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
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
Capstone Due by 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
of the Nonprofit Leadership Certificate

Amanda Charais
Regional Development Director, ThedaCare

Tori England
CEO, TL England Consulting

Shane Kohl
Director of Foundations, ThedaCare Family of Foundations

Patrick Nehring
Professor, Department of Community Resource Development, UW-Madison Division of Extension

Bridget Krage O'Connor
Founder & Owner, O'Connor Connective

Melinda Pollen
Associate Professor, Department of Youth Development, UW-Madison Division of Extension

Lora Warner
Associate Professor & Director of the Center for Public Affairs, UW-Green Bay

Steve Zimmerman
Principal of Nonprofit Services, Spectrum

Meet Nonprofit go-Getter
Eric
"From a Volunteer Center perspective, we have to really pick and choose what we undertake as far as professional development. I was familiar with some of the presenters. I knew their style and what they brought to the table, so it just seemed like a good fit that way, too."
Eric Sponholtz
Executive Director, The Volunteer Center
Nonprofit Leadership Certificate

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.