Learning Outcome #3
Nonprofit Organizations
As the modus operandi of philanthropic practice, nonprofit organizations play a significant role in organizing “voluntary action for the public good.” In fact, though philanthropy exists along a continuum of both informal and formal practice, the nonprofit sector is necessarily a key player in translating community-changing visions into realities. The primary goals associated with this outcome include rationalizing the existence of nonprofit organizations, considering the “role of social relationships and social movements” in shaping nonprofit organizations, and finally, distinguishing between different nonprofit management strategies across geographic strata. While I hope to be intentional in my advocacy as a future healthcare professional, I also recognize the dire need for civic engagement to build an inclusive and equitable future for the nation—and that can largely only be achieved through a thorough understanding of nonprofits.
In the Nonprofit Management class under Professor Louis Lopez, the Nonprofit Discovery Project was critical in dissecting the Damien Center and its role in negotiating the HIV/AIDS crisis in Central Indiana. In this assignment, I researched information on the Damien Center using a combination of primary and secondary sources, while collaborating with another student in the class. This artifact traces how the Damien Center impacted the HIV/AIDS crisis and LGBTQ+ health. More specifically, people living with HIV/AIDS were highly stigmatized in Central Indiana as the disease emerged at the turn of the 20th century, and as such, originally served as a palliative care center when much was unknown about HIV. Through investigating the role of the Damien Center in society, I had the opportunity to directly witness the manner by which the nonprofit sector could interact with a marginalized community to deliver equitable healthcare services, a major theme that I hope to reiterate through my ePortfolio.