Anil Varughese | Answering key questions about MPNL

The nonprofit and philanthropic sector is one of the largest in the Canadian economy. Given its size, why is there such a pressing need for a fresh wave of professionals with a distinctive set of skills right now, and how is the MPNL program meeting this demand?

Anil: The nonprofit and philanthropic sector is a cornerstone of the Canadian economy, employing thousands of people and contributing significantly to social well-being, innovation, and community resilience. The sector is undergoing profound transformation. Rapid technological change, shifting donor expectations, increasing diversity and equity imperatives, and the growing complexity of social and environmental challenges have created an urgent need for a new generation of leaders and practitioners equipped with advanced knowledge and skills.

A traditional management degree or social work training alone is no longer enough. Today’s professionals must combine strategic thinking, policy literacy, financial acumen, and ethical leadership with the ability to analyze data, foster cross-sector collaboration, and navigate public accountability. In short, the sector requires leaders who can think critically, act systemically, and achieve measurable impact within constrained resources and evolving governance models.

The Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (MPNL) program is designed precisely to meet this demand. It blends academic rigor with practical application, offering courses in governance, fundraising, leadership, organizational behaviour, and evaluation — all taught by scholars and sector leaders. Through capstone projects, case-based learning, and engagement with practitioners, students gain the analytical and leadership skills needed to guide organizations in an increasingly complex environment. In this way, the MPNL program is helping to professionalize the sector and prepare it for the next decade of social innovation and sustainable impact. For those entering the field, it provides a credible foundation and a professional network that accelerates their ability to step into leadership roles.

The MPNL program targets individuals who are problem-solvers, entrepreneurs, or community mobilizers who gravitate toward big challenges. How does the curriculum foster the innovation required for these professionals to “push boundaries” and “make change” within the sector?

Anil: The MPNL is intentionally designed to nurture innovation and promote leadership and change within the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. Its curriculum integrates theory, research, and practice to help students not only understand how the sector works, but also reimagine how it could work better. Courses in social innovation, public policy advocacy, governance, EDI in non-profit sector, and social finance equip students to question conventional models and develop creative, evidence-based solutions to today’s challenges. Through applied learning, capstone projects, internships and engagement with sector leaders, students apply their learning and thinking to real-world issues—experimenting with new funding models, technology-driven problems and solutions, cross-sector comparisons, and collaborations with community partners. The program also emphasizes reflective and ethical leadership, encouraging students to link innovation with public purpose and community impact. In essence, the MPNL program doesn’t just teach non-profit management; it builds the confidence and capability of graduates to lead change, challenge assumptions, and design new pathways for social good in an evolving nonprofit landscape.

Can you provide an example of a current challenge within philanthropy or the nonprofit space that MPNL students are currently addressing through their studies?

Anil: As an example, I will highlight one of the capstone projects completed by our students this past year. The capstone projects was entitled “Mind Blowing, Powerful, Deficient: Scoping Philanthropic Grantmaking Data in Canada.”  The research problem tackled by students in this project was poor data availability and transparency in philanthropic grantmaking. Essentially, Canadian nonprofit and philanthropic sectors lack high-quality, consistent data on where grant funds go, who gives them, and how those funds are used. Existing public reports (like the T3010 tax filings) often have inconsistent or missing categorization of funding destinations. There are large gaps in data collected by agencies such as Statistics Canada, in part because the charitable sector has not been more fully integrated into standard data‐gathering frameworks. This makes comparative and longitudinal analysis of trends difficult. Without accurate, accessible data, it’s hard to make informed decisions about policy, identify sector-wide inefficiencies or inequities, and take corrective measures. On this project, our students worked in collaboration with Philanthropic Foundations Canada (PFC). The final report produced by students won the 2025 Master’s Thesis/Capstone Project Award from the Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research (ANSER).

MPNL is delivered through a combination of a summer institute and intensive, online courses. How does this specific structure benefit professionals who are typically already working, and what kind of engaging experience is maintained through the intensive online format?

Anil: The MPNL program’s blended format—combining a two-week summer institute with intensive online courses—is deliberately designed for working professionals who want to advance their education, without taking time away from their careers. The structure offers flexibility while maintaining a high level of academic rigor and connection.

The summer institute brings students together in person, creating a vibrant learning community and offering opportunities for collaboration, networking, and mentorship with peers, faculty, and sector leaders. This immersive experience builds relationships that carry through the program and beyond. The online courses are structured to sustain that engagement throughout the year. Small cohorts, discussion boards, and real-world assignments ensure students remain active participants rather than passive learners. Courses often draw directly on participants’ professional experiences, allowing them to apply theory to their own organizational challenges in real time. The combination of mid-career professionals with decades of experience and recent graduates/new entrants to the sector creates an enriching learning environment that fosters intergenerational dialogue and meaningful peer-to-peer learning.

This model not only makes the program accessible to professionals across Canada and internationally, but also turns the classroom into a living laboratory—where learning, leadership, and impact happen simultaneously within students’ workplaces and communities.

If you could offer one piece of advice to an aspiring entrepreneur, problem-solver, or community mobilizer who is currently considering the MPNL program, what would it be?

My advice would be to come to the MPNL program with a clear sense of purpose, but also with an open mind about how that purpose might evolve. The program will challenge you to think beyond traditional models of charity and leadership — to see systems, measure impact, and design solutions that are both ethical and innovative. You will want to engage fully with the diverse community of peers, faculty, and practitioners you’ll meet here; the conversations you have and the perspectives you encounter will be as transformative as the coursework itself. The MPNL is not just about learning how to manage organizations — it’s about shaping how the sector itself can adapt, collaborate, and lead change. So, bring your curiosity, and your willingness to be stretched. You’ll leave not just with a credential, but with a renewed sense of how you can make meaningful, lasting impact in the world.

Learn more about the Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership here: https://carleton.ca/sppa/pnl-program/