Online Management Skill Workshops for Executives of Nonprofit Agencies

These workshops are included in the Leader Accelerator for Nonprofit Executives Program.  They may also be taken individually, either for credit or as certificate only courses.

ELN371 Leveraging Financial Data
Participants will become proficient at utilizing financial reports to assess the effectiveness of resource allocation and to make informed recommendations for program changes, increasing the capacity of the organization to achieve desired results while promoting healthy growth, and maintaining program quality.  (1 credit hour, may be taken for credit or certificate only)

This workshop focuses on developing the foundational financial analysis tools that will allow directors to craft a strategic business plan based on financial goals that contribute to building a fiscally sustainable organization.  Topics covered include fundraising strategies, managing risk, conducting a cost-benefit analysis, and presenting plans and recommendations appropriately to internal and external stakeholders.  (1 credit hour, may be taken for credit or certificate only)

ELN372 Getting your Board to Work for You
Participants will learn to guide the leadership of their agencies to contribute productively in appropriate ways to solve problems, remove obstacles, and enhance the organization’s ability to achieve strategic goals. 

This workshop includes both board development and managing governance structures in a broader sense.  Topics specifically related to board development include models of board development, defining the board’s role in terms of the amount of engagement and oversight entrusted to it, integrating the board into the organization, educating board members, and moving projects through the board and other governance bodies.  Topics specifically related to managing governance structures include creating and presenting a compelling business case and answering the “tough questions” governance bodies should be asking.  (1 credit hour, may be taken for credit or certificate only)

ELN373 Distinctive Targeted Messaging
Participants will become skilled at persuasively communicating the good works done by their agencies in ways that compel decision makers to commit resources that broadens the reach of their organizations.  This includes learning the art of crafting and communicating a strategic vision that builds support for the organization.

This workshop focuses on tailoring the message for each stakeholder to facilitate selling the essence of the agency’s identity to the external world with the goal of successfully getting people to donate, volunteer, serve, connect, engage, and make introductions. Topics covered will include working with limited resources to define the targeted need met by the participant’s organization, the hows and whys of its mission, and how the community benefits from the outcomes.  (1 credit hour, may be taken for credit or certificate only)

ELN374 Program Planning and Evaluation
Participants in this workshop will refine the skills needed to evaluate the alignment, sustainability, and strategic fit of each of the agency’s programs to support growth while maintaining quality. 

This workshop includes analyzing the competition, conducting needs assessments by defining the problem to be solved and the method to solve it, developing targets, goals, and objectives while staying anchored in reality, assessing the effectiveness of the solution by defining the right outcomes, creating long-term strategy that results in a sustainable program including staffing appropriately, and defining and evaluating success.  (1 credit hour, may be taken for credit or certificate only)

ELN375 Influencing Public Policy
Participants in this workshop will learn ways to advocate effectively with legislators, governing bodies, and public sector systems to enact policies, processes, and program changes that will improve the well being and treatment of the agency’s constituents throughout the sector.  Particular attention will be paid to identifying common goals across the sector and crafting practical action plans.

This workshop focuses on the actions participants can take that will result in active participation in the legislative process, increased public awareness of community needs as a foundation upon which to build political support for controversial initiatives, the establishment of strong, effective stakeholder coalitions, and the identification of opportunities to leverage funding mechanisms to build system capacity.  (1 credit hour, may be taken for credit or certificate only)

ELN376 Building the Future Oriented Organization
Participants in this workshop will build the skill set needed to strategically guide and shepherd the organic evolution of their organizations, preparing it to meet the future needs of the community by systematically developing resources to meet emerging challenges effectively.

This workshop focuses on fostering sector capacity by building a workable strategic organization development plan that includes identifying emerging community needs, assessing the organization’s capacity to meet those needs, adapting the organization’s structure to build capability, creating career paths to develop leaders and support this plan with effective recruiting and selection and retention practices.  (1 credit hour, may be taken for credit or certificate only)