Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations Certificate - Remote Program
This Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations certificate program is designed for those seeking to advance their careers in fundraising and nonprofit administration through a combination of hands-on skills and theoretical knowledge, taught by practitioners in the field from major nonprofit institutions, research universities and consulting firms.
Students may choose any four courses for a customized certificate in "Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations." Those seeking a more targeted learning experience may choose to complete the "Fundraising Professional" or "Nonprofit Professional" certificate track.
Tracks for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organization Track
A customized course of study where students pick any four courses from the list below, with substitutions allowed from the Fundamentals of Leadership Program.
Audience: Those with multiple roles within a nonprofit or those looking for a customized learning experience, blending fundraising, leadership and management.
Fundraising Professional Track
Hands-on skills program to teach students how to effectively raise money through major gifts, planned gifts, and capital campaigns. In addition, students will learn about the psychology of donors and what makes people give.
Audience: Frontline fundraising personnel such as major gift officers, annual fund directors, capital campaign managers, development associates
Nonprofit Professional Track
Understand financial and legal structures of nonprofits as well as how to write mission statements, strategic plans and work with boards
Audience: Managers and directors in nonprofits and those that want to start a nonprofit
What Our Students Say
As someone relatively new to the nonprofit sector, I looked for a program that would help me build both knowledge and confidence as a nonprofit leader. I've appreciated this certificate's combination of self-paced learning, real-world projects, and opportunities to connect with other nonprofit professionals.”
Kevin M. Yates, founder and president of Meals in the Meantime
The instructors were knowledgeable and did a great job making the classes interactive and practical. I gained valuable insight into frontline fundraising and highly recommend this program to anyone interested in major gift fundraising and donor relationship management.”
Carla Dumas, major gifts program assistant at the Feinberg School of Medicine
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations Program Courses
Certificate Requirements for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations
To be awarded a certificate of completion, students must complete four courses. Required courses for each certificate are listed below.
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations Certificate Track
Take any four (4) courses from the list below (Core or Elective)
Students may substitute up to two (2) Leadership courses
There is no need to get pre-approval as long as students follow the above guidelines
Questions on other potential courses can be addressed to profdev@northwestern.edu
Fundraising Professional Certificate Track
PHIL_NP 315-0 Donor Psychology and The Ask
PHIL_NP 378-0 Major Gift Fundraising
PHIL_NP 381-0 Essentials of Grant Writing and Program Development*
One course from the Leadership certificate program or Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations certificate program
*Formerly named Grantsmanship and Program Development. Course name change effective Fall 2019. All course content and certificate requirements remain the same.
Nonprofit Professional Certificate Track
LEAD_ART 200-0 Strategic Thinking and Leading
PHIL_NP 320-0 Financial Management of Nonprofits
PHIL_NP 325-0 Nonprofit Strategy and Governance
PHIL_NP 330-0 Legal Issues in Philanthropy
Nonprofit Resilience and Reinvention Through a Crisis
Nonprofit Resilience and Reinvention Through a Crisis (PHIL_NP 335-0)
COVID-19 has produced major disruptions and impacted the entire nonprofit and funding sector. This two-day course, useful for anyone in the nonprofit sector but particularly for nonprofit executives, foundation program managers, and donors and development officers, upskills you with tools, case studies and knowledge resources to advance reinvention and build resilience into nonprofits.
Grantsmanship for the Research Professional
Grantsmanship for the Research Professional (PHIL_NP 380-0)
While this is not a separate track, this course is a powerful resource for both researchers at all stages and research administrators working in any research-intensive environments or discipline who are pursuing grant opportunities from government, corporate, and foundation sectors.
Tuition and Financial Aid for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations
Tuition for Philanthropy and Nonprofit courses varies depending on the course between $700 and $1,250. To complete the program, you can expect to spend between $3,500 to $4,500, not including books. Complete details can be found on the Tuition and Financial Aid for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations page.
Like many people who work with nonprofit organizations, Paul Winters has a passion for helping people. On top of his law practice, he teaches the Legal Issues in Philanthropy course at Northwestern University School of Professional Studies (SPS). The course “gives students an introductory set of legal tools to help them navigate regulatory compliance issues, so they can get back to the things that drew them into serving in the nonprofit community in the first place.”
He continued, “People in nonprofits have a passion to affect positive change in the world, and so they dive in, but then what happens is they begin to bump into some of the regulatory compliance legal issues they didn’t anticipate. No one enters the nonprofit sector thinking ‘I really want to get embroiled in a legal dispute.’”
