The Fund Raising School, an international leader in fundraising training and professional development, and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, a nationally ranked leader in nonprofit management education, are pleased to offer this course. It is one of four required courses for the Certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership.
How will this course help you?
After completing this course, you will have clear action steps for refining and sustaining your strategic plan and enhancing your leadership effectiveness. Using an experiential and problem-solving approach, you will be able to answer the following questions:
- How do I improve my strategic plan?
- How do I utilize metrics to achieve desired outcomes?
- How do I improve my own leadership abilities?
- How do I effectively engage people to produce results?
Course Description
Strategic planning is essential for the effective leadership and management of nonprofit organizations, particularly in volatile and uncertain operating environments. This course will explore key aspects of building and sustaining a high performance organization through strategic planning. Participants will learn a practical model for conducting successful strategic planning. In the process, participants will create improvement plans for revising and updating existing strategic plans, and create individualized plans for professional growth and development relating to their own leadership styles. Topics include:
- Leading and managing the process of strategic planning
- Engaging board, staff and other stakeholders
- Leading and measuring implementation of the strategic plan
The Online Format
The content of this 4-week online course is the same as in the traditional 2-day in-person version of Strategic Planning and Nonprofit Leadership; however, it is organized specifically for online learning. This online course is asynchronous and is facilitated by an expert instructor. It contains weekly modules which open on Sunday and close on Saturday when assignments are due. In each module, you will: 1) Complete readings and view narrated PowerPoint presentations; 2) Complete brief assessment activities; and 3) Participate in forum discussions and submit learning assignments.
To preview the online learning environment:
- Go to http://cop.blackboard.com.
- Click on “Preview as Guest” on the log-in page.
- You’ll be taken to a page with “My Courses” featured on the right. Click on “Online Course Preview” under “My Courses.”
- This will bring you to the Online Course Preview. Read the welcome statement and follow directions from there to experience our online learning environment.
Facilitator: Stuart G. Shepley is the founder and chief consultant for the Shepley Group, an organization that exists to coach organizations, leaders and teams to reach maximum performance. Shepley has held administrative and teaching positions in higher education and served as director of a social service agency. His areas of expertise are organizational effectiveness, leadership development, and team development, with a particular interest in the use of experiential activity and adventure programming in teaching environments. Shepley has worked internationally with many top companies, government agencies and institutions of higher education.
CFRE Education Points
Full participation in Strategic Planning and Leadership is applicable for 12.75 points in Category 1.B - Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.
