OHIO offers new nonprofit certificate program for current, future professionals

A new online program at Ohio University offers a certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and Management and the opportunity to gain valuable insights for professionals looking to advance or begin their careers in the nonprofit sector.

Originally a component of the Master of Public Administration program at the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, the three-semester program focuses entirely on the nonprofit sector and covers a range of related subjects. Completion of the courses comes with a credential approved by the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

The courses are currently taught by Assistant Professor of Instruction Paul Valentine, who also teaches in all three modalities of the University’s MPA program. He said the idea came about after evaluating the curriculum and interest in the nonprofit sector.

“With the Voinovich School’s focus on public service there’s an intersect with the nonprofit market given how much is either done collaboratively or contracted directly out to the nonprofit sector when it comes to public services,” he said. “We already had nonprofit courses in the curriculum. What we didn’t have is the opportunity for someone who was just interested in doing the nonprofit part.”

The course’s three classes cover a variety of skills focused on the nonprofit sector and include:

•    Financial management and fundraising.
•    Leadership and management including nonprofit boards and other strategic skills.
•    Communication and marketing.

“We set up the certificate for folks who are either in the nonprofit sector or looking to get into it,” Valentine said. “We believe the way the curriculum is set up it’s got strong benefits no matter where you are in a career.”

“If you’re someone who is working for a larger foundation looking to polish your services or the way you’re operating internally, the curriculum gives you an opportunity to examine what you’re doing in your own organization,” he explained. “If you work for a smaller nonprofit and you want to professionalize the way you operate but also set yourself up to be more attractive to people giving out grants, it’s a way to polish up things like your financial policies, strategic goals and the way you talk to donors when fundraising.”

The other benefit to the courses is the nine credits will transfer over if a participant decides to go on and obtain their MPA from the University. All courses are online and offered once per seven-week semester. The program costs $814 per credit.

Valentine said students work through the materials and assignments and he is available for live office hours. The way the courses are set up is the equivalent of attending a three-hour lecture in person, he said. Students are encouraged to engage with classmates online.

“We have people with all kinds of different backgrounds who have enrolled in the course starting this semester. I feel strongly that we’ve worked the curriculum so it’s really beneficial to folks,” Valentine said. “I think also students really get a lot of benefit from their fellow classmates. It gives you the opportunity to do a little networking and just hear from people who have different backgrounds.”

Valentine said he creates engaging assignments that are “reflective of the same kinds of conversations we would have if we were meeting in person in the classroom, so you get the chance to interact with classmates and sometimes they’ll post work publicly so you see a lot of different perspectives.”