Teaching Units on nonprofit careers
Supported by Action Without Borders/Idealist.org
“The nonprofit sector in America employs a steadily increasing segment of the country’s working population. According to the latest measures, the average annual growth rate in employment for nonprofits (2.5%) was significantly higher than for business (1.8%) or government (1.6%). The number of Americans employed in the nonprofit sector has doubled in the last 25 years. Nonprofit employment represents 9.5 percent of total employment in the United States, with total employees numbering 12.5 million.”
Excerpt taken from the INDEPENDENT SECTOR 2001 Nonprofit Almanac
Learning to Give, in partnership with Action Without Borders/Idealist.org has developed units that elementary, middle, and high school educators can use to explain the importance of philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, and career opportunities available within the nonprofit sector. These units incorporate the website Idealist.org to encourage information and knowledge gathering about the nonprofit sector and the career opportunities that exist within nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations.
Teacher Note: One of the resources used in this unit, for teachers as well as students, is the organization Action Without Borders/Idealist org. Having a good understanding of this organization and the resources available on the Web site will assist in the teaching and learning of this unit. A briefing paper on Action Without Borders/Idealist org and its Web site can be found on the Learning to Give web site under Resources/Briefing Papers.
Grades 3-5
Exploring Nonprofit Career Opportunities
The lessons in this unit are designed to help learners, using the Action Without Borders/Idealist.org Web Site, become more aware of how nonprofit organizations benefit communities, recognize that different job opportunities are available in the nonprofit sector and understand that these jobs may require different abilities and skills.
Grades 6-8
Learners will distinguish between the nonprofit sector and the for-profit sector and identify some of the more common characteristics of each. Using the Action Without Borders/Idealist.org Web site, www.idealist.org, learners will investigate local and national nonprofit organizations by researching their histories, services, and target populations, as well as job opportunities.
Grades 9-12
Careers and Nonprofit Organizations
Learners will distinguish between nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations. They will identify and dispel some of the myths of nonprofit employment. Using the Idealist: Action Without Borders Web site, www.idealist.org, the learners will investigate career opportunities in nonprofit organizations as well as some of the skills required in these careers. They will investigate a local nonprofit through an interview with an employee. They will orally present this information and conclude by writing personal reflections about nonprofits using the information that they found in their idealist.org investigation, their local nonprofit organization investigation, and the information obtained from the three interviews completed as homework.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Please access other helpful Learning to Give resources and materials that empower young people to make a difference in their schools, communities and world:
Lesson Search Engine
Search Learning to Give's Lesson Search Engine by content area, grade level, lesson summary or by hundreds of key words such as Careers and Nonprofit Organizations.
Briefing Papers
Briefing Papers give educators an abbreviated snapshot of significant concepts, people and organizations linked with philanthropy.
Quotation Search Engine
Use Learning to Give's Quotation Search Engine on subjects such as Contribution, Giving, Helping, Service, and Community or the Major Category of Philanthropy.
Idealist Web Site
Visit Idealist.org to find more information on Action Without Borders/Idealist.org.
Idealist Web Site—Teacher Section
Visit the Idealist's Teacher Section to find more teacher materials and resources for educators.