After two years volunteering with Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), followed by graduate school, Brinckerhoff served as a staff member and Executive Director of the West Central Illinois Health Systems Agency.
In 1982, he formed Corporate Alternatives, Inc., a consulting and training company working with 501(c)(3) (non-profit) organizations.
From 1979 to the present, Brinckerhoff has served on the board of directors for many local, state, national and international nonprofits.
Brinckerhoff has written seven books and two workbooks about nonprofit management, and has had around 60 articles published in the not-for-profit press.
[2] Brinckerhoff's books are used as texts in courses at undergraduate and graduate nonprofit management programs in over 100 colleges and universities worldwide.