Nonprofit Leadership Noncredit Certificate
Become a
Catalyst for change
Optimize your impact with foundational nonprofit leadership sessions.
Nonprofits are driven by passionate individuals committed to their causes. Fuel your passion with solid preparation in the five key areas essential to nonprofits ― fundraising, financial management, board of directors, human resources and strategic communication.
Our Certificate at a Glance
Find out more about the Nonprofit Leadership Noncredit Certificate Program.
Dates
SPRING: January 31-May 22, 2025
FALL: Sept. 19, 2025-Jan. 7, 2026
5 Courses + Capstone
Format
Scheduled Sessions (Canvas) & Live Online Sessions (Zoom)
Investment
$169 Topic Courses
$99 Capstone
$849 Certificate
Flexible Training
Register for one or two classes to bolster specific skills or attend all five and earn a certificate. Start at any time and finish in the subsequent semester. The format for each course is online study with a live online session. Online study will be available the week prior the live online session. Live online sessions will take place Fridays, 9-11:30 a.m.
Building a Strong Fund Development Program
Learn the components of a strong strategic development program, team, and culture of philanthropy in your organization. You will learn how to make a compelling case for support, how to strategize for prospects, how to design purposeful events, how to engage corporate donors, and how to stimulate online giving and continue to steward your supporters. What should the board’s role be? How might you use analytics to track your success? When should we consider a capital campaign?
Instructor: Shane Kohl & Amanda Charais
Cost: $169
Dates:
SPRING: Live Online, January 31, 2025 Register
FALL: Live Online, September 19, 2025 Register
Developing an Active Board of Directors
Align your top staff and board in a strategic leadership approach. Engage in pointed discussions to explore effective leadership in your community and organization. Assess your own board and learn how to shape a high performing board. This program will help you explore the optimal size and committee structure for a board. Further, you will understand board members’ legal obligations in order to implement strategies to develop the board’s role in fundraising.
Instructors: Patrick Nehring & Melinda Pollen
Cost: $169
Dates:
SPRING: Live Online, February 21, 2025 Register
FALL: Live Online, October 10, 2025 Register
Foundations of Financial Management
To truly be a financial leader, one must first become financially literate. This session is designed to increase the financial literacy of (aspiring) senior leaders by removing the jargon so they can understand and make decisions based on financial information. Participants will read and interpret key data from essential financial statements, assess the organization’s financial health, mitigate financial risks and align budgeting with strategic priorities.
Instructor: Steve Zimmerman
Cost: $169
Dates:
SPRING: Live Online, March 14, 2025 Register
FALL: Live Online, October 31, 2025 Register
Human Resource Management
Learn the essential human resource policies and practices, including consideration of when and how to use service volunteers. We will consider how to construct effective job descriptions, recruit and hire the right person for the job and evaluate employee performance. How can managers effectively motivate employees and develop a positive and inclusive workplace culture? You will develop your own strategic human resources plan.
Instructor: Tori L. England
Cost: $169
Dates:
SPRING: Live Online, April 11, 2025 Register
FALL: Live Online, November 21, 2025 Register
Marketing & Communication Strategy
A visible and positively-viewed organization can achieve greater success in many ways, including fund development. In this workshop you’ll learn how to assess and update your image, identify your uniqueness and devise messages and strategies to communicate with your core audiences. What are the best ways to deal with negative publicity? Evaluate your own electronic presence as you integrate social media marketing and communicating into volunteer recruitment, donor communications and advocacy.
Instructor: Bridget Krage O'Connor
Cost: $169
Dates:
SPRING: Live Online, May 2, 2025 Register
FALL: Live Online, December 12, 2025 Register
Capstone: Independent Project
Apply what you’ve learned by completing a project tailored to your own leadership development or your organization’s needs. Potential topics include the following or another project of your own choosing that relates to one or more of the seminars:
- An action plan that addresses the five seminar topics
- New human resource policies or board manual
- A social media marketing strategy
- A development program plan
Instructor: Lora Warner
Cost: $99
Dates:
SPRING: Capstone Due, May 22, 2025 Register
FALL: Capstone Due, January 7, 2026 Register
Save Money
If you sign-up for the five courses and capstone at the same time, you can save $95.
What is a Capstone Project?
If you elect to complete all five courses, you can take what you’ve learned and apply it. Capstone projects allow individuals to complete a brief professional project that moves you or your organization ahead in an area of growth. Past participants have developed fundraising plans, action plans, board retreats, bylaws and policies, human resources research and development, plans to update branding and marketing, and many more.
Gain a Competitive Advantage
Upon successful completion of all five courses and capstone, you will receive an exclusive UW-Green Bay credential, a digital badge validating your accomplishment and signaling to employers your mastery of the curriculum. The digital badge can be featured on LinkedIn, your resume, email signature or website.
A Calling
Becomes a Career
"Taking this certificate program helped me to become a better nonprofit leader in many different ways."
Emily Fread
Development Director
Habitat for Humanity Lakeside
Instructors
Amanda Charais
Regional Development Director, ThedaCare
Amanda Charais joined ThedaCare in 2021 with a focus on major giving, bringing along fundraising experience in annual giving, thoughtful stewardship, and donor engagement. Prior to this role, she worked in development at St. Vincent de Paul, gaining valuable insights across both small and large nonprofit organizations.
Tori England
CEO, TL England Consulting
Tori L. England brings over 20 years of project management and learning & development experience in the insurance, hospitality and utility industries. She has led many Fortune 500 companies through major transformational change. Tori is certified in the PROSCI change management model and is a PMP certified project manager. Tori has created, developed and led teams that have won industry credentials in instructional design and training operations.
Shane Kohl
Director of Foundations, ThedaCare Family of Foundations
Shane Kohl's experience includes work in special events, alumni relations, annual giving, major giving, capital campaigns and planned giving. Prior to joining ThedaCare in 2012, he served in development roles with the CP Center of Green Bay, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Foundation and the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton.
Patrick Nehring
Professor, Department of Community Resource Development, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
In his twenty years with Extension, Patrick Nehring has worked with over 200 entrepreneurs, organizations and local governments empowering them to strengthen the local economy and enhance the local quality of life. Patrick holds a geographic information systems graduate certificate and a certification with the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Bridget Krage O'Connor
Founder & Owner, O'Connor Connective
Bridget Krage O’Connor is a marketing communication strategist, possessing over 25 years of experience in helping organizations tell their unique stories. Her company, O’Connor Connective provides strategic communication, marketing, public relations, strategic planning and training for organizations large and small.
Melinda Pollen
Associate Professor, Department of Youth Development, UW-Madison Division of Extension
Melinda Pollen has over 20 years of working with community and youth development, and has a strong passion for facilitation and addressing community opportunities with community resources.
Lora Warner
Associate Professor & Director of the Center for Public Affairs, UW-Green Bay
Lora Warner teaches in the Public Administration program and leads the Nonprofit Management Certificate, working with her students in numerous public and nonprofit organizations in the area each year on internships and service learning projects.
Steve Zimmerman
Principal of Nonprofit Services, Spectrum
Steven Zimmerman provides training and consulting in the areas of finance and strategy for community-based organizations, foundations and government agencies throughout the country. Steve is a co-author of two best-selling books on nonprofit sustainability which highlight Spectrum’s integrated approach to nonprofits which balances mission impact and financial viability.
Need Guidance
If you have any questions or need additional guidance, please contact Kat Weber, Program Specialist, at (920) 663-7317 or weberka@uwgb.edu.