Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management

Today's nonprofit organizations are faced with shifting demands for services, mounting financial pressures, and diverse operational challenges. To fulfill their missions, nonprofit leaders must step up their game and create organizations that can thrive in the midst of change. Exploring crucial concepts and skills for nonprofit leadership in uncertain times, this program will prepare you to strengthen fiscal management and accountability while leading the evolution needed to create an effective, high-performing organization.

This nonprofit management course is presented jointly with the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative.

Summary

This nonprofit management course is presented jointly with the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative.

Key Benefits

This program delivers the strategic perspectives, leadership skills, and practical tools you need to drive change across the organization. You will leave fully prepared to take decisive action and create a more responsive, successful, and sustainable nonprofit organization.

DetailsExpand All Collapse All

Lead important changes that enable your organization to thrive and grow Lead important changes that enable your organization to thrive and grow

Focus your mission and create service offerings that truly address the needs of your target populations
Develop the core capabilities, external alliances, and operational alignment needed to fulfill your mission and execute your strategy
Strengthen your financial position, create a more accountable organization, and improve relationships with your board
Implement appropriate and effective performance management and control systems

Expand your personal and professional network Expand your personal and professional network

Extend your network by living and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe
Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions

Key Benefits

Details

Lead important changes that enable your organization to thrive and grow

Focus your mission and create service offerings that truly address the needs of your target populations
Develop the core capabilities, external alliances, and operational alignment needed to fulfill your mission and execute your strategy
Strengthen your financial position, create a more accountable organization, and improve relationships with your board
Implement appropriate and effective performance management and control systems

Expand your personal and professional network

Extend your network by living and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe
Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions

Who Should Attend

Nonprofit executive directors and chief executive officers who are responsible for shaping the direction, mission, policies, and major programs of their organizations—and who have been in their current role for at least one year by the program start date
Participating organizations must be public-serving nonprofits, fully operational, and out of the startup phase; they typically have operating budgets in excess of $1 million
Not appropriate for: Industry or trade associations, management support organizations, or consulting firms

Program fees are subsidized by Harvard Business School and its Social Enterprise Initiative. Limited, additional need-based scholarship funding may be available. Visit the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative website for scholarship information.

Participating Companies Have Included:

ACLU

Ashoka University

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Boys & Girls Clubs

The Chicago Philharmonic Society

Habitat for Humanity

Make-A-Wish

Meals On Wheels

Save the Children

United Way

Dive Deeper into the Experience

We Celebrate New Ways of Thinking. Are You Ready?

Thrive in a learning environment that welcomes diverse ideas and perspectives.

Discover more about business. And yourself.

Global perspectives > Leadership growth > Organizational impact.

What Inspires You in Your Work?

Three participants from the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program share their st...

Who Should Attend: Nonprofit executive directors and chief executive officers who are responsible for shaping the direction, mission, policies, and major programs of their organizations—and who have been in their current role for at least one year by the program start date

Participating organizations must be public-serving nonprofits, fully operational, and out of the startup phase; they typically have operating budgets in excess of $1 million

Not appropriate for: Industry or trade associations, management support organizations, or consulting firms

Program fees are subsidized by Harvard Business School and its Social Enterprise Initiative. Limited, additional need-based scholarship funding may be available. Visit the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative website for scholarship information.

Participating Companies Have Included:

ACLU

Ashoka University

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Boys & Girls Clubs

The Chicago Philharmonic Society

Habitat for Humanity

Make-A-Wish

Meals On Wheels

Save the Children

United Way

Dive Deeper into the Experience

We Celebrate New Ways of Thinking. Are You Ready?

Thrive in a learning environment that welcomes diverse ideas and perspectives.

Watch the Video Watch the Video

Discover more about business. And yourself.

Global perspectives > Leadership growth > Organizational impact.

Watch the Video Watch the Video

What Inspires You in Your Work?

Three participants from the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program share their st...

Watch the Video Watch the Video

Learning and Living at HBS

When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.

Learning and Living at HBS: When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.

Admissions Criteria and Process

We admit candidates to specific sessions on a rolling, space-available basis, and encourage you to apply as early as possible. Although most programs have no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on your professional achievement and organizational responsibilities.

Admissions Criteria and Process

Answering Your Questions

Our Program Advising team can help you at any stage of the admissions process—starting with identifying the program that best addresses your learning and development goals. Contact a program advisor via email or call 1.800.427.5577 (outside the U.S., call +1.617.495.6555).

Application Submission

We recommend that you apply at least four weeks before the program start date. You may use our online form or download an application. HBS maintains all application information in strict confidentiality. We acknowledge receipt of applications via email. In the unlikely event that you do not receive an acknowledgment, please email us at exed_admissions@hbs.edu or call us at +1.617.495.6226.

Application Review

To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, our Admissions Committee makes selections that balance each participant's experience, scope of current responsibilities, and type of organization. HBS seeks candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds. We review applications monthly and will contact you via email with the Admissions Committee's decision.

Fee, Payment, and Cancellations

The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals. No payment is necessary until you have been accepted. Payment is required prior to the program start date. If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.

What You Will Learn

Through a rich learning experience that includes faculty presentations, case studies on nonprofit organizations, group exercises, and structured and informal group discussions, you will explore how today's nonprofit leaders are tackling a broad range of challenges. As you enhance core skills crucial to managing nonprofit organizations, you will prepare to implement new strategies and drive change across your organization.

What You Will Learn: Through a rich learning experience that includes faculty presentations, case studies on nonprofit organizations, group exercises, and structured and informal group discussions, you will explore how today's nonprofit leaders are tackling a broad range of challenges. As you enhance core skills crucial to managing nonprofit organizations, you will prepare to implement new strategies and drive change across your organization.

Key AreasExpand All Collapse All

Products, services, and markets Products, services, and markets

Defining customers and constituencies
Understanding customer needs
Creating an excellent service organization

Financial management and control Financial management and control

Assessing financial performance
Establishing methods of fiscal accountability
Developing appropriate performance measures and management control systems

People and organizations People and organizations

Creating strategic collaborations with nonprofit and for-profit organizations
Assessing organizational performance
Identifying and fostering the characteristics of high-performance organizations

Change leadership Change leadership

Defining your mission and aligning the organization behind it
Creating a successful partnership with the board
Mobilizing resources for change
Managing for sustainability and growth

Key Areas

Products, services, and markets

Defining customers and constituencies
Understanding customer needs
Creating an excellent service organization

Financial management and control

Assessing financial performance
Establishing methods of fiscal accountability
Developing appropriate performance measures and management control systems

People and organizations

Creating strategic collaborations with nonprofit and for-profit organizations
Assessing organizational performance
Identifying and fostering the characteristics of high-performance organizations

Change leadership

Defining your mission and aligning the organization behind it
Creating a successful partnership with the board
Mobilizing resources for change
Managing for sustainability and growth

Peer Consultation Sessions: Applying Strategic Concepts to Your Organization

Breaking into small groups, you and your peers will work together on challenges that each of you has identified as critical to the success of your respective organizations. Employing insights from the curriculum and from your peers, you will formulate an action plan that you can implement immediately upon returning to work.

Peer Consultation Sessions: Applying Strategic Concepts to Your Organization: Breaking into small groups, you and your peers will work together on challenges that each of you has identified as critical to the success of your respective organizations. Employing insights from the curriculum and from your peers, you will formulate an action plan that you can implement immediately upon returning to work.

The HBS Advantage

Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by HBS faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.

Faculty Chair

Herman B. 'Dutch' Leonard

Harvard Business School:

Eliot I. Snider and Family Professor of Business Administration

Harvard Kennedy School:

George F. Baker, Jr. Professor of Public Sector Management Teaching Programs

HBS Unit:

General Management

Read Full Bio

Faculty

Lynda M. Applegate

Baker Foundation Professor and Sarofim-Rock Professor of Business Administration, Emerita

HBS Units:

Entrepreneurial Management

Finance

Read Full Bio

Ryan W. Buell

Finnegan Family Associate Professor of Business Administration

HBS Unit:

Technology and Operations Management

Read Full Bio

Kathleen L. McGinn

Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration

HBS Unit:

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets

Read Full Bio

V. Kasturi Rangan

Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing

HBS Unit:

Marketing

Read Full Bio

The HBS Advantage: Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by HBS faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.

Faculty Chair

Herman B. 'Dutch' Leonard

Harvard Business School:

Eliot I. Snider and Family Professor of Business Administration

Harvard Kennedy School:

George F. Baker, Jr. Professor of Public Sector Management Teaching Programs

HBS Unit:

General Management

Read Full Bio

Faculty

Lynda M. Applegate

Baker Foundation Professor and Sarofim-Rock Professor of Business Administration, Emerita

HBS Units:

Entrepreneurial Management

Finance

Read Full Bio

Ryan W. Buell

Finnegan Family Associate Professor of Business Administration

HBS Unit:

Technology and Operations Management

Read Full Bio

Kathleen L. McGinn

Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration

HBS Unit:

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets

Read Full Bio

V. Kasturi Rangan

Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing

HBS Unit:

Marketing

Read Full Bio