A couple of months ago I completed a certification course in Nonprofit Management. Now lo and behold my face is in the newspaper holding my shiny new certificate. The program is sponsored by the Non Profit Management Center of Wichita Falls, The Priddy Foundation, the Center for Nonprofit Management in Dallas and MSU, our local university.
The program brings in some of the best experts and trainers for one intensive class per month. While taking this course I was extremely impressed by the presentations, the material presented and everything about it. We were showered with great resources, including a free book at each session. Plus all of our handouts went into a big 3 ring binder.
One of the greatest benefits of the course was learning the material alongside other non profit managers. Everyone could share their own experiences – ideas that worked for them as well as questions. There was a variety of ages and causes represented in the classes. There was also a wide range of experience – some people who had worked in non profits for many years, others who were only a year or two out of college, and others who were exploring a change from the business world. While many of the attendees were full time staff there were also volunteers and board members too. I believe in the program so much that I’m sending two of my team members, Tracie and Liz, to the introductory class later this month.
I really enjoy going to these kind of trainings, seminars and conferences. I guess you can say I’m a seminar junkie. I take pages and pages of notes and keep a separate list of “action items” that I need to implement when I get home. Of course many of those on the list don’t get done right away. Some not at all. But many months or years later I can flip through the book and may just find the perfect idea and the time is finally right to take action.
So what about you? Are you a lifelong learner?
I have had several discussions with non-internet people, i.e. those who don’t spend hours everyday online or make a living because of the internet, about whether technology is bringing people together or isolating them. For me it’s a no-brainer, I can name so many examples of how the web is connecting people from distant lands – rural and urban, developed nations and developing, east and west, north and south. I have personally “met” people from many cultures and language backgrounds who are working in a variety of fields.
One of my favorite things about blogging and running a website is the connections that I’ve made with people all over the world. In the past five years I have spoken via email and phone with people on every continent except Antarctica. (Heck there may even be some shivering scientist on the south pole reading this site right now, who knows?)
