Nonprofit Management and Community Leadership

Salem is unique in offering one of the few programs in the country offering an undergraduate degree in nonprofit management and community leadership. Salem students in the program explore and understand critical community and societal issues. They also learn about the unique role that nonprofit organizations play in cultivating healthy, just communities. Through experiential learning opportunities in the classroom and across the Triad region, they develop the skills and knowledge necessary to be change agents and leaders in the nonprofit arena. Salem offers a bachelor of arts in nonprofit management and community leadership as well as a minor in nonprofit management and community leadership.

Students in the nonprofit management and community leadership program develop critical skills and relationships by exploring all facets of the nonprofit sector. This work includes community-based research, internships, engagement with professionals working in the field, writing grant proposals and testing out strategies for making real social change. The interdisciplinary capstone project guides students to integrate their learning and develop systems-based solutions to community challenges.

• Students in the Nonprofit Management & Community Leadership program complete internships at organizations such as Family Services, Cancer Services, and the Mental Health Association in Forsyth County.
• They also complete advocacy projects focused on issues such as Medicaid expansion, sexual violence and reproductive justice.

With more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States, the scope of nonprofit work is extensive. Graduates work in a variety of organizations focusing on issues such as community engagement, civil and human rights, health and human services, education and arts and culture. Graduates from this program also pursue professional degrees including law and are accepted into graduate school programs in social work and arts administration.