Online Course – Certified Professional Internship in Improving Nonprofit Leadership and Governance – State University of New York

Introduction to the nonprofit sector, non-profit organizations, administrative leadership and organizational governance

Course 1 • 11 hours • 4.4 (191 ratings)

Course Details

What you’ll learn

• This course introduces you to the nonprofit sector, nonprofit organizations, and the terms of organizational leadership and governance.
• Although the course was developed with North American culture in mind, we understand that in other parts of the world, the nature of the nonprofit sector, nonprofit organizations, nonprofit leadership, and organizational governance may be different.
• However, we hope that much of the course content will continue to be valuable to people in other parts of the world.
• To learn more about this course, please watch the introductory video by copying the following link and pasting it into your browser: https://goo.gl/YMg1Qd .

Keywords

• Unprofitable
• Non-profit sector
• Voluntary sector
• Non-profit organizations
• Non-governmental organizations
• Volunteer organizations
• leadership
• Management
• government
• Board of Directors
• Execution
• Effectiveness

Course Review 1:

• Week 1: Some of the questions you will address this week: What is the nonprofit sector and why does it exist? What are the unique characteristics of nonprofit organizations? What are the trends and challenges facing organizations in the nonprofit sector?
• Week 2: Questions you will cover this week: What is leadership at the government level and how is it different from management? What is good government and why is it important? What is a board of directors?
• Week 3: Questions of the Week: What roles do board members play in nonprofit organizations? In general, what are the responsibilities of boards and how do they operate? What are some issues that challenge the board’s ability to continue its work?
• Week 4: At this point, you will be asked to review the course content, submit a written assignment (playfully referred to as the BEAR (Board Effectiveness Readiness Assessment)), and take two multiple-choice readiness tests (similarly referred to as RATs). One of the tests assessed knowledge and reading comprehension, and the other will test the application of knowledge to a practical case.
• Week 5: We will require you to discuss the tests in the designated forums and retake them if you wish to change any answers based on the information received.

The roles and responsibilities of boards of directors in the government process

Course 2 • 13 hours • 4.4 (61 ratings)

Course Details

What you’ll learn

• This course provides a more in-depth look at the roles and responsibilities of boards of directors in the governance of nonprofit organizations.
• Although the course was developed with North American culture in mind, we understand that in other parts of the world, the nature of board roles and responsibilities may be different.
• However, we hope that much of the course content will be valuable to people in other parts of the world.
• To learn more about this course, please watch the introductory video by copying the following link and pasting it into your browser: https://goo.gl/SXZEZS .

Keywords

• Unprofitable
• Non-profit sector
• Voluntary sector
• Non-profit organizations
• Non-governmental organizations
• Volunteer organizations
• leadership
• Management
• government
• Board of Directors
• Execution
• Effectiveness

Course Review 2:

• Week 1: Some of the questions you will address this week: What is the role of the board of directors in planning the future of the organization and why is it important for nonprofit organizations? What is strategic planning and what can boards of directors do to implement it effectively?
• Week 2: Questions of the Week: What is the role of the board of directors in evaluating the organization’s performance? Why is it important to evaluate performance? Why do many boards of directors have difficulty fulfilling their responsibilities in evaluating performance?
• Week 3: Questions of the Week: What are the components of the resource development/recruitment process? What is the board’s role in ensuring an adequate budget for the organization? What information should be included in the resource development plan?
• Week 4: At this point, you will be asked to review the course content, submit a written assignment (playfully called the BEAR (Board Effectiveness Readiness Assessment)), and take two multiple-choice readiness tests (similarly called RATs). One of the tests will assess knowledge and reading comprehension, and the other will test application of knowledge to practical cases.
• Week 5: We will require you to discuss the tests in the designated forums, and you will be asked to retake them if you wish to change any answers based on the information received.

Factors that influence the effectiveness of directives and the government process

Course 3 • 12 hours • 4.6 (61 ratings)

Course Details

What you’ll learn

• The third course in this speciality introduces you to the factors that influence the effectiveness of boards of directors and their responsibilities, and thus the impact they have on the success of the organization they manage.
• Although the course was developed with North American culture in mind, we understand that in other parts of the world, the nature of the factors that influence board effectiveness may vary.
• Still, we hope that much of the course content will continue to be valuable to people in other parts of the world.
• To learn more about this course, please watch the introductory video by copying the following link and pasting it into your browser: https://goo.gl/aAMIfl .

Keywords

• Unprofitable
• Non-profit sector
• Voluntary sector
• Non-profit organizations
• Non-governmental organizations
• Volunteer organizations
• leadership
• Management
• government
• Board of Directors
• Execution
• Effectiveness

Course Review 3:

• Week 1: Questions of the week: What factors influence the effectiveness of board meetings? What are the formal procedures and structures on the board that influence its performance? What can the board do to improve the way it organizes itself and conducts decision-making meetings?
• Week 2: Questions of the week: What is meant by board composition and development and why is it important? Why is it difficult to change the composition of the board? How do you plan the ideal mix of board members? How do you find, recruit, and develop board members?
• Week 3: Questions of the Week: What is meant by board “culture” and why is it important? How do boards develop and communicate culture? Can board culture be intentionally changed? What is the role of leadership in shaping board culture? What do effective nonprofit leaders engaged in organizational governance do? How can leadership be managed to achieve higher performance?
• Week 4: At this point, you will be asked to review the course content, submit a written assignment (playfully called the BEAR (Board Effectiveness Readiness Assessment)), and take two multiple-choice readiness tests (similarly called RATs). One of the tests will assess knowledge and reading comprehension, and the other will test application of knowledge to practical cases.
• Week 5: We will require you to discuss the tests in the designated forums, and you will be asked to retake them if you wish to change any answers based on the information received.

Final Project – Managing Change in the Board of Directors to Achieve Higher Levels of Leadership and System Effectiveness

Course 4 • 66 hours • 4.4 (11 ratings)

Course Details

What you’ll learn

• The final project is a service-learning experience designed to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in courses in three unique areas to real-world situations of leadership and organizational governance.
• Its goal is also to develop the participant’s ability to act as an agent for positive change in non-profit organizations.
• To do this, you will analyze the effectiveness of the leadership and governance of the board of directors of an organization of your choice (or if that is not possible, data collected from a real board offered by the course instructors).
• At the end of the final project, you will issue a professional consulting report detailing your analysis and recommendations for improving the effectiveness of leadership and governance on the board.
• You will then present the report to the board of directors and advise them on implementing the changes.
• To learn more about this course, please watch the introductory video by copying the following link and pasting it into your browser: https://goo.gl/GTWrN2 .

Keywords

• Unprofitable
• Non-profit sector
• Voluntary sector
• Non-profit organizations
• Non-governmental organizations
• Volunteer organizations
• leadership
• Management
• government
• Board of Directors
• Execution
• Effectiveness

Final project review:

• Weeks 1-3: This period of time will be dedicated to selecting a nonprofit board of directors and gathering information using two specialized tools and resources: the SUNY Open textbook (to download the book copy and paste the following link into your browser: http://tinyurl.com/peolnjb ), “Guidelines for Improving the Effectiveness of Nonprofit Boards,” and the Board Checkup, a self-assessment tool for board performance that can be accessed by copying this link into your browser: https://www.boardcheckup.com .
• Weeks 4-5: At this stage, the information collected will be analyzed and lead to an assessment of the board’s effectiveness in the various effectiveness dimensions examined in the special courses.
• Weeks 6-8: In the final phase of the project, the results of the analysis and recommendations for positive change will be consolidated into a special consulting report intended for use by the user organization’s board of directors.