The Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies (CommNS) is a center for community-engaged teaching, research, and outreach at UW-Madison

Learn more about the CommNS

Explore our work

Research

Learn more about our engaged research and evaluation, and how you can partner with us.

Teaching

Explore the degree opportunities, certificates, and courses that the CommNS supports.

Outreach

Discover how community groups, scholars, and organizations can get involved with the CommNS.

What makes our university Center special is the way that we do our teaching, research, and programming work in collaboration with community partners, creating an invaluable platform for knowledge-building and impact with contributions from both the university and those doing the work in the field.

 

The CommNS is also a member of the Wisconsin Nonprofit Resources Group (WisNRG) and Campus Community Connectors (C3).
Click through to learn more about these efforts.

Land Acknowledgement

The Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies occupies ancestral Ho-Chunk land, a place their nation has called Teejop (day-JOPE) since time immemorial.

In an 1832 treaty, the Ho-Chunk were forced to cede this territory. Decades of ethnic cleansing followed when both the federal and state government repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, sought to forcibly remove the Ho-Chunk from Wisconsin.

We acknowledge the circumstances that led to the forced removal of the Ho-Chunk people, and honor their legacy of resistance and resilience. This history of colonization informs our work and vision for a collaborative future.

We recognize and respect the inherent sovereignty of the Ho-Chunk Nation and the other 11 Native Nations within the boundaries of the state of Wisconsin.

https://wisconsinfirstnations.org/map/