Nonprofits Need MBAs To Tackle The World’s Biggest Challenges

Nonprofit organizations need to be run just as well as any profitable business—MBAs can help make that a reality

In July 2017, a joint report conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF revealed that 844 million people ‘still lack a basic drinking water service’.

Non-profit organizations though, are tackling the issue head-on. Blood:Water, a non-profit working in Africa, has reached one million people with clean water. It has also served 62,000 patients in HIV-prevalent areas.

The eradication of hygiene and sanitation issues alongside access to clean drinking water holds the key to better education, a higher life expectancy, and increased productivity in the areas affected most.

Funding cuts, however, like those in the US—the Trump administration proposed a 29.1% decrease in funding for international aid in 2018’s budget—mean that nonprofits, NGOs, and charitable organizations are suffering from a crippling strain on their resources.

Increasingly, these organizations need to be run as if they are profitable businesses—an amalgam of strong HR, budgeting, and project management is a necessity.

MBA students are well-placed to fill that role. MBAs have a penchant for holistic business practices, and more graduates should consider the nonprofit sector as a viable career option.

APAC Social Impact

The Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC) 2018 Alumni Perspectives Survey recorded that only 13% of business school alumni work for a governmental or nonprofit organization. This figure drops to 10% for students who graduated between 2016 and 2017. It was 15% for students who graduated in 1990 or earlier.

Jude Newton, a part-time MBA student at Melbourne Business...