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UPDATED FOR 2025

Learn. Lead. Repeat.

Nonprofit professional development that works for you—flexible, effective, and built for real-world results. No talking heads, just training on topics that matter.

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Transformative training on topics that matter.

Ready to grow your career and strengthen your nonprofit? Each of the following certificates gives you practical, on-demand training in just 15 minutes at a time, with topics that directly impact your work, your team, and your mission.

Certificates available in:

Backed by the Impact Capacity Assessment Tool and the Korn Ferry Leadership Architect, Merit® isn’t just training—it’s a system for real-world growth, built specifically for nonprofit professionals.

Want to go further?

The Nonprofit Help Center's Certificate in Nonprofit Capacity Building includes all 15 certificates listed above, plus offers 13 additional learning areas and a structured year-long approach. This comprehensive certificate is perfect for nonprofit professionals who want to deepen their expertise, grow their leadership capacity, and make measurable impact—all within a structured, flexible year-long experience.

Give us 15 minutes, we'll give you professional development you'll love.

Through our just-for-nonprofits certificate programs, learners build competence and confidence so that they can innovate, lead, and advance in the social impact sector.

28

Certificates available

15

Minutes per course

9

Courses per certificate

3

CFRE Points offered on most certificates

Check out a FREE 15-Minute Course!

Try the course:

Setting Goals Around Strategic Planning

This course explores how goals keep us on target.

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What is community leadership?

This course highlights the role that everyone can play in leading hearts and minds.

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What Effective Advocacy Looks Like

This course explores the nuts and bolts of true advocacy.

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Motivating & Supporting Board Fundraising

This course focuses on staff support of the board's fund (and friend) raising.

The Merit® Difference

Nonprofit professional with laptop enjoying professional development on pink background

Short Courses with No Talking Heads

Nobody needs another "sage on a stage" style talking head video! You'll enjoy professionally-produced videos that reflect today's nonprofit workplace, all of which include closed captioning, audio-only options, and well-designed transcripts for those who want or need these accessibility features.

And what's more:

  • Videos are only a part of the learning experience
  • Each course includes videos that are 3 or 5 minutes in length, plus quizzes, interactive workbook reflections, and learning self-checks

On Your Schedule with Personal Support

You can choose your own adventure in the topics you tackle first and how you structure your learning time. Learners also enjoy optional monthly learner meet-ups with Dr. Emilie Socash and the Nonprofit Help Center team and regular messages of encouragement!

And what's more:

  • The Nonprofit Help Center team is always available via chat or video call to help you navigate your learning journey
Nonprofit professional enjoying coaching support while doing professional development against yellow background
Nonprofit professional learning in online course against brown background

Bring Learning to Life with Personal Learning Plans

Each of the Certificate's 28 topics include 9 courses that build on each other, and the final course guides you through the development of a personal learning plan. In this structured exercise, you'll envision what you can do to achieve a goal related to the topic over the next 3 to 6 months.

And what's more:  

  • Your learning plan is suitable for sharing with an accountability buddy or supervisor
  • Each plan details your skills, timeline, and what success looks like

Build skills. Boost confidence. Strengthen your impact.

Enroll today and start learning in minutes. On-demand nonprofit training that builds real-world capacity

Check out all certificates