Chosen for his reputation in the field of nonprofit research based on his award-winning work related to the people’s motivations for getting involved in public service, Richard Clerkin was named the new executive director of NC State’s Institute for Nonprofit Research, Education and Engagement named at the beginning of the year.
INPREE connects students to the nonprofit community through the nonprofits minor program, the relatively new Social Entrepreneurship Initiative and the Community of Nonprofit Scholars .
For the past year, Clerkin has been the interim director of the institute, and he has been working with the institute since joining NC State’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration in 2005.
“In the interim, [Clerkin] did a fantastic job of continuing the operations of the institute plus reaching out to our stakeholders and the community,” said the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Jeffery Braden. “I’m confident that he will continue to advance and further expand our understanding and support for nonprofits in North Carolina.”
Clerkin will be working with Braden to find resources to help sustain and advance the institute. Funding for the institute comes primarily from private fundraising, foundations and grants, Braden said.
INPREE’s goal is to prepare students for their future roles within a nonprofit company, regardless of the specific cause with which they ultimately choose to work. The institute is currently working on implementing a curriculum by next fall that would teach grant-writing to better prepare students for fundraising, as funding is one of the main dilemmas most nonprofits face, Clerkin said.
“[INPREE] serves as a catalyst for better understanding nonprofits which is a large sector of NC’s economy,” Braden said. “Ten percent of the work force in the U.S. are paid employees of nonprofit organizations.”
The nonprofit workforce was also the third largest of all U.S. industries behind retail trade and manufacturing in 2010, according to Grant Space.
One of the factors of the institute is the nonprofits minor. The purpose of the nonprofits minor is to increase the capacity and leadership in the nonprofit sector, Clerkin said.
“Students come in because they are passionate about an issue, and we help them to contribute to addressing that issue,” Clerkin said. “The minor is a clear way for us to do that.”
CONS provides opportunities, such as forums and workshops, for faculty and students to interact with nonprofit leaders in the community.
Cassi Zumbiel is a graduate assistant at INPREE, a graduate student studying public administration and is an active participant in CONS. She has worked with Clerkin as both an undergraduate and graduate student.
“I have seen that he tries to give students every experience possible,” Zumbiel said. “He is really hands-on and always takes time for his students, even after being made interim director of the institute.”
Clerkin said CONS is a program where academics can discuss their research with nonprofit practitioners to try and help translate theories into practice.
For example, CONS brought in a professor from UNC-Wilmington to speak about using film to help tell the stories of various nonprofit causes.
About a year ago, a collaboration between leaders at the institute began the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative as a way to offer opportunities for students to hear from experienced leaders about how to make connections for future work, whether it be in the private or public sector, while maintaining socially responsible ideals, according to Clerkin.
