What are some affordable professional development opportunities for Non-profit Program Development staff?

In my experience, I have seen there are courses offered by NonprofitReady, World Bank Online Learning Campus, ILO, FAO elearning and SDG academy

Utilize free (or low-cost) online training offered by resources such as Candid, Grant Professionals Association GPA, Association of Fundraising Professionals AFP, SCORE + other municipal small business development organizations, professional journals and publications, and your local universities and community colleges. Since so many trainings are offered online, do not limit your search to just local training providers. Get online and bookmark the ones in bigger cities across the country that are applicable in some way or another to your work. SAAS providers in the nonprofit space also offer excellent training - look at tools like Give Butter and Instrumentl for a trove of free webinars (live and pre-recorded).

Apps like Libby are free to library users - you can read any book for free. Consider udemy for entry level courses to determine if you want to invest in developing the skill in that area of interest. And the most obvious is mentorship - align with people who know how to do the thing you want to do. Consider motivating your org to hire a consultant to run group based development processes/programmes so that there's more bang for buck - more people are learning and the org is getting more skilled staff in the process.

In my experience I follow on LinkedIn, instagram, and other social platforms all of the organizations I admire, including the United Nations Development Programme and the World Economic Forum, for example. There, they many times post announcements of online courses which are sometimes free! :D It's great!

In my experience online courses and glasses are both flexible and a great option for a better work life balance. The knowledge in my opinion is better retained hence taking notes and navigates an individual to grasp on to better transferable skills etc.

In Germany, The Gesellschaft für Nachhaltige Entwicklung has an International Project Management in the Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Sectors course which can be covered by the German work agency (Arbeitsagentur).

I applied and was accepted into a professional development program, through a program offered in my city. Check your local listings! Sometimes, self help offered at libraries can lead to professional development opportunities!

One Op has fantastic continuing education courses that are on demand. They are particularly helpful for professionals working with the military community.

Webinars and podcasts have been very useful in getting regular insights from industry leaders and stakeholders. It provides opportunities for engagement, enlightenment, and empowerment.

In spotify you can search the word "development" and it will show many podcasts related to the field! Many times the episodes are produced in academic institutions which is an awesome source of information. Also, i've found very interesting conferences and seminars in youtube! Just search what you're interested in with a university name or known scholar/researcher within the field and you might find something interesting!

There a a few CEO gatherings in Australia (most captial cities) they do cost but are worth it. Most have monthly breakfasts, lunches and the odd dinner meet ups. Great for peer to peer learnings but oddly most of them after in the For Profit sector, but utlise them for future collaborations

I believe that peer groups not only give each individual a chance to support their own interests, ideas, and beliefs but it also makes room for open opinions and ideas amongst everyone.

This usually provides context and organisational specific lessons for staff to learn from. And not forgetting that from the same avenue, succession strategies are developed in course of maintaining institutional memory

Check with local chapters of professional associations such as GPA (Grant Professionals Association) and AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals) for both scholarships or discounts to attend local chapter conferences and / or offer to volunteer on the day of the event. You share your time and hospitality for the opportunity to receive the same information as paying attendees!!

Workshops are great ways to continuously strengthen the capacities of development professionals. Later this year, Coappt Solutions will be organizing the 'Social Impact, Innovation and Investment (SI3) Week' in Nigeria.

I joined a professional women’s community service club (Altrusa International of Downtown Dallas) after I was invited by the members to come pick up a donation check (at the time, I was working as a Volunteer Coordinator for Bryan’s House, a home for children with HIV or AIDS.) I learned skills from seeing these successful women twice a month at lunch and more as we volunteered together in different nonprofit agencies. As a board member of our club I gained insights into what works on boards, and heard firsthand stories of what happens in successful businesses (best practices.) Although I earned an MBA during my first few years with Altrusa, my three decades volunteering with my club members and becoming president taught me more.

Reflect on your specific growth areas when seeking mentorship. If you have a strong Program Development background but are new to the organization, find someone who deeply understands the organization's culture and politics. If you have "grown up" through the organization, look for external mentorship to identify fresh approaches and prevent myopia. It can be easy to get stuck doing things as they have have been. Find someone who has led programs through the same or upcoming maturity stage as yours. They are likely to have experienced challenges you will face and can help you prevent or mitigate them.

One thing that I have found helpful is transparency and hands on connections and communication. Not to discredit virtual or hybrid settings but I have found that more personable settings, good eye contact and excellent body language is often times key to a successful mentorship.

Mentoring and coaching help to close the generational gap and knowledge transfer between older and younger non-profit professionals

Following academic institutions here on LinkedIn is a way to find so much valuable information. I follow the London School of Economics, the University of Sussex, differents departments on International Development, the World Economic Forum, UNDP, UNWFP, and many more. This helps me to constantly learn and be updated with new researches and articles on the field. I just love it and I highly recommend it!

We have utilized programming through larger non-profits such as American Red Cross and had great success. If you have a university nearby they may offer discounted leadership courses to adult learners or professionals as well.

Make sure you're doing all the above for you! Not your office. This is important becuase you need to grow too. Have all costs negotiated in your annual review. Mentoring and coaching are two different beasts. Do your research, speak to other not for profit leaders locally and get their advice. I cannot emphasize this enough - this is for you to grow as a leader. Thus bringing along those under your leadership.

There are mandatory topics humanitarian workers should at least read once. These are available for free. Topics such as history of Non-profit initiatives, UN charters, Human Basic Needs, Global Objectives, PFA, PM4NGO's, Emergency vs. Development Programming, MEAL DPRO, difference between IGOs, INGOs, NGOs, and local initiatives. Human Rights, Humanitarian Principles, Protection Standards. These are general entry level topics. There are more sector-specific topics that you get acquainted with once you gain more experience in a specific domain.