Celebrity Philanthropy and Activism: A Call for Higher Standards and Optimal Impact
By Mary Beth Collins, J.D., M.A., Executive Director of the UW-Madison Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies With special thanks to an important contributor to the conceptual basis of this article, Dr. Troy Williams, Ph.D., …
July 20, 2024
Participate in Wisconsin’s August 2024 Civic Health Challenge
Complete a challenge, build a habit, connect with others, and enter to win! You can participate in the Wisconsin Civic Health Challenge in one of two ways: Join us on goosechase! Download the Goosechase app …
July 13, 2024
Students Reflect Upon Their Experiences in Co-Create
As the Co-Create team celebrated our 50-project milestone at the end of 2023, we took the opportunity to look back on where we’ve been and what we can learn from that. (If you’re wondering, our …
July 1, 2024
Join our “Social Innovation” Summer Book Club!
Social Innovation”, “Social Enterprise”, and “Social Entrepreneurship” are terms that are commonly used in current popular and professional parlance to describe efforts that aim or claim to offer effective and creative solutions to difficult challenges …
June 25, 2024
4 Insightful Takeaways from the 2024 CommUnity Conference
Our biannual 2024 CommUnity Conference was a success! In collaboration with partners from the Civic Health of Wisconsin Initiative, dedicated community leaders, students, faculty, researchers, and nonprofit professionals came together for a day of engagement …
June 17, 2024
Co-Create Reaches 50 Projects!
As we usher in spring, we offer congratulations to our Co-Create team who hit a major milestone toward the end of 2023: their 50th project. It began in 2017 as a small wish by Associate …
March 8, 2024
Goodwill Industries of North Central WI partners with Co-Create to refine their evaluation
As the CommNS Co-Create team we believe in the value of strong evaluation for nonprofit organizations. At its best, evaluation provides organizations with the data to track progress in programs and activities that advance their …
January 18, 2024
Nonprofit Capacity Building Efforts Across Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Nonprofit Resources Group (WisNRG) was formed to connect programs and organizations that support “front lines” nonprofits across Wisconsin. Over the past few years, WisNRG has organized informal quarterly meetings that bring together nonprofit-serving …
October 11, 2023
New CommNS partnership with Urban Rural Action sparks dialogue across Wisconsin
Through the generous support of the Schlecht Family Foundation, the CommNS began a collaboration this summer with Urban Rural Action (URA). URA is a nonprofit organization which works to bring together Americans across divides to …
September 7, 2023
CommNS contributes to new book on UW-Madison’s global partnerships
Wisconsin in the World (ed. Elise S. Ahn) is a recently published book exploring the long and ongoing story of internationalization at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW). Against that backdrop, each chapter takes a unique …
September 7, 2023
CommNS Executive Director Speaks on Declining Volunteerism in Wisconsin
CommNS Executive Director, Mary Beth Collins, was featured on a NBC 15 news piece, “Study finds volunteering in Wisconsin dropped double digits.”
June 27, 2023
Executive Director Mary Beth Collins speaks on churches’ tax exempt status and political activity
Mary Beth Collins, Executive Director of the CommNS, was featured in a recent news story released by ABC 27, WKOW, “Cottage Grove priest stirs up controversy by urging people to not vote for specific Supreme …
April 20, 2023
CommNS-funded projects foster positive community change through engaged research
At the Fall CommUniversity session, UW-Madison researchers shared out about their CommNS-funded research projects. Each project reflected a deep commitment to community voice and leadership, and to translating research into positive social impact. Session speakers …
December 13, 2022
Apply Now for the Community and Nonprofit Leadership Capstone Certificate Program
The Community and Nonprofit Leadership Capstone Certificate equips both emerging and established change agents working in the nonprofit, community, and civil society efforts with skills and knowledge to expand their impact and develop in their career path. …
June 29, 2022Learn about Top Trends and Promising Strategies in Revenue Model and Funds Development
The Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies (“The CommNS”) invites you to join us for our first ever webinar series, Top Trends and Promising Strategies in Revenue Model and Funds Development. Co-hosted by AFP Greater …
June 13, 2022
Join our Summer Book Club on Trends in the Third Sector
As we transition from our academic year to summer, we are looking forward to getting some space and time for catching up on bigger-picture thinking and reflection about community work, nonprofit organizations, social enterprise, and …
June 9, 2022
Follow-up Survey Shows How COVID-19 Continues to Impact Wisconsin Nonprofits
Wisconsin’s nonprofit sector has stepped up to meet increased needs for support in the wake of COVID-19 and have found creative ways to safely pursue their missions. But nonprofit organizations have also faced significant challenges. …
August 17, 2021
Co-Create Connects Community and Campus to Answer Important Questions
The above image shows Co-Create Director Amy Hilgendorf sharing a report generated by a Co-Create facilitated community input process, at the CommNS Spring 2019 event focused on “Where Mission Meets Advocacy.” Since 2018, the Center …
August 16, 2021
Learn More About Organizational Structures Within the Mission-Based Food Production Movement
The Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies (CommNS) Executive Director Mary Beth Collins and Co-Create Graduate Research Assistant Allison Crook recently collaborated on an article entitled “Choosing the Right Structure for Organizations Participating in the …
July 28, 2021
Thank You to Our AmeriCorps VISTA Member!
This past year the Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies (CommNS) has been fortunate to host AmeriCorps VISTA member Adrienne Theune as part of the Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA project. AmeriCorps VISTA members help local …
July 12, 2021
Timely updates on the nonprofit sector, community efforts, and civil society.