Rebecca Murray, the Inaugural President, explains why the Alumni Association was started

Rebecca: It’s been almost 15 years since the MPNL program was created, and it’s about time that we have a formal Alumni Chapter. Thanks to the , I鈥檓 the Inaugural President for the next year. I鈥檓 working with and , who are from the 2016 cohort of students — and we’re close to 400 alumni and students right now.

I know alumni have been doing lots of work through the program, through the PANL Perspectives and MPNL websites, and many of them have been writing research pieces. So, how do we bring these and our alumni together? We鈥檙e canvassing people over the next year to find what they want their association to look like. Is it more social? Are they looking for professional development opportunities? Is it research and events?

You鈥檙e an alum as well?

杏吧原创 15 years ago, I worked with Dr. Susan Phillips when she explored the idea of a graduate program in philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. I was able to help her get funding. She involved me in the programming as well, and asked, 鈥淚f you were a student, what are the things you鈥檇 like to study?” I wasn’t a student in the program at the time, but when COVID hit, I thought, “Maybe now’s the time.” In 2022, I started the program that I’d helped to create, and oh my gosh, it was wonderful and hard. It was great for my brain, for my learning and for the charities I work for.

As alumni, we have so much value to offer collectively. United as a group, we have a voice that can help change the charitable sector.

What are you hoping to accomplish with the association?

You become very close with your cohort when you’re going through the MPNL program. That’s the way it’s designed, with all the group projects and the intense Summer Institute. And when you graduate, you just go back to your lives. The Alumni Association can reconnect people. There’s something unique about the students who went through this program. They鈥檙e chosen to help the charitable sector grow in their own way 鈥� with a charity, in government, in the private sector 鈥� and some of them continue to work with each other for years. We maybe want to facilitate that a bit more, maybe feed it a little, help it to grow.

Also, there鈥檚 a lot of expertise among alumni. They鈥檝e led the way with directed studies on Donor-Advised Funds and working on DAF research with our academics, Advisory Council members and our community partners. DAFs have been exploding in popularity. And 鈥淔amily offices鈥� is another big thing that nobody really noticed about three or four years ago, and MPNL was on it. Now, Family Offices are everywhere.

Will there be professional development?

Personally, I鈥檇 love to have professional development offered, and somehow integrate people back into the MPNL program. Are the alumni interested in professional development? We鈥檇 have to ask. Like, if we were to design a one-day session every year, what kind of things would they like to see?

Rebecca Murray is on . For more information, please email us at panl@carleton.ca or sign up for the PANL Perspectives newsletter: .

The post New MPNL Alumni Association appeared first on MPNL.

Recording of “Nonprofit Founders and Organizational Succession: Joys and Challenges”

A virtual event from the MPNL program on March 26, 2024.

The panellists:

Susanna Kislenko is a social psychologist who researches founder leadership in both nonprofit and for-profit contexts. Kislenko is an Adjunct Research Professor in the School of Public Policy & Administration, at 杏吧原创 University, and is the Skoll Centre Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford. Prior to entering academia, she worked in the non-profit sector across Canada for 12 years, holding a number of leadership roles in social service organizations.

Marc Hull-Jacquin is the Founder and CEO of , is a national, volunteer-powered charitable organization providing moving and storage services at no cost to individuals and families fleeing abuse. Shelter Movers collaborates with local businesses and community agencies to support people, primarily women and children, as they transition to a life free of violence.

Dr. Paloma Raggo is an Assistant Professor at the School of Public Policy and Administration, at 杏吧原创 University, and Director of Charity Insights Canada Project / Projet Canada Perspectives des Organismes de Bienfaisance (CICP-PCPOB), which aims to ensure that policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and the general public have accurate, timely, and comprehensive information about the charitable sector in Canada.

Mary A. Tidlund is an accomplished business leader, board member, nonprofit consultant and international philanthropist who co-founded numerous corporations, including Williston Wildcatters Oil Corporation, and founded the former Mary A. Tidlund Charitable Foundation. She’s the author of . Her former Foundation worked in 29 countries for 19 years and focused on empowering women and children to make lasting changes in health, education and the alleviation of poverty.

Dr. Susan Phillips, Graduate Supervisor of 杏吧原创 University鈥檚 Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (MPNL) program and Professor in 杏吧原创鈥檚 School of Public Policy & Administration, will moderate the panel. Her research focuses on comparative public policy for the third sector; philanthropy and nonprofits; and public management. She recently published a book, 鈥淧hilanthropic Response to Disasters: Gifts, Givers and Consequences,鈥� with Alexandra Williamson and Diana Leat.

The post Nonprofit Founders and Organizational Succession: Joys and Challenges appeared first on MPNL.