Reflections
on a Most Interesting Class
BA 208,
Introduction to Non Profit and Philanthropy is probably the most interesting
and unconventional class I have ever taken.
We had the normal educational things, reading a textbook, listening to
lectures and taking notes, taking exams and writing papers, etc. But we also had a lot of discussion
time. And the discussions were always
very lively and informative. I really
enjoyed hearing people’s points of view regarding the non-profit companies we
were evaluating.
Another
really interesting part of the class was when we did the site visit. It was great to go to an organization and
talk to real people and observe what they do, and listen to their stories of
the people they have helped.
One of the
surprising things I learned in this class was how large some of these
non-profit organizations are, and how many billions of dollars are involved
sometimes. Some of the other surprising
things were how much corruption goes on in some of the companies, often due to
a lack of good internal controls, and also due to the high cost of independent
auditors.
It was
interesting to learn that Oregon has a huge amount of charitable organizations,
and a large percentage of the population is volunteering for them. It’s also interesting that the people with
the lowest income give the largest percentage of their income to charities. Another interesting thing I learned was how
non-profit organizations in general are becoming more like for-profit
companies. This seems like a good thing
in the long run, because the organizations will be more organized and be able
to pay their employees a better wage.
After taking
this class, I have decided that I will volunteer at a couple of
organizations. I have already contacted
OMSI and have an appointment with them to discuss volunteer opportunities. I also plan to contact REACH and volunteer for
them at some point. I would like to
eventually work at a non-profit organization, after I finish my associate’s
degree in accounting. Who knows, maybe
one day I will be able to help small charitable organizations get an
independent audit done without spending a huge amount of money.
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