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. 

 

Upcoming Sessions

 

 

About Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations

Featured Faculty

Paul Winters, Legal Issues in Philanthropy

Paul Winters

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.’”

Read more about faculty member Paul Winters' journey toward nonprofit law and teaching.

Tracks for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations

Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations Program Courses

Explore all the Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations Program Courses for detail on the program's offerings.

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 $650 and $1,200. To complete the program, you can expect to spend between $2,900 to $4,200, not including books. Complete details can be found on the Tuition and Financial Aid for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations page.

Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations Faculty

Instructors for this program have a range of expertise, specializations and work experience. Read about their qualifications on our Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations Faculty page.

Career Options for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations

Read more on the Career Options for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations page.

Find out more about Northwestern's Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations

Contact an Enrollment Adviser

An Enrollment Adviser at Northwestern University School of Professional Studies can help with any inquiries regarding our certificate programs.

Core Courses Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations

Core Courses:Course Detail
Strategic Thinking and Leading <> LEAD_ART 200-0

Strategic thinking and leading always appears on the list of highly desired skills for leaders, managers, and key individual contributors. This highly interactive class will use simulations and real life examples to teach you practical strategic thinking practices that you can immediately put to use. In addition, you gain insight into the strengths and development areas of your leadership style, and how your style can help you think and act strategically.

This course uses an adult learning approach. You will be actively involved and apply course concepts to actual situations and case studies in class. This enables you to practice skills and use tools that can be immediately applied when you go back to your work environment. We will apply strategic thinking tools including: Scenario Planning, Systems thinking, SWOT analysis, and Mind Mapping. We will use the DiSC Work of Leaders Assessment to understand your leadership strengths, development areas, and how those relate to strategy and leading people. The instructor will use a combination of lecture, facilitation, and in-class coaching. You will also create a Personal Strategic Plan to help you with your next steps in your professional development.

 

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.


View LEAD_ART 200-0 Sections
Donor Psychology and The Ask <> PHIL_NP 315-0

This course explores what makes people want to give money and time to support nonprofits. Students will gain a historical perspective as well as opportunities for simulation and role-play for the “big ask.” Students will also explore the key fundraising questions driving organizational success, sustainability, and strategy, while also focusing on what drives donors to give, from tax strategy to intergenerational planning, career trajectory, and family wealth dynamics.

Course Materials:

  • Charity and Philanthropy For Dummies. Muth, Karl T., Michael T. S. Lindenmayer, and John Kluge. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2014.
    ISBN-10: 1-119-94187-3 | ISBN-13: 978-1-119-94187-3 
  • Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (3rd Ed.). Fisher, R., & Ury, W. Penguin Publishing, 2011.
    ISBN-10: 1844131467 | ISBN-13: 978-0143118756
  • Good for You, Great for Me: Finding the Trading Zone and Winning at Win-Win Negotiation. Susskind, L. PublicAffairs, 2014.
    ISBN-10: 1610394259 | ISBN-13: 978-1610394253
  • Long Story Short: The Only Storytelling Guide You Will Ever Need. Leitman, M. Sasquatch Books, 2015.
    ISBN-10: 1632170272 | ISBN-13: 978-1632170279

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.


View PHIL_NP 315-0 Sections
Financial Management of Nonprofits <> PHIL_NP 320-0

This course is designed to provide specific and relevant information about the various aspects of financial management and reporting for a nonprofit organization. Participants will be exposed to the complexities of nonprofit organization financial statements, including the impacts of fund accounting, donor restrictions and other unique reporting issues. The internal control environment and its role in financial management and reporting will also be discussed, along with specific tax and audit issues affecting nonprofit organizations. 

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.


View PHIL_NP 320-0 Sections
Nonprofit Strategy and Board Leadership <> PHIL_NP 325-0

Want to help a nonprofit you care about be more strategic in a changing world? Do you desire to unleash the full potential of your nonprofit board and leaders? This course will help by providing an opportunity to learn and apply skills needed to lead and govern a nonprofit organization. Using a case study, interactive exercises let you practice crafting a mission statement and develop an organization’s strategy. You’ll also explore how to best recruit boards, structure committees, and run meetings to ensure effective leadership and oversight. Finally, you’ll have an opportunity to meet with proven leaders in the field to ask about their role in achieving successes and overcoming challenges while leading and governing their nonprofits.

 

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.


View PHIL_NP 325-0 Sections
Legal Issues in Philanthropy <> PHIL_NP 330-0

This course on the law of not-for-profit corporations will take a detailed look at the organizational and operational aspects of tax-exempt charitable organizations. State and federal tax laws and reporting requirements, revenue generating strategies (that will not jeopardize tax- exempt status), and management of human resources will be explored. This course is relevant for individuals interested in forming a nonprofit, managing nonprofits, serving on nonprofit boards, or developing their corporate knowledge. Students will have the opportunity to weekly apply what they are learning through the formation and development of an imaginary nonprofit corporation reflecting the students’ vision and design. Each week, I will provide an assignment that will give you a chance to implement the principles discussed in that week’s class. By the end of the course, you will have walked through the initial steps of nonprofit formation and beginning operations, and worked through a variety of hypotheticals to deeper your understanding of the nuanced challenges and opportunities nonprofits face.

 

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.


View PHIL_NP 330-0 Sections
Major Gift Fundraising <> PHIL_NP 378-0

This course emphasizes applied fundraising. It will explore all aspects of a major gift program’s implementation, from systems and strategies to the execution of major gift fundraising. Students will gain a practical understanding of systems and processes they can share in an interview, if they are embarking on a career change to nonprofit development, or apply their knowledge to their current development role.

This course is appropriate for:

  • Those new to the development field, perhaps exploring a career change.
  • Development professionals interested in honing their knowledge and skills.


Specific course objectives include, among others:

  • Define a major gift and understand the practice of major gift fundraising within a campaign and an ongoing comprehensive development program
  • Understand how individuals, private foundations and corporations give to nonprofit organizations, their motivation and how to cultivate these potential prospects
  • Apply key components to write a compelling case for support
  • Probe ways to leverage AI for the purpose of ideation, problem solving, and process acceleration
  • Distinguish between donor-centered and community-centered fundraising principles 
  • Identify the characteristics of a major gift prospect, summarize the concepts of how to analyze the potential of your donor pool for a major gift opportunity, and articulate what is necessary to build a major gift portfolio
  • Recognize how a relationship management system is a useful tool to track major gift activity and assignments
  • Demonstrate effective solicitation strategies through interactive classroom exercises and discussion.

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.


View PHIL_NP 378-0 Sections
Essentials of Grant Writing <> PHIL_NP 381-0

This course will provide students an opportunity to learn and apply skills needed to develop effective programs and winning grant proposals that support a nonprofit’s strategic priorities. The course assists students in utilizing tools, frameworks, and concepts introduced in class and from readings to plan a program based on a case study. Interactive exercises let students practice crafting common elements found in corporate, foundation and government grant proposals, including a work plan and evaluation components, to fund the program developed for their case. By the end of the course, students are expected to have acquired the knowledge and skills in program planning, proposal writing, and evaluation to be confident in contributing to the development and funding of programs that advance their organization’s mission.

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.


View PHIL_NP 381-0 Sections
Elective Courses:Course Detail
Nonprofit Resilience <> PHIL_NP 335-0

Non-profits are vital problem solvers. Crisis conditions often amplify the demand for non-profit services. In order to rise to the challenge, non-profits need to be resilient. And they need to reinvent themselves as they move through and beyond a crisis.

This course explores how nonprofits can prepare, navigate and advance through and beyond crisis conditions. Students will gain tools as well as opportunities for simulation and role-play. Students will learn how to apply these to non-profit operations, fund raising and communications.

Course Materials:

  • You’re It: Crisis, Change and How To Lead When It Matters Most by Leonard Marcus. ISBN: 1541768035
  • Imaginable by Jane McGonigal. ISBN-13 : 978-1954118096
  • Drawing on Courage: Risks Worth Taking and Stands Worth Making by Ashish Goel. ISBN-13: 978-1984857989
  • The Design Thinking Toolbox: A Guide to Mastering the Most Popular and Valuable Innovation Methods by Michael Lewrick. ISBN-13: 978-1119629191

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.


View PHIL_NP 335-0 Sections
Grantsmanship for the Research Professional PHIL_NP 380-0

This executive education-style workshop course teaches and enhances skills associated with effective grant opportunity identification, preparation, writing, and submission to Researchers engaged in research as well as Research Administrators responsible for pursuing grant opportunities. Strategies for developing grant proposals that support both hypothesis-driven and need-based empirical research activities will be presented, with a focus on opportunities from government, corporate, and foundation sectors. The course is appropriate for Researchers at all levels (trainees through early/mid-career faculty) and Research Administrators conducting or supporting research in the biological, clinical, life sciences, medical and natural sciences; physical sciences and mathematics; social and behavioral sciences; engineering; law; and education. Topics covered in this two-day workshop course include: Grant Resources; Funding Agencies; Funding Opportunity Identification; Research Program Development; Pre- and Post-Award Compliance Primer; Proposal Planning; Proposal Components; Writing the Specific Aims and Narrative Sections; Budget Development; Review Process; Proposal Submission; and, Team Science.

 

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.


View PHIL_NP 380-0 Sections