Individual Research Projects: 501(c)(3)

To help students assess the effectiveness of charitable organizations and decide on their own financial contributions.

Duration: 
PrintApproximately 3 hours over two days; a ten-minute presentation per student followed by class discussion.
Objectives: 

Students will:

  • Learn how to evaluate effectiveness in nonprofits
  • Learn about the variety of nonprofits that contribute to the wellbeing of the community
  • Describe how difficult it is to run an effective nonprofit
  • Learn to become poised in front of a group using public speaking skills and technology
Materials: 

Charity Navigator website [http://www.charitynavigator.org/]

GuideStar website [http://www.guidestar.org]

Instructions: 
Print
  1. Teacher discusses how to evaluate nonprofit effectiveness and shows students how to use the Charity Navigator and GuideStar websites to research effectiveness. 

  2. Each student conducts research on a nonprofit organization and develops a ten-minute presentation utilizing PowerPoint and brochures from the nonprofit.

Assessment: 

Students decide whether or not an organization should be supported based on their peer’s presentation.