This course introduces you to the nonprofit sector, nonprofit organizations, and the concepts of leadership and governance. While this course has been developed with North American culture in mind, we do appreciate that in other parts of the world the nature of the nonprofit sector, nonprofit organizations, nonprofit leadership and governance may not be the same. Nevertheless, it is our hope that much of the course content will still be of value to those in other parts of the world.
To learn more about this course, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://goo.gl/YMg1Qd.
Keywords: Nonprofit; Nonprofit Sector; Voluntary Sector; Nonprofit Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Volunteer Organizations, Leadership, Management, Governance, Board, Board of Directors, Performance, Effectiveness
Course 1 Overview:
Week 1: Some of the questions you will explore this week are: What is the nonprofit sector and why does it exist? What are the unique characteristics of nonprofit organizations? What are the trends and emerging issues facing organizations in the nonprofit sector?
Week 2: Questions to be explored this week are: What is leadership at the governance level and how is it different from management? What is good governance and why does it matter? What is a board of directors?
Week 3: This week's questions: What roles do board members play in nonprofit organizations? Broadly speaking, what are boards responsible for and how do they go about their work? What are some of the issues that challenge the board's ability to go its work?
Week 4: At this stage, you are asked to review the course content, submit a written assignment (known lightheartedly as a BEAR (Board Effectiveness Readiness Assessment), and take two multiple choice Readiness Assurance Tests (known similarly as RATs). One RAT will assess knowledge and reading comprehension and the other will test application of knowledge within a practical case.
Week 5: We will encourage you to discuss the RATs in the discussion forums and take them again should you wish to change any of your answers based on the information exchanged.
This course is part of the Improving Leadership & Governance in Nonprofit Organizations Specialization
Introduction to the Nonprofit Sector, Nonprofit Organizations, Nonprofit Leadership and Governance
Offered By
The State University of New York
Luther College at the University of Regina
Improving Leadership & Governance in Nonprofit Organizations SpecializationThe State University of New York
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
1The Nonprofit Sector, Nonprofit Organizations, Leadership and Governance
Welcome to the first course in the series of three courses on developing leadership and improving governance in nonprofit organizations. We encourage you to dive right in--watch the lecture and guest interview videos, participate in the discussion forums, take the practice quiz, post a commentary in the forum, analyze the Board cases, and start working on the course project!
6 videos (Total 90 min), 7 readings, 1 quiz
6 videos
Welcome to the video introducing this series of courses5m
Course 1 Overview Video9m
Week 1 Overview15m
Interview with Ruth McCambridge12m
Interview with Dr. Laura Schweitzer: Leadership and Governance of Nonprofit Organizations from a Practitioner Perspective43m
7 readings
Course 1 Teaching and Learning Overview10m
Required and Recommended Texts10m
Week 1 Key Questions and Competencies10m
Week 1 Readings and Resources10m
Discuss Case Study10m
Course Project Overview10m
Course Project Part II Guidance10m
1 practice exercise
Week 120m
Week
2Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Organizational Governance and Boards of Directors
Hello and welcome to Week 2 of the first course on Leadership and Governance of Nonprofit Organizations! The goal of this week is to introduce you to the concept of nonprofit leadership and governance and the function of boards in organizational governance. Details can be found on the week 2 course pages below. As usual, we encourage you to engage in the content and with each other on this online teaching and learning journey!
2 videos (Total 35 min), 5 readings, 1 quiz
2 videos
Interview with Prof Chris Cornforth on "Innovative Approaches and Perspectives to Nonprofit Governance"7m
5 readings
Week 2 Key Concepts and Competencies10m
Week 2 Readings and Resources:10m
Discuss Case Study10m
Course Project Overview10m
Course Project Part II Guidance10m
1 practice exercise
Week 222m
Week
3The Board's Role and Responsibilities
Hello and welcome to Week 3! The goal of this week is to address a number of important questions related to how boards operate: What roles do board members play in nonprofit organizations, what are boards responsible for, What is the role and responsibilities of boards of directors and What are the elements of board behavior that shape how effective a board will be. These elements form the basis of the content of the second and third courses in this series on Developing Leadership and Improving Governance in Nonprofit Organizations. They also underline the structure of our course text, Improving the Effectiveness of Boards of Directors AND the tool used to facilitate assessments of board performance in the Course 2 project. Two videos relating to these topics can be found on the week 3 course page.
4 videos (Total 37 min), 5 readings, 1 quiz
4 videos
Interview with Putnam Barber on Charitable Solicitations in the United States9m
Conceptual Framework of the Elements of Board Effectiveness7m
Professor Vic Murray summarizes the design of the board assessment1m
5 readings
Week 3 Key Questions and Competencies10m
Week 3 Readings and Resources10m
Discuss Case Study10m
Course Project Overview10m
Course Project Part II Guidance10m
1 practice exercise
Week 320m
Week
4Concept Testing and Application
Hello and welcome to Week 4! The goal of this week is to assess course learning. The end of Course 1 assessment of learning begins with the requirement that you to take two Readiness Assurance Tests (RATs) and submit your first Board Effectiveness Assessment Reflection (BEAR). During the testing process, don't forget to bring a piece of paper and pen to make a note of your answers to the RAT and RAT Application Exercise questions. You will need them to vote and discuss your responses in the RAT forums next week.
3 quizzes
2 practice exercises
Readiness Assurance Test (RAT)20m
RAT Application Exercise20m
4.4
27 Reviews50%
started a new career after completing these courses
50%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
Top Reviews
By RV•Apr 14th 2016
I highly recommend the entire program to new and even experienced board members in both the non-profit and corporate world. Very real application and concepts that are applicable.
By MP•Jun 5th 2016
Great for enhancing your understanding of how non-profits are governed. I'd highly recommend this course for anyone involved with a non-profit organization.
Instructors
Prof. Yvonne D. Harrison, PhD
Associate Professor and DirectorVoluntary Sector Studies Network (VSSN)
Prof. Vic Murray, PhD
Adjunct ProfessorSchool of Public Administration, University of Victoria
About The State University of New York
The State University of New York, with 64 unique institutions, is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States. Educating nearly 468,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs both on campus and online, SUNY has nearly 3 million alumni around the globe.
About Luther College at the University of Regina
About the Improving Leadership & Governance in Nonprofit Organizations Specialization
Identify and analyze leadership and governance issues, create practical ways to improve board performance and work with boards to implement these improvements.
This Specialization consists of three courses plus a Capstone Project: (1) Course 1 topics: The unique nature of the nonprofit sector in society; leadership in nonprofit organizations and the governance process. (2) Course 2 topics: The roles and responsibilities of nonprofit organization boards of directors and the challenges in carrying them out effectively. (3) Course 3 topics: The critical factors that impact the ability of the board to govern and how to intentionally change them into positive influences. The Capstone Project: How to help real boards overcome inertia and resistance to change and improve their governance effectiveness in an applied service learning experience. To learn more about the series of courses, please watch the Welcome Video.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
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