Harvard Grads Subsidized to Take Nonprofit Jobs: Good, Bad or Irrelevant?

By Eugene Fram

According to the May 31, 2013 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, the Harvard Business School Leadership Fellows Program, a special MBA program, supplements its grads’ beginning nonprofit salaries of $45,000 with another $50,000. Over the last 13 years only 106 students have been placed with a total of 47 organizations. However, the 19 grads in the 2013 group is the largest one ever.

Is this a “canary in the mine” singing about coming changes in the backgrounds needed for nonprofit management?

I think leaders of nonprofits should pay significant attention to the singing canary in this situation because:
• Harvard University has been active in nonprofit management education for decades.
• The university itself has an unassailable brand image.
• Nonprofit management has become more complex in the 21st century.
• The 71 grads, out of 106 who appear to be staying in the nonprofit arena long-term, become role models for others who have equivalent degrees from other institutions.
• Middle level nonprofit managers can begin to acquire the MBA in large numbers and view it as a tool for promotion.

What do you think? Good, Bad or Irrelevant? Comments are welcomed.