NACC Membership

Nonprofit organizations and voluntary action are critical to the development and strengthening of democracy and civil society throughout the world. Universities are central institutions for understanding and promoting the structures essential for democratic life. University-based programs that perform research, teaching and public service to strengthen nonprofit/nongovernmental organizations, philanthropy, and voluntary action are critical to helping universities and their communities meet this need.

Our Three Core Programmatic Areas of Focus

Three programmatic areas form the foundation for the work of NACC members – education, research, and community engagement. Click on each of these areas below to learn more about our requirements.

A systematic program of academic credit studies is a requirement of the education criterion. The program need not take the form of a full degree, but it should be of an academic credit-bearing nature, including concentrations or specializations within full degrees, or academic credit (as opposed to noncredit) certificate programs.

If a center or program does not offer credit programs itself, its leadership or staff shall participate in teaching these offerings by other academic units affiliated with the center. Other forms of noncredit education, including professional seminars, workshops and continuing education noncredit certificates, can be important dimensions of a center’s educational programming and offer diverse learning opportunities, but a core of academic, credit-bearing offerings is essential.

Some ongoing creation of publications by persons directly affiliated with the program is a requirement for the research criterion. We recognize that research in the field of nonprofit, nongovernmental, and philanthropic studies can take a wide variety of forms including: scholarship that yields books, articles, and papers in academic outlets; applied research of immediate application to practitioners in the field whether done under contract and/or disseminated in professional practice publications; knowledge-building that yields curriculum and instructional materials and publications; or different products from the “scholarship of engagement.” It also consists of disseminating the knowledge created through conferences, symposia, and seminars. All of these research and dissemination activities are valid and encouraged. However, among these activities we consider some on-going activity yielding scholarly and/or professional publications to be essential.

The community engagement or service criterion is understood as academically-based activities that go beyond conventional faculty service assignments. This includes an ongoing and intentional program of engagement that attempts to provide direct impact in its nonprofit community to nonprofit organizations and the community at large. These should be substantial and a formal part of the program or center’s programming, and may include providing consulting, technical advice or assistance to nonprofit organizations, convenings or workshops, or participating in nonprofit public policy and advocacy activities, to name just a few examples.

Membership Types

NACC offers two main categories of membership. Use the links and information below to learn more about the membership types that NACC offers, and the criteria to become part of NACC.

  • General Membership: programs with an academic affiliation that can demonstrate a focus on at least two of the three programmatic areas outlined below (education, research and community).
  • Affiliate Membership: for organizations, entities, etc. that have an interest in affiliation with NACC that do not meet our criteria for full membership as part of accredited colleges or universities.

Membership Information

General Membership

Our general membership is comprised of programs, schools, centers, majors, etc. that are dedicated to nonprofit and philanthropic education within an accredited college or university. Programs with an academic affiliation that can demonstrate a focus on at least two of the three programmatic areas outlined above (education, research and community) are welcome to apply for membership.

Eligibility

To be eligible for general membership, the applying program or center must:

  • Operate within an accredited college or university. If the program or center is located internationally, accreditation will be appropriate to the home institution.

  • Have a primary focus on nonprofit, non-governmental sector management, or philanthropic studies (or related areas such as civil society, social economy, and social innovation).

  • Provide evidence of ongoing activity in at least two of the three core programmatic areas – education, research, and community engagement, defined on this page.

  • Demonstrate a substantial allocation of resources and programming to those same programmatic area(s), including:

    • A designated faculty or staff position which has primary responsibility to direct programmatic activities. We recognize the title and exact scope and type of responsibilities may vary, and some responsibility can be shared among other faculty, staff, or students.
    • Accountability to and association with the academic division of the school, college, or university (which can include continuing or professional education), rather than some other area, such as student affairs.
    • Staff support for its activities. No minimum level of staffing is required.

Application Process

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but application processing time varies based on the time of year. Keep in mind that our board and membership is comprised of faculty, administrators, researchers and more that volunteer their time with NACC so the time to review applications may vary based on their availability.

Submit the Application Fee

Applicants are required to submit a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $250. Payment can be made at our online marketplace using the link below. If you require an official invoice, need assistance with paying the fee, or have any questions, please reach out to Nicole Collier at nicole.e.collier@tamu.edu

Submit payment here

Complete the general membership application

Complete the linked application for general membership. In this application you will provide information about your program/center and demonstrate how you meet two of the three core programmatic areas.

See the application here

Committee Review

Your application will be reviewed by NACC’s VP of membership and an ad-hoc committee of board members. After reviewing the document the committee will either reach out to the applicants with any additional questions, or recommend the application be approved and send it to the board of directors.

Board Vote

Once the committee review is completed, the NACC board of directors will vote to either accept or deny the application for membership. A quorum of board members are required to vote before the application can be recommended to full NACC membership.

Membership Vote

If a majority of board members support the application for membership, the membership application then is sent to the entire membership for a final vote. One vote can be cast per member program/center. Voting is completed by either 2/3 of member programs voting, or a majority of votes received by a predetermined deadline are in support of the application.

General Membership Dues

General Member

General Institutional members pay $1,000 for their annual membership dues. Dues are submitted via invoice for the calendar year (January 1 to December 31). Prorated invoices are available for programs who apply in the middle of the calendar year.

Pay general member dues online
Sustaining Member

In addition to general membership, NACC offers sustaining membership for our members that voluntarily make an additional investment in NACC to help ensure the vibrancy of this community of nonprofit academic centers serving for the public good. These members voluntarily give $2,500 for each calendar year (January 1 to December 31), in exchange we highlight our sustaining members on our website, events, and materials.

Pay sustaining membership dues online here

Affiliate Membership

NACC offers Affiliate Membership to organizations and individuals who are not degree-conferring colleges or universities but who have a related interest in education, training, research or service to nonprofit, nongovernmental philanthropic organizations. This can include government agencies, foundations and other nonprofits, private firms, and individual consultants and trainers that provide non-credit bearing education, or support.

Eligibility

To be eligible for general membership, the applying program or center must:

  • Support the mission of NACC as an association of academic degree programs at accredited colleges and universities.

  • Demonstrate that a substantive part of their work contributes to developing any of the knowledge and skills covered by the NACC Curricular Guidelines.

Application Process

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but application processing time varies based on the time of year. Keep in mind that our board and membership is comprised of faculty, administrators, researchers and more that volunteer their time with NACC so the time to review applications may vary based on their availability.

Submit the Application Fee

Applicants are required to submit a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $250. Payment can be made at our online marketplace using the link below. If you require an official invoice, need assistance with paying the fee, or have any questions, please reach out to Nicole Collier at nicole.e.collier@tamu.edu

Submit payment here

Complete the general membership application

Complete the linked application for general membership. In this application you will provide information about your program/center and demonstrate how you meet two of the three core programmatic areas.

See the application here

Committee Review

Your application will be reviewed by NACC’s VP of membership and an ad-hoc committee of board members. After reviewing the document the committee will either reach out to the applicants with any additional questions, or recommend the application be approved and send it to the board of directors.

Board Vote

Once the committee review is completed, the NACC board of directors will vote to either accept or deny the application for membership. A quorum of board members are required to vote before the application can be recommended to full NACC membership.

Membership Vote

If a majority of board members support the application for membership, the membership application then is sent to the entire membership for a final vote. One vote can be cast per member program/center. Voting is completed by either 2/3 of member programs voting, or a majority of votes received by a predetermined deadline are in support of the application.

Affiliate Membership Dues

Partner Affiliate Member

Partner Affiliate members pay $1,000 for their annual membership dues. Dues are submitted via invoice for the calendar year (January 1 to December 31). Prorated invoices are available for programs who apply in the middle of the calendar year.

Pay partner affiliate member dues here
Sponsor Affiliate Members

Sponsor Affiliate members are organizations that voluntarily make an additional investment in NACC to help ensure the vibrancy of this community of nonprofit academic centers serving for the public good. These members voluntarily give $2,500 for each calendar year (January 1 to December 31), in exchange we highlight these programs on our website, events, and materials.

Pay sponsor affiliate member dues here