Nonprofit Academy graduates (from left to right) Rachel Leonard, Dr. Hillary Mower, Tammie McGee and Don Ross stand alongside course instructor Pat Fluharty as they display their diplomas during a graduation ceremony Tuesday. It takes a special person to want to serve someone they only met moments before.

For those working with nonprofit organizations, this is a way of life, with clients constantly coming to their door looking for assistance in paying a bill or finding a meal so their family will not go to sleep on an empty stomach.

Knowing that there's more to running a successful nonprofit group than simply going doorto

door seeking financial assistance, Spartanburg Community College's (SCC) Cherokee County Campus offers a Nonprofit Academy.

During the course, students cover an array of topics vital to the success of nonprofit organizations like basic nonprofit structure, the board of directors, organizational planning and development, media relations, fundraising and volunteer recruitment and management.

A part of SCC's Corporate and Community Education Division, the course was formed under the direction of a former SCC coordinator to assist current nonprofit organizations in training workers and staff, in addition to giving those wanting to start their own organizations the information necessary to do so, Tracy Alexander said. Cherokee County Community Foundation, an affiliate of Foundation for the Carolinas, provides up to 50 percent of course tuition fees for county nonprofit groups with staff participating in the program.

SCC's Nonprofit Academy recently completed its third year, holding commencement exercises for those finishing the course including local residents Dr. Hillary Mower of Creative Chiropractic & Wellness, Tammie McGee and Don Ross of PEACHCenter Ministries, and Rachel Leonard of the Children's Advocacy Center of Spartanburg. Students are required to take a total of 57 course hours to complete the program.