Nonprofit Management Institute is offering courses in Tucson starting April 1st. The courses are part of the “Best Skills in Nonprofit Management Certificate” again being offered and include courses focused on volunteer management, social media, and governance. Courses will be held roughly once a month April through October at Habitat for Humanity on Friday mornings. Classes are taught by experienced nonprofit leaders, with  research based curriculum from ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management.

Best Skills Classes

Managing our most valuable assets: Volunteers in service.   People, whether they are employees or volunteers, are the life-force of any nonprofit organization.  This training session will provide tools for developing job descriptions, recruiting/hiring, orienting, training, and evaluating and coaching the performance of employees and volunteers.  Special emphasis on communication, motivation and recognizing volunteer and employee efforts including appreciation and celebration.

Participants will learn about the legal aspects of nonprofit governance. You will get an understanding and appreciation of the roles of board members and strategic planning.

This course will provide participants with a foundation for dealing with the types of internal and external communications needed to effectively manage staff, volunteers, and clients.

Participants will explore various ways to address conflictual issues from governance to financial stability, and best practices in managing programing.

What is the public face of your organization in the larger community? What role does marketing play? How can you use new technologies and relevant language to reach clients? Does your community know you?  Have you developed your brand?  This course will explore marketing concepts that offer an inviting message to the community and appeal to the non-attending people.  It will provide practical insights on using tools such as websites, blogs, Facebook, etc., to create a message that will resonate with and welcome people outside of your current sphere of influence.

How do you ensure you have the necessary resources to meet the mission of your nonprofit organization? We will explore accounting practices for nonprofits, as well as ethical and legal/tax issues. In addition, budgeting, and how to read financial statements.

This course will explore tools to enhance your organization’s stewardship and giving, with checks and balances to maintain transparency. This session explores the basics of philanthropy and the donor centered fund development process and how to create a plan that will result in effective fundraising strategies for staff and volunteers – even in tough economic times.  Discussion will be on how to raise enough funds to effectively cover the operating budget.