PA-571 Nonprofit Org Management - Course Project

Course Project

Objective | Guidelines | Grading Rubrics | Best Practices | Tutorial

The Course Project is an opportunity for you to explore in-depth an issue pertinent to nonprofit organizations. The topic for your project must be related to one or more of the Terminal Course Objectives (“TCO’s”) of the course. Examples, in very broad terms, of possible subjects are as follows:

• The Board of Directors
• The Executive Director
• The staff employees
• Volunteers
• Strategic planning
• Financial management
• Information systems
• Fundraising
• Marketing
• Ethics

Here is what must be included in the final product:

• A brief statement indicating the TCO to which your paper applies.
• A topic that relates to one of the topics presented in class (and noted in the "Objective" section above).
• Papers must 8 to 10 pages in length, 12 point font, double-spaced, include a cover page, table of contents, introduction, body of the report, summary or conclusion, and references.
• References are very important. At least eight outside references are required (anonymous authors or web pages are not acceptable). At least three of those sources must be academic or scholarly articles from the Keller library. These should be listed on the last page titled "References." Please view the tutorial about Scholarly articles at the end of this Course Project tab.
• APA or MLA format and citations are required.
• All DeVry University policies are in effect including the plagiarism policy.
• Any questions about this paper may be discussed in the weekly Q & A threaded discussion topic.
• This paper is worth 140 total points and will be graded on quality of research topic, quality of paper information, use of APA or MLA citations, and grammar and sentence structure.
• No late papers will be accepted.

The following are the best practices in preparing this paper.

• Cover Page - Include who you prepared the paper for, who prepared, and date.
• Table of Content - List the main ideas and section of you paper and the pages in which they are located. The illustrations should be included separately.
• Introduction - Use a header on your paper. This will indicate you are introducing your paper.
  
  The purpose of an introduction or opening is to

1. introduce the subject and why the subject is important,
2. previews the main ideas and the order in which they will be covered, and
3. establish a tone of the document.

Include in the introduction a reason for the audience to read the paper. Also, include an overview of what you are going to cover in your paper and the importance of the material. (This should include or introduce the questions you are asked to answer on each assignment.)

• Body of Your Report - Use a header titled with the name of your project. For example, “The Development of Hotel X - A World Class Resort." Then proceed to break out the main ideas. State the main ideas, state major points in each idea, provide evidence. Break out each main idea you will use in the body of your paper. Show some type of division, such as separate sections that are labeled; separate group of paragraphs, or headers. Include the information you found during your research and investigation.
• Summary and Conclusion - Summarizing is similar to paraphrasing bur presents the gist of the material in fewer words than the original. An effective summary identifies the main ideas and major support points from the body of your report. Minor details are left out. Summarize the benefits of the ideas and how they effect the industry.
• Additional hints on preparing the best possible project.

1. Apply a three step process of writing: Plan, Write, and Complete.
2. Prepare an outline of your research paper before you go forward.
3. Complete a first draft and then go back to edit, evaluate, and make any changes required.
4. Use visual communication to further clarify and support the written part of your report. Example graphs, diagrams, photographs, flowcharts, maps, drawings, animation, video clips, pictograms, Tables, and Gantt charts.

• References/Work Cited - Use APA or MLA format.