For today's nonprofits, compassion is no longer enough to effect lasting change. Nonprofit businesses and organizations must also be business savvy, working within an environment focused on innovation and evidence-based practice that reflects a truly global perspective.

Temple University Harrisburg (TUH) and Temple University Japan (TUJ) are joining forces to offer nonprofit professionals a collaborative program that provides international training and leadership development. Building from two successful nonprofit management training programs, the two campuses will offer the International Nonprofit Training and Leadership (INTL) program online beginning January 30.

"Temple Harrisburg and Temple Japan currently each have their own version of a nonprofit management certificate program," said Dr. Amber Stephenson, Director and Senior Research Associate for the Nonprofit Evaluation Services and Training (NEST) program at Temple University Harrisburg. "We will be using technology to collaborate between the two campuses to offer a unique learning experience for our students."

According to Stephenson, the two programs — Nonprofit Management Training at TUH and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Management at TUJ — will share two courses per year "that will foster intellectual exchange on topics relevant to the nonprofit/NGO sectors in the United States and Japan."

As part of the newly developed International Nonprofit Training and Leadership program, each course will offer five weeks of lectures — in addition to a week one introductory class — given by professionals in the field, some from Japan and some from the United States. Each of the courses may be taken individually or combined to earn the International Nonprofit Training and Leadership certificate.

Stephenson will provide coordination for the partnership at Temple Harrisburg while Sarajean Rossitto, Nonprofit NGO Program and Organizational Development Consultant, will be the lead facilitator for the Tokyo program. The collaboration is being funded in part by a $40,000 grant from the United States-Japan Foundation.

The lectures will address topics relevant to the successful management of organizations, including international collaboration; marketing the nonprofit sector, crisis/disaster management; financial management and economic impact and the role of government in nonprofits.

The program is expected to have an "immediate impact on students taking the collaborative courses," said Eugenia Medrano, director of Continuing Education at Temple University Japan.

"They will have immediate exposure to diverse concepts and ideas and will have a toolkit to apply what they have learned at their places of employment. Participants will take their heightened global awareness and learned skills to their organizations to begin to affect change," she said. "The increasingly international scope of the nonprofit sector has led to more connectedness in activity and service. Managers and leaders at nonprofits must be responsive to an increasingly diverse constituent base."

According to Stephenson, the collaborative courses will use the WebEx online platform to allow students from both locations to see and interact with one another. The time differential has been factored into course planning — students at Temple Japan will login into the course at 9 a.m., for example, while Temple Harrisburg students will participate in the same class at 7 p.m. Participants will also have access to the Blackboard learning system for course support materials, discussion boards and translation documents.

"This program is offered completely online so students can take the courses from their home, office or anywhere that is most convenient to them," Stephenson said. "The collaborative courses will allow students to gain a fuller understanding and wider perspective on a variety of issues of importance to nonprofit professionals as well as foster the spirit of global collaboration. The material is relevant to practitioners interested in affecting social change and remediating social injustice at organizational, community and global levels."

While the program welcomes individuals with NGO experience, "experience is not required," said Rossitto.

"We really want to bring together a community of people with the motivation to learn and the desire to get involved," she said.

As managers and leaders prepare for engaging in a more globally inclusive marketplace, opportunities for training and continuing education are vital, Stephenson said.

"While many American universities offer nonprofit management certificates, none seem to provide a program with an international perspective, making Temple's program unique. These collaborative courses aim to provide a distinctive learning opportunity for the betterment of working professionals," she said. "The course design aims to fill the gap that currently exists by providing a forum for scholarly exchange and professional collaboration between nonprofit and NGO professionals in Japan and the U.S. This collaboration is significant as it offers a valuable learning opportunity for professionals and will cultivate a global viewpoint on issues surrounding the nonprofit/NGO sector."