Responding to increasing demand from nonprofit professionals, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Nonprofit Management Institute launches a new suite of financial management programs beginning in fall 2025.
Offered through the Center for Executive and Professional Development in the College of Business, the updated curriculum focuses on equipping nonprofit leaders with practical financial knowledge and tools to better serve their organizations and communities. All five sessions will be delivered live online throughout the 2025-26 academic year, allowing participants across the state and beyond to engage with instructors and peers in real time.
“Many people come to nonprofits with little background in financial management,” said Jim Croft, lead facilitator and member of the Nebraska MBA faculty. “They are often intimidated by financial statements, budgets and financial analysis, hoping finance staff will take care of them. But because so many of today’s nonprofit challenges are related to finances, good financial management is central to successful nonprofit leadership.”
The new financial management series was developed in response to participant feedback and input from Nebraska nonprofit leaders. Among them was Meagan Liesveld, executive director of United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County.
“Nonprofit leaders are regularly confronted with changes that can have a significant impact on their funding models and their ability to serve their communities,” Liesveld said. “Increased knowledge and access to tools that help them better understand what their financial data is telling them allows leaders to make smart adjustments, offer compelling cases for support and scenario plan for the future.”
The institute will offer the following programs in 2025-26:
- Understanding Nonprofit Financial Statements (1 half-day)
- Strategic Financial Leadership (2 half-days)
- Strategic Communications and Resource Development (2 half-days)
- Financial Analysis and Cost Accounting (2 half-days)
- Budgets and Resource Allocation (2 half-days)
Single half-day programs are priced at $150, while two half-day programs are $350. Cost assistance is available through the Center for Executive and Professional Development. Participants earn a digital badge for each completed course, showcasing their new expertise in a specialized area to employers, colleagues and their professional network, and those who complete three of the five will receive a certificate in Financial Nonprofit Management.
"Earning the certificate from Nebraska's Center for Executive and Professional Development not only benefits the individual by signaling their knowledge of financial best practices but also helps them make a larger and lasting impact on the people and communities they serve," said Amber Messersmith, executive director of the Center for Executive and Professional Development and lecturer of management. “As a champion of Nebraska nonprofits, the institute is dedicated to meeting the continuing education needs of these professionals. Our new suite of programs allows nonprofit professionals to select the courses that will help them strengthen the financial position of their organization, whether that is accounting basics, fundraising, budgeting or long-term financial planning.”
Valerie Petersen, associate executive director of the Food Bank of Siouxland in Sioux City, Iowa, said her experience in a previous course with the institute provided immediate, scalable benefits to her organization.
“The courses are set up to provide high-level knowledge that is scalable for any organization,” Petersen said. “I left the course with a new nonprofit support system, refined skills, a refreshed vision and a plan of implementation.”
Croft, who also teaches nonprofit financial management at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Field Museum in Chicago, said the new curriculum offers a wide range of takeaways for nonprofit professionals.
“Through these sessions, they will gain a wide range of expertise from proficiency with financial terms to using financial statements to gauge the organization’s financial health, to practical experience with budgets and cash management,” he said.
To learn more or register for upcoming sessions, visit business.unl.edu/nonprofit.
