Date of Award

1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Business Administration

Department

Business

First Advisor

Arlene Taich

Second Advisor

Larry Doyle

Third Advisor

Jan Kniffen

Abstract

This thesis is a business plan for a new non-profit organization for volunteerism. This non-profit organization will connect college students, high school students, grade school students, and other nonprofit agencies for the purpose of providing volunteers to non-profit agencies.

The enactment of the Welfare Reform Act (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, TANF) has created a greater need for quality, well-trained volunteers in order to meet the growing demands for and needs of non-profit agencies. The □ew deadline for Welfare to Work is now 2-5 years and public assistance such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), food stamps, and State Assisted Child Care are no longer entitlements, but are now benefits to be earned by welfare recipients.

The President's Summit held in early 1997, has created an enthusiasm for volunteerism among our nation's young people. Many agencies, colleges, and high schools can now compete for volunteerism grants that have been created at the state and federal levels in order to provide seed money for volunteer opportunities and programs. Now the ideal time for an organization like T.H.A.N.K.S. to compete for and receive funding.

The purpose of this organization is to connect young people to volunteer opportunities in their communities. College students would train the high school volunteers and act as liaisons between the nonprofit organization and the student volunteers. This organization is based on the concept of mentoring. The end result should be increased self-esteem and self-respect for the volunteers, and better service to the clients of the participating non-profit organizations who use T.H.A.N.K.S. volunteers.

One college, Lindenwood, acted as the test site for this project. Two local school districts and several non-profit organizations participated in the pilot project.

Results of the pilot project produced significant data to suggest that T.H.A.N.K.S. would thrive and succeed in the St. Charles, St. Peters, and St. Louis County areas.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Download

Included in

Business Commons

Share

COinS