UC student reveals insight into pandemic’s effects on nonprofits

Annie Hugenberg, Carl H. Lindner College of Business senior and Kautz-Uible Amanda Wait Research Fellow, spent the past semester conducting an in-depth analysis of the economic landscape of Cincinnati’s nonprofit sector, culminating with her presentation at the first-ever installment of Better Together — a workshop series for the local nonprofit community made possible by OneSource Center for Nonprofit Excellence, the Leadership Council for Nonprofits, the Cincinnati chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals, Interact for Health, and Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio.

The nonprofit space is something that is near and dear to Hugenberg’s heart.

“From a young age, I’ve always been drawn to serving others,” she said. “During my time at Lindner, I’ve sought out opportunities to explore this passion by partnering with nonprofits both in and out of the classroom, through my co-ops, academics and student involvements.”

Hugenberg’s first co-op rotation was with a local organization called the Leadership Council for Nonprofits, whose mission is to “maximize the impact of nonprofit organizations, develop their leaders, and strengthen the community.” Working closely with the Leadership Council’s Board Orientation and Leadership Development program, she got an up-close view of the inner workings of nonprofits and how they operate in relation to boards.

On campus, Hugenberg joined Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations her first year at UC and eventually became president; in this role, she connected the needs of local nonprofits with UC students’ desire to serve and grow as young professionals.

Under the guidance of the Kautz-Uible Economics Institute’s Academic Director Michael Jones, PhD, Hugenberg has put all that she’s learned to practice through an independent study of the pandemic’s effect on the nonprofit industry as she examined the economic landscape of local nonprofits pre- and post-COVID-19. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT, she wrote code to analyze the economic trends in 2019 and 2021 across different focus areas within the nonprofit space, such as the arts, cultures and humanities, and education.

Source