Emerging Nonprofit Leaders Graduate from USD

USD Graduates Ten Students with the Nonprofit Management Certificate for Emerging Nonprofit Leaders Launched Last Fall 2013

The USD Certificate in Nonprofit Management was built to fit the busy lives of nonprofit professionals and to help them navigate the sector’s challenges better. Ten professionals completed the program this year. “We are all working for the public good, whether that is through education, public policy, social service … to create a world where individuals have lives that are imbued with dignity, purpose, and hope … given our new knowledge and experience at USD, the possibilities of what we can accomplish collectively are infinite.“ says Catherine K. Nonprofit Management Certificate ’13 (front row center).

“Nonprofits had to make some tough choices since the recession when there was extreme contraction and layoffs. I think they are slowly recovering, but nonprofits still face a cloudy future,” according to Laura Deitrick, Director of the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research. The Institute of Nonprofit Research at the School of Leadership and Education Sciences developed the Nonprofit Management Certificate program and uses its ongoing research to inform the curriculum. According to Pat Libby, Director of the Institute, “the program was created to be both a good preparation for those that want to enter the nonprofit sector or build upon current skills. It’s also a pathway for the Nonprofit Leadership and Management graduate MA program.”

Students have the option of a fully online format, or the on-ground classroom format. In the classroom format, classes are held one evening per week for 4-weeks. Students can take one course or the series of courses, one each month, to complete the Certificate in less than 9 months. The program requires five core courses and three electives: Introduction to Nonprofit Financial Management, Introduction to Fundraising, Developing Effective Nonprofit Boards, Attracting and Retaining the New Volunteer Workforce, Risk Management for Nonprofits, and more.

The instructors in the program, many of which teach in the graduate nonprofit program, are notable practitioners that share a great breadth and depth of knowledge about the nonprofit sector. “Students will build practical skills that they can put to work right away,” says Jodi Waterhouse, Director of Corporate and Professional Programs for USD’s Division of Professional and Continuing Education.

No application is required, each course is $349 and the entire Certificate program can be completed for less than $3,000. For more information and registration go to pce.sandiego.edu or call (619) 260-4585.

About University of San Diego Professional and Continuing Education
The University of San Diego's Division of Professional and Continuing Education (PCE) offers a robust portfolio of courses and programs needed by aspiring professionals and evolves in response to their continued professional development in the fields of business, education, and health care. PCE nurtures key partnerships on the local, national and international level to better serve the working professionals who seek to enhance or build careers as well as with their employers to help achieve their highest value and potential.

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.