If you’re involved in a nonprofit organization, you likely know all too well the importance of budgeting. In this course, you will gain an understanding of the uses and functions of budgets and the relationship between strategic budgeting and tactical budgeting. You will also learn about the organization-wide budget and different budget systems. After introducing the basics of budgeting in a nonprofit, the course continues on to slightly more advanced budgeting topics such as capital budgets, cash flow budgets, and opportunity budgets. You will also learn how nonprofit organizations are using different budgeting techniques to handle operating challenges.

Understanding what the numbers say about the health of your nonprofit is critical to being able to manage the organization successfully. This course will develop your ability to appropriately interpret the major financial accounting statements that are used by nonprofit organizations. You will gain an understanding of the types of financial statements that are used by nonprofit organizations, and how they differ from for-profit financial reporting. Also, the course demonstrates the power and limitations of accounting information in assessing financial performance and decision-making. You will also learn the uses of financial statement analysis, or ratio analysis for nonprofit organizations.

The success of any nonprofit organization can rely on the quality of its leadership. You know a good leader when you see one, but how can you become one? This course begins by examining leadership theories as well as key qualities and ethics within leadership. After establishing this foundation, the course focuses on leadership in the nonprofit sector, including the leadership shortage and possible solutions.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of most nonprofit organizations. And board members are a special type of volunteer, helping to guide the direction of a nonprofit, promote the organization in the community, and ensure that the nonprofit’s mission is fulfilled. Learning how best to manage the board and other volunteers is a critical part of nonprofit management. This course covers the fundamentals of board and volunteer development as well as recruiting, effective communication, and retention.

When we think of marketing, we typically think of the activities that a for-profit company engages in. However, marketing is an important function for nonprofit organizations as well. Effective marketing is how nonprofit organizations determine the needs of their clients and their donors. As in the for-profit world, nonprofit marketing includes advertising, promotion, public relations, and customer relationship management. This course examines how nonprofits use marketing to publicize their mission and to gather contributions of time and money. The course also discusses marketing planning in the nonprofit organization.

We hear a lot about successful for-profit companies and the successful strategies they have developed. Even though nonprofit organizations are not concerned with profit maximization, they too can benefit from following a strategy. A nonprofit’s strategy constitutes its decisions about what it will do and how it will do it. Nonprofit managers are critical to successfully implementing strategy since they are responsible for carrying out the actions that will support it. By understanding a nonprofit’s strategy and how it helps the organization fulfill its mission, a manager can do a better job implementing the strategy.

A capital campaign raises money that a nonprofit organization uses for any physical asset, such as purchasing or renovating a building. It’s a critical part of managing in the nonprofit sector. This introductory-level course covers the key terminology and practices surrounding running a successful capital campaign within a nonprofit organization. You will learn about the phases of conducting a capital campaign (evaluation, feasibility study, organization, solicitation, and post-campaign activities) as well as how to avoid common pitfalls in capital campaigns.

Writing grants is often a critical part of gaining funding for any nonprofit organization’s mission. Strategic grant writing aligns the needs of a nonprofit with funding sources, whether foundations, government agencies, corporations, or individuals. This introductory-level course offers a guide to the basics of grant writing. The course explores the relationship between grant writing and an organization’s strategy for fundraising. It also outlines the six stages of grant writing and highlights grant writing best practices.

There are many differences between nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations. Before delving into the details of nonprofit management, this course serves as a critical introduction to the fundamentals of nonprofit organizations. You will gain an understanding of the nonprofit sector and the issues that leaders face in this exciting and growing field. You will also be exposed to the major areas of responsibility for nonprofit leaders, including strategy, managing employees and volunteers, fundraising, grant writing, board governance, marketing, innovation, and social media.

Effective use of social media as a marketing tool is often essential for nonprofits to get attention in this digital world. This course introduces learners to the use of social media in communicating, marketing, public relations, and fundraising for nonprofits. It explores the major social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest) as vehicles for nonprofits to reach their members, volunteers, and donors.

Fundraising is one of the central activities of a nonprofit organization and nonprofit management. To help finance operating budgets, nonprofits must raise money every year. In addition, special projects and improvements to facilities may be needed. In these situations, fundraisers will often launch large capital campaigns or apply for foundation grants. This course offers an introduction to fundraising for nonprofit organizations, with an emphasis on the fundamental issues.