Nonprofit organizations address some of the most pressing challenges facing communities, but doing that work effectively requires more than passion. You need to be a skilled leader who can build sustainable organizations, secure funding, manage teams, and demonstrate impact to stakeholders and the public.

Pace University offers an online Master of Public Administration with a Nonprofit Management track designed for current and aspiring nonprofit professionals who want to lead with greater confidence. In our program, you’ll develop expertise in nonprofit governance, fundraising strategy, grant management, and program evaluation.

Skills You’ll Gain

Through the Nonprofit Management track, you’ll develop expertise in:

  • Nonprofit Governance and Leadership: Understand the structure and responsibilities of nonprofit boards, executive leadership, and organizational management.
  • Fundraising and Development Strategy: Build proficiency in the diverse revenue strategies available to nonprofits, from donor cultivation and grant seeking to earned income models and social entrepreneurship, and evaluate their strategic implications for organizational mission.
  • Grant Writing and Management: Learn to research funding opportunities, craft competitive grant proposals, and manage compliance and reporting requirements.
  • Financial Management for Nonprofits: Navigate the unique financial environment of nonprofit organizations, including budgeting, financial reporting, and fiscal accountability to boards and funders.
  • Program Evaluation and Impact Measurement: Apply quantitative and qualitative methods to assess program effectiveness, communicate outcomes, and support data-driven decision-making.
  • Research Methods and Applied Statistics: Apply quantitative and qualitative research methods to assess program effectiveness, support grant reporting, and generate evidence for advocacy and organizational decision-making.
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Career Outcomes

Graduates of an MPA with a Nonprofit Management track are prepared to lead mission-driven organizations of all sizes. Discover how you can apply your Pace online MPA skills to key positions in the nonprofit management field:

  • Executive Director | Salary Average: $70,862 | Salary Range: $42k-$122kExecutive directors serve as the top leadership of a nonprofit organization, setting strategic direction, managing relationships with the board of trustees, and ensuring the organization has the resources and structure to fulfill its mission. Coursework in Organization Theory and Management, The Not-for-Profit Sector, and Financial Resource Development for Not-for-Profits prepares you to lead at the organizational level.
  • Program Director, Non-Profit | Salary Average: $70,198 | Salary Range: $50k-$99kProgram directors oversee the design, delivery, and evaluation of specific programs or a portfolio of services. Rather than leading the whole organization, they ensure individual initiatives are meeting their goals and demonstrating impact. Your MPA training in program planning and evaluation and applied data analysis prepares you to manage program teams, track outcomes, and communicate results to funders and leadership.
  • Director of Development | Salary Average: $78,169 | Salary Range: $52k-$119kDevelopment directors lead major gift programs, capital campaigns, and donor relations strategies. Courses like Financial Resource Development for Not-for-Profits and External Relations for Public Service Organizations ground you in both the strategy and execution of high-level development work.
  • Project Manager | Salary Average: $77,346 | Salary Range: $54k-$109kProject managers in the nonprofit sector coordinate initiatives across internal teams and stakeholders, and manage time and budget constraints. Your nonprofit-focused MPA training in research design, budgeting, and public administration gives you the analytical and operational toolkit for this work.

Course List

Core Courses (21 credits)

This course provides an introduction to the field of public administration including its history as an academic discipline and a field of service. It focuses on the organization and structure of American national, state, and local governments and examines their powers, responsibilities, and functions in the federal system. The course emphasizes the impact of a changing political environment on the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government as they influence the development of public policy. Specific case examples illustrating the principles of public administration will be taken from government, healthcare, and nonprofit organizations.

This course examines organizations from three perspectives, as closed, natural, and open systems. It will help students to understand better the relationship among organizational structure, organization functions, and individual and group behavior. Behavioral forces and their implications will be addressed as students are exposed to concepts of power, control, and change within appropriate contexts. Leadership will be discussed from a situational perspective with emphasis on the complexity of the modern organization in the government, healthcare, and nonprofit sectors. Knowledge of organizational theory will be used to enhance students’ understanding of management functions.

This course introduces the principles of economics as applied to the government, healthcare, and nonprofit sectors in the United States. This course will provide an analysis of the role of public and nonprofit institutions in the private market economic system. Special attention will be paid to the interaction of economics and the political process. Specific topics to be covered are: public vs private goods, market failure and externalities, supply and demand analysis, public choice theory, indifference curve analysis, macroeconomic stabilization, the public debt, and economic development and growth. Economic analysis will be applied to contemporary policy issues such as public welfare, healthcare, the environment, transportation, education, and taxation.

This course provides an in-depth analysis of budgeting and finance as applied to government, healthcare, and the nonprofit sectors. Its main focus is on principles of public finance and budgetary analysis as seen in financial decision making. Topics introduced in the course include the budget cycle, budget methods, budget reform, taxation and tax structures, intergovernmental fiscal relations, and cost and break-even analyses. The course also involves computer applications of these concepts to problems in government, healthcare, and nonprofit sector decision-making.

This is a core course in the MPA program. It covers the fundamentals of research methods for public administrators. The course is designed to assist public administrators in the consumption and production of research in their field. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research will be covered and public administration students will be given direct experience in both of these research areas.

This course teaches the fundamentals of statistical and quantitative methods as applied to public administration. The course is designed to integrate statistical and quantitative methods and decision making. Topics to be included are: basic measurement and experimental design probability and probability distribution, samples and sampling techniques, inference and hypothesis testing, contingency tables, analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and simple and multiple regression analysis. Emphasis will be placed on the applications of these concepts to issues and problems in government, healthcare, and nonprofit organizations.

The program culminates with a Capstone Project Seminar which provides the student with the opportunity to carry out an analysis of an organization with which they are familiar. It may be one in which the student is currently employed or the site of an administrative placement during the program. The specific focus of the analysis will be determined by the interests of the student and approved by the project advisor. Seminar discussions will assist the student to relate concepts to the functioning of ongoing organizations, thus tying the curriculum to the world of work. A formal presentation of the analysis will be required.

Nonprofit Management Track Courses (12 credits)

Program planning techniques common to all organizations will be studied. Special emphasis will be placed on the application of the planning process to governmental, health, and nonprofit organizations. The course will have equal emphasis on the evaluation of existing programs. Needs assessment, monitoring, and methods of measuring program impact will be studied. The course will examine the environment in which planning and evaluation take place, as well as the tools, designs, and techniques required.

This course examines the history of nonprofit organizations in the United States to develop a social perspective and a sense of the magnitude, scope, and functions of the nonprofit sector. The course also looks at the relationship of the nonprofit sector to government and business. The course explores the theoretical basis on which social scientists have sought to understand the nonprofit sector in our economic, political, and social environment. Issues shaping the future role of the nonprofit sector will be discussed.

This course will provide a thorough examination of the history, theory, and practice surrounding the variety of means by which not-for-profits generate funds: solicitations of gifts, planned giving, capital campaigns, earned income, fees for service, sale of products, memberships, grants, contracts, investments, special events. The growing impact of social entrepreneurship on not-for-profit revenue models will also be examined. Special attention will be given to understanding philanthropy as distinctive to the not-for-profit sector, strategic choices and consequences among the various fundraising means, and impact upon organizational mission.

This seminar focuses on advanced management topics of special interest to students in the Nonprofit Management track. Examples include board development, communication and public relations, and organization development strategies.

Elective Courses (9 credits)

Choose three electives in consultation with the department faculty advisor. Other courses may be selected as electives with prior approval of the faculty advisor.

See Our Full List of Elective Courses

Frequently Asked Questions

Full-time students can complete the online Master of Public Administration (MPA) program in as little as two years, while part-time students typically complete the program in three to four years.

Yes, some MPA students choose to complete the degree part time while maintaining a full-time work schedule.

The Nonprofit Management track is designed for professionals with previous public management experience, but we are happy to welcome those newer to the field. Whether you’re looking to enhance your managerial skills, develop as a leader driving social change, or explore social entrepreneurship, the track offers a path that fits a range of professional backgrounds.

The Pace Office of Graduate Admission informs applicants of the committee’s decision within 1-2 weeks of your completed application submission. Accepted students receive their letter of acceptance from Pace via email.