Nonprofit Navigator: 28 Essential Skills for Nonprofit Pros

Welcome to this lesson on diversity, equity, and inclusion! Within this video you'll get an overview of this module's content as well as a brief glimpse into what is presented in the full Merit® Nonprofit Professional Development learning path around this topic.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are more than twenty-first century buzzwords. They are terms that signify a shift in how relationships can be transformed between people and groups to create environments (or “spaces”) that are encouraging and supportive of all people.

Diversity, which is “the condition of being comprised of differing elements,” is often used to describe the many identities represented in a group or organization. Equity acknowledges that the diverse people involved in a group have varying needs and obstacles to success. Inclusion is the action required to create space for the differing perspectives that exist in our groups.

In this lesson, we'll jump in on an overview of what diversity, equity, and inclusion is as a concept.

Now that you have some basics about DEI, let's take a look at why it matters to nonprofits just like yours.

Welcome to our first lessons on mission-focused leadership! Within this video you'll get an overview of this module's content as well as a brief glimpse into what is presented in the full Merit® Nonprofit Professional Development learning path around this topic.

In this series of videos and lessons we will take our first steps in defining what “mission leadership” means, and also look at why it matters. Our overview of the skills related to building up your own mission-focused leadership to support your own professional work, no matter what position you hold in your nonprofit.

We’ll close out this series by spending some time on learning how we can spot what effective mission-focused leadership looks like in the real world. You’ll likely see a lot of relatable examples here, and will probably spot areas where your own organization is doing well...and could use improvement.

Now let’s jump in on our learning!

In this lesson, we'll jump in on an overview of what mission focused leadership is.

Now that you have some basics about mission-focused leadership, let's take a look at why it matters.

Welcome to our first lessons on community leadership! Within this video you'll get an overview of this module's content as well as a brief glimpse into what is presented in the full Merit® Nonprofit Professional Development learning path around this topic.

In this series of videos, we will take our first steps in defining what “community leadership” means and look at why it matters. We will review the skills related to building up your own abilities to lead in the community, no matter what position you hold in your nonprofit.

We’ll close out this series by spending some time learning how we can spot what effective community leadership looks like. We’ll tie together what you may already be able to recognize as working...and needing improvement… in your own leadership.

Now let’s jump in on our learning with our first lesson on what community leadership is.

In this lesson, we'll jump in on an overview of what community leadership is.

Now that you have some basics about community leadership, let's take a look at why it matters.

Welcome to your first lessons on organizational capacity! Within this video you'll get an overview of this module's content as well as a brief glimpse into what is presented in the full Merit® Nonprofit Professional Development learning path around this topic.

As you work through this 3-lesson series toward your bronze badge, we’re going to cover three main topic areas:

1. What is organizational capacity, and why does it matter?

2. What skills are related to building organizational capacity, and which do you have?

3. What does effective organizational capacity look like?

This badge is especially focused on how we build our organizations from the inside out. In fact, you probably already are an expert on WHY you do what you do, but now you’ll have the opportunity to look at all of the ways that you bring that why to life in your work: in other words HOW you do WHAT you do.

This series is also a great way to get the hang of how this learning platform works. Each lesson has a downloadable transcript for you to use, and you can always turn on the captions if that helps you learn. Also, each lesson has a quiz included and you’ll need to get a passing score to progress to the next lesson and to earn your badge.

Now, let’s dig in to start our learning about organizational capacity!

In this lesson, we'll jump in on an overview of what organizational capacity is.

Now that you have some basics about the topic, let's take a look at why organizational capacity matters.

Welcome to the bronze badge lessons on environmental context! Within this video you'll get an overview of this module's content as well as a brief glimpse into what is presented in the full Merit® Nonprofit Professional Development learning path around this topic.

While “environmental context' sounds a bit technical, it’s actually a broad term that simply means understanding where our organization fits into the bigger picture. This bigger picture might include our local community, the landscape of our particular mission’s relevance to current affairs, and even our place in time. For that final reason, environmental context has a lot of connection with the concept of sustainability, and how our nonprofit will last over time.

In our bronze badge lessons on environmental context, we will spend time considering what this topic is and why it matters. We’ll take some time looking at the individual skills you can develop to improve and enhance your own abilities to connect more meaningfully with the idea of environmental context. And we’ll wrap up our bronze badge learning with a look at how this topic is a critical lever in our strategic planning processes.

In your work on this badge, you’ll begin to see the importance of environmental scanning as a natural process of your work, regardless of the position you hold.

Let’s start our learning!

In this lesson, we'll jump in on an overview of what environmental context is and look at the organization's capacity for environmental context.

Now that you have some basics about environmental context, let's take a look at why environmental context matters.

Within this video you'll get an overview of this module's content as well as a brief glimpse into what is presented in the full Merit® Nonprofit Professional Development learning path around this topic.

Program success is a capacity within our nonprofit that encompasses our abilities to measure the impact our programs have on our population served. You’re likely already taking some steps toward effectively assessing the success of each program and service in your nonprofit. Our learning here in the bronze badge will look closely at the importance of this capacity.

The next few lessons will explore:

• What program success is, and why it matters.

• The skills that can be used to improve how you assess your impact.

• What effective program evaluation looks like, and

• How we can support the development of an evaluative culture.

Program success doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and each of us has the opportunity to understand how each program we offer factors into the bigger social impact we’re seeking. Let’s begin with our first lesson, “What is program success?”

In this lesson, we'll jump in on an overview of what program success is and what it looks like in your non-profit.

Now that you have some basics about nonprofit program success, let's take a look at why it matters.

Welcome to your first lessons on performance assessment! Within this video you'll get an overview of this module's content as well as a brief glimpse into what is presented in the full Merit® Nonprofit Professional Development learning path around this topic.

Performance assessment can be a tremendous tool for organizational growth, and in our nonprofits it is a means of connecting our people to our mission in a meaningful way.

In the first series of lessons on performance assessment, we’ll take a look at what performance assessment is (and isn’t!), and consider why it matters. You’ll have the opportunity to explore five core skills to support effective assessment practices. We’ll wrap up our learning here with a look at how to spot and measure effective performance assessment practices.

Let’s jump in with our first lesson, “What is performance assessment?”

In this lesson, we'll jump in on an overview of what performance assessment is and what it looks like in your non-profit.

Now that you have some basics about staff performance assessment, let's take a look at why it matters.

Welcome to your first lessons on nonprofit advocacy success! Within this video you'll get an overview of this module's content as well as a brief glimpse into what is presented in the full Merit® Nonprofit Professional Development learning path around this topic.

Nonprofit advocacy focuses our work on changing the policies that affect the populations and communities we serve. In our bronze series of lessons, we’ll look at what advocacy is–and isn’t. We’ll explore why advocacy matters, and how it differs from lobbying, and the importance of going beyond raising awareness.

We’ll also explore the skills needed to better equip yourself to practice what’s often called “everyday advocacy.” And we’ll wrap up our learning with an exploration of how effective advocacy efforts look and how we can assess our own.

Let’s jump in!

In this lesson, we'll jump in on an overview of what nonprofit advocacy is and what it looks like in your non-profit.

Now that you have some basics about nonprofit advocacy, let's take a look at why it matters.

Welcome to your first lessons on understanding your population’s needs! Within this video you'll get an overview of this module's content as well as a brief glimpse into what is presented in the full Merit® Nonprofit Professional Development learning path around this topic.

Understanding the population we serve is vital for our effectiveness in meeting their needs and making social change happen. These needs are complex, often in flux, and are difficult to meet through a single program, service, strategy, or even through one organization’s efforts.

We’ll begin our learning by looking at what we mean by understanding our population’s needs, and why this matters. We’ll look at the five skills related to better comprehending our target population, and round out our learning by exploring how to spot and measure effectiveness in this area.

Let’s jump in!

In this lesson, we'll jump in on an overview of what it means to understand our population needs and what it looks like in your non-profit.

Now that you have some basics about understanding out population's needs, let's take a look at why it matters.