for their employees. Every committed corporate team we cultivated helped us build capacity and redirect vital resources back into our program. We also encouraged volunteers to share their skills and as a result they would provide us with amazing insights. For example, one group of volunteers from Nike world headquarters helped streamline our processes by sharing ideas from their work in lean manufacturing. These experiences sparked something for me and I realized that my strengths as a creative thinker and a leader and my passion for giving back unite.

I was raised with the fundamental notion of service to mankind, I have always been interested in society’s injustices and problems, and being a catalyst for change. This has brought me to applying to the University of Central Florida’s Master of Nonprofit Management program within the School of Public Administration. I am currently a practitioner in Social Work and serve as the Director of Social Services at the Orlando Area Command of The Salvation Army. I have received my bachelors and master’s degree in Social Work from Barry University in Miami, FL.

Too many people. Too little space. There are already seven and a half billion people walking on the surfaces of the earth and is believed that there will be 9.6 billion people as of 2050, according to a UN report. As time passes by, population is rapidly increasing and there will be less space for people to reside in. Scientists say that this world cannot espouse many people on the next 50 years. This crisis is fatal that can entirely obliterate the whole humankind. Overpopulation is a problem that every nation is facing but sometimes over looked by due to lack of understanding and awareness. This is a serious issue that should be taken care of immediately.

Working with nonprofit agencies and AmeriCorp V.I.S.T.A. (Volunteer in Service to America), I had the opportunity to learn firsthand at the efforts given within agencies to service the environment and the public by making changes, and implementing reforms on different issues. I found I have a passion for people, legal policies, compliances, and I am very good as a spokes person, or advocate speaking on change. During the time when I was facilitating as a General Education Development instructor for

Globalization has completely changed how people do business with one another. With the help of advance technology, communication’s barriers between businesses across the globe have diminished significantly. There are also a lot of rules and regulations that applied to those businesses. International American corporations are now facing the challenge of converting from United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in a near future.