Professor seeks to introduce students to non-profit management

Dr. Joe Aniello, associate professor of management and coordinator of the non-profit management program, has been an educator at FMU for more ten years.

Aniello received his bachelor’s degree in human resource management from Fairfield University in his home state of Connecticut.  He went on to earn his master’s degree from Fordham University and doctorate from Vanderbilt University.

After working as a corporate marketing trainer, Aniello felt that he could make more of a difference if he changed his audience and chose to become an educator of management.

“Rather than train corporate types, I thought it would be better to go right to the source,” Aniello said. “I thought, ‘You can have more of an influence if you can get to them younger.’”

According to Aniello, the goal of the program is to improve students’ understanding about non-profit organizations and increase their interest in the subject.

“The best thing about the non-profit classes is being able to connect the classroom with the community,” Aniello said.  “In the classes, the students do projects that help people in the community.”

Aniello said that his students recently raised over ten thousand dollars for charity.  The money was donated to the FMU Civitan, which sponsors the Special Olympics.

Aniello explained that although students enjoy the classes and benefit from the curriculum, enrollment in the course is low. He said that one of the causes of this problem is that students do not know that the classes are offered.

To improve the issue, Aniello and other faculty members conducted a survey to inform students about the non-profit management classes and found that many of them were interested in taking course.

Aniello further explained that those students who are aware of the classes do not enroll in them because they believe that they must be business majors to take the course.  However, according to Aniello, non-business majors are encouraged to enroll because non-profit companies need people who possess a wide range of skills and abilities in order to operate successfully.

“The Red Cross is a non-profit organization, but they still need nurses,” Aniello said.  “You don’t need to know anything about business to take this class.  We will teach you everything you need to know.”

Aniello also contributes the course’s low enrollment to the belief that non-profit workers do not receive payment.

“Many students believe that employees of non-profit organizations do not get paid,” Aniello said. “While this is true for some non-profit businesses, there are many that pay their staff.”

Aniello went on to explain that students should be properly informed when applying for a position in a non-profit company. If they are interested in working for an organization, then they must research the company before accepting a job.