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Leading with Impact: Nonprofit Executive Certificate

One of the most formidable challenges Nonprofit leaders face is navigating the delicate balance between fulfilling the organization's mission and addressing the complex and ever-evolving needs of their constituents while managing with limited resources.

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DATES

Extended Application Deadline:
Thursday, April 4, 2024

Program Dates: All training days run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Thursdays and Fridays: April 11, 12; April 25, 26; May 10
Wednesday and Thursday: May 22, May 23
Thursday and Friday: June 6, 7

Delivery: Hybrid (In-person and Online via Zoom)

APPLY Attend an Information Session


 
Nonprofit and social sector executives face challenges that are constant and complex. You’re responsible for the health and impact of your organization not only internally, but also in the world. Leaders in these organizations must be efficient, effective, and entrepreneurial while being accountable to the populations they serve. In an executive role, it’s crucial you have the right blend of people skills and a tactical mindset to meet the challenges and performance outcomes of your organization.

We created the Leading with Impact: Nonprofit Executive Certificate to support your leadership journey. Our curriculum challenges both seasoned and new leaders to advance their skills and put the information learned into immediate practice. We offer training in new theories and core skills that are critical to your organization’s long-term sustainability. You’ll learn how to inspire impact through high-level strategic thinking, board development, finance, and management.

We ask you to examine and expand your practices in strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion across all elements of your organization. Our cohort-based model enables Fellows to integrate and test new techniques, then discuss the results with their peers.

Our faculty have years of experience in their fields and a deep understanding of the realities of nonprofit life. They encourage innovation and experimentation.

Join a strong community of peers, who support one another and challenge each other to grow in their impact and beyond!

Who Should Apply

Nonprofit and Social Sector professionals in executive and senior management positions. Middle managers whose work carries a high level of organizational responsibility (i.e. whose roles focus on the organization as a whole).

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CURRICULUM AND SCHEDULE  Faculty and Coaches   Fees and Scholarships  Application Information   Nominator

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Curriculum

We created Leading with Impact: Nonprofit Executive Certificate to support your journey.

The Core Curriculum includes 9 half-day seminars where you will:

  • Assess how your leadership style impacts your organization’s ability to adapt, survive, and thrive during times of change.
  • Discuss how transition and change affects your team’s well-being and morale, its group dynamics, and overall staff flexibility and productivity.
  • Utilize a strategic thinking and planning model that works well for both short-term and long-term planning. Learn applications that help you analyze your business model and assess your changing environment and constituencies you serve. Then define key sustainability questions your organization is facing and develop outcomes-based strategies to address them.
  • Learn how your Board’s developmental stage plays an important part in its practices in governance. Invite a Board Officer to this session to discuss the Board’s role in navigating transition and change.
  • Understand organizational dehumanization and its connection to trauma in the workplace. Discover a humanity-affirming approach to leadership development focused on self-healing and knowledge of the effects of trauma. Explore and promote opportunities for Rest, Reflection, Restoration, Self-care, and Healing both for leaders and their organizations.
  • Assess your organization's financial management practices and its efforts to increase financial literacy in-house. Discover and test tools that can strengthen your financial decision making and sustainability.
  • Evaluate your organizational culture to learn where your organization stands in terms of its norms and practices that show respect for diversity, encourage inclusion, and integrate equity into its values and behavior. Learn best practices in Inclusive Leadership to help your organization move to the next level.

Participate in a Peer-Led Learning Community:

NELI is cohort-based, because we want you to learn as much from one another as from our trainers by discussing problems and seeking solutions. NELI grads praise their learning communities for evolving into trusting, non-judgmental environments that allow them the freedom to discuss their issues as leaders in strict confidence.

Complete a Leadership Self-Assessment followed by Executive Coaching: Using a leadership 360-process, you will collect feedback on your leadership style from your staff, peers, and supervisors and compare their observations to your perception of your leadership style. You will be matched with a highly experienced executive coach who will then work with you individually to give context for that feedback. In addition, you may work with a coach on organizational opportunities and challenges you are facing, or on your individual career goals.

Schedule

  • Faculty: Margie DuBrow, PhD
  • Change is external, such as new executive leadership, new organizational policies, or movement into a new site. Transition is internal, the process we go through to adapt to these new situations. During this workshop, you will gain a deeper understanding of your leadership style and how it impacts the way you respond to transition and change. We will also identify the potential effect of change on your team’s morale, their flexibility and productivity.
  • Faculty: Margie DuBrow, PhD
  • Traditional strategic planning has focused on generating a three-year plan that sets clear goals and objectives, Yet such plans often do not define strategies that will achieve measurable outcomes. Using David La Piana’s model called The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution, we will apply tools that help you analyze your business model, assess trends in your market, and identify your competitive advantage. You will then define key sustainability questions your organization is facing and develop outcomes-based strategies to address them.  We will also generate ways to gather input from the communities we serve, so their voices and values are integrated into our work.
  • Faculty: Margie DuBrow, PhD
  • Traditional strategic planning has focused on generating a three-year plan that sets clear goals and objectives, Yet such plans often do not define strategies that will achieve measurable outcomes. Using David La Piana’s model called The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution, we will apply tools that help you analyze your business model, assess trends in your market, and identify your competitive advantage. You will then define key sustainability questions your organization is facing and develop outcomes-based strategies to address them.  We will also generate ways to gather input from the communities we serve, so their voices and values are integrated into our work.
  • Faculty: Fernando Chang-Muy, JD
  • Understand how your Board’s developmental stage plays an important part in your Board’s practices in governance, ranging from its methods in recruitment and retention to how well leaders understand their roles and responsibilities. Invite a Board Officer to join the discussion regarding the Board’s role in navigating transition and change.
  • Faculty: Kary James, MSW and the Moriah Group
  • Understand dehumanization and the importance of Culturally Responsive Healing Practices (CRHP) and their connection to trauma in the workplace. Discover a humanity-affirming approach to leadership development focused on self-healing and knowledge of the effects of trauma. Explore and promote opportunities for Rest, Reflection, Restoration, Self-care, and Healing both for leaders and their organizations.
  • Faculty: Danie Greennwell, PhD
  • Assess your organization's financial management practices and its efforts to increase financial literacy in-house. Discover and test tools that can strengthen your financial decision making and sustainability. Bring your CFO or Treasurer to share their experience and insights.

 

  • Faculty: Danie Greennwell, PhD
  • Assess your organization's financial management practices and its efforts to increase financial literacy in-house. Discover and test tools that can strengthen your financial decision making and sustainability. Bring your CFO or Treasurer to share their experience and insights.
  • Faculty: Tiffenia Archie, PhD
  • Evaluate your organizational culture to learn where your organization stands in terms of its norms and practices that show respect for diversity, encourage inclusion, and integrate equity into its values and behave. Learn best practices to help your organization move to the next level.
  • Faculty: Quanisha Green, MSS
  • Evaluate your personal readiness for the leadership journey ahead. Discover common obstacles leaders face as they progress in their careers and learn best practices to overcome them. Reflect on your leadership journey and identify growth opportunities.
     
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 Faculty & Coaches

Executive Coaches


Program Fees and Scholarship Options

Leading with Impact Program Fee: $4,550

Tuition includes 360 Leadership Self-Assessment followed by Executive Coaching.

NELI receives money from funders who support the work of organizations in the Philadelphia five-county area and in southern New Jersey.

Scholarships Offered Through NELI:

We raise scholarship funds from funders who support the work of nonprofit organizations in the Philadelphia five-county area and in southern New Jersey. Organizations are only eligible for scholarships if they have offices and serve clients in one of these areas. NELI Scholarships are contributed by the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, as well as by individuals and other local, small foundations. A limited number of scholarships are reserved for participants with the greatest need. 

Scholarships Offered Through Local Foundations:

Two local funders offer support to nonprofit leaders pursuing professional development. At the same time you apply to NELI, you may also submit an application to the funders listed below. 

TD Charitable Foundation: Through its Nonprofit Training Resource Fund, nonprofit organizations can receive a grant for approved training to increase their organization’s capacity and skill set. The maximum grant is for $1,000. Applications are rolling.

The Valentine Foundation: The foundation’s Fund for Visionary Leadership is committed to supporting leadership development for aspiring and executive women leaders of nonprofit organizations that improve the lives of women and girls in the Greater Philadelphia region.

The foundation prioritizes funding of organizations and executive and emerging leaders who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color and women, trans, and gender-expansive people.


Application Information

Instructions for Applicants:

Make sure you can attend all 9 sessions.

  1. Review all questions on the Application Form (view/print out a blank copy here).
  2. Collect all the information you will need BEFORE you go online to complete the form. There is no save and return option.
  3. Materials needed for upload:
    • Application Essay
    • Resume
    • Scholarship Essay
  4. Complete the Application Form.

Instructions for Nominators:

Applicants are required to have a direct supervisor or an individual who can speak to their work as a professional fill out a nomination form.

  1. Nominate your candidate.
     

APPLY Attend an Information Session