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Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders

Each year, the Center for Social Innovation (CSI) at Stanford University selects nonprofit leaders from social and human services, health care, community development, and education organizations to participate in the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders (EPNL), a two-week residential program designed to further the professional development of current and future leaders in the nonprofit sector.

This program has been postponed until Spring/Summer 2013.
Please contact the Program Director to be added to the mailing list.
Program Tuition: Sliding Fee Scale
Program tuition includes private accommodations, all meals, and course materials.
Cancellation Policy
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Program Overview

Drawing on the leading-edge research and course offerings of the Stanford faculty, the program integrates conceptual knowledge with participants' own experience to generate powerful and practical insights about leadership and management. The learning stems from a variety of activities including classes, small group discussions, and individual study. Like the Stanford MBA Program, EPNL evolves as the faculty's most current thinking and research keeps pace with the rapidly changing management environment.

Session topics include:

  • Leadership, Mission, and Strategy
  • Leading Strategic Change
  • People as Strategy
  • Working with Diversity for Organizational Effectiveness
  • Building Strong Nonprofit Brands
  • Operations Management
  • Financial Management and Metrics for Success
  • Negotiation Strategies and Tactics

COMPLETE SAMPLE SCHEDULE
Faculty Director
Other Faculty
James A. Phills Jr.
James A. Phills Jr.

Professor of Organizational Behavior (Teaching); Director of the Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship; Director of the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders

Jim Phills directs and teaches in a number of executive programs and MBA courses focused on organizational strategy and change, leadership, and interpersonal and team effectiveness. His research examines innovation and learning at the group, organizational, and societal levels of analysis and social innovation.

William P. Barnett

Thomas M. Siebel Professor of Business Leadership, Strategy, and Organizations; Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford; Codirector of the Executive Program in Strategy and Organization; Director of the Center for Global Business and the Economy; BP Faculty Fellow in Global Management for 2011-2012

Deborah H. Gruenfeld

Moghadam Family Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior; Codirector of the Executive Program for Women Leaders

Chip Heath

Thrive Foundation for Youth Professor of Organizational Behavior

James M. Patell

Herbert Hoover Professor of Public and Private Management; Codirector of the Product Realization Network at Stanford; Katherine and David DeWilde Faculty Fellow for 2011-2012

Jeffrey Pfeffer

Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior; John S. Osterweis Faculty Fellow for 2011-2012

Paul C. Pfleiderer

COG. Miller Distinguished Professor of Finance; Professor of Law (by courtesy), School of Law

 
 
 
 
 
 

Highlighted Sessions

Industry Analysis
Jesper Sorensen

Leaders of both for-profit and non-profit organizations need to understand their environments to succeed, since it is the relative scarcity and abundance of resources in the environment that determine the organization’s potential. In strategy, “industry analysis” is the primary tool used for making sense of the environment and identifying key opportunities and threats. Industry analysis is useful for understanding not only which opportunities are worth pursuing (or activities should be exited), but also plays a very important role in shaping the strategy of the firm: not all strategies will work in all environments. In these sessions, we will use the circus industry to increase your familiarity with the tools of industry analysis, and to demonstrate the importance of integrating industry analysis and strategy.


Financial Markets and Shareholder Value
Paul Pfleiderer

In this session we will introduce and discuss most of the major financial concepts used each and every day in the for-profit world and discuss how these concepts are at the core of decision-making in the for-profit sector. We will then ask how, if at all, these concepts apply to the not-for-profit sector. In particular we will focus on how risk and the time value of money should be accounted for in the non-profit world.


Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Jim Phills

This session will explore the innovative ways in which three renowned social entrepreneurs have adapted the best of contemporary business practices and embraced market principles to develop products and services that create tremendous social – as well as economic—value. These individuals demonstrate the ways in which passion and creativity can generate opportunities in markets that have traditionally neglected by established (typically for-profit) competitors. Moreover, their stories also inspire by demonstrating the potential that individuals and organizations have to make a positive difference in the world.


Building Strong (Nonprofit) Brands
Jennifer Aaker

Building Strong (Nonprofit) BrandsIn this session we’ll discuss the basics of what it takes to build a strong brand. We’ll highlight factors such as brand awareness (as measured with recall and recognition), brand attributes, consumer judgments and feelings, as well as the nature and strength of the consumer-brand relationship. We'll also focus on the consequences that result from active management of such intangibles.

This program is the single most important professional development education that I have ever experienced. It's tangible, applicable, relevant and challenging. Among many things, I gained new knowledge and practical management tools in identifying our competitive advantage, branding, and building a lasting organization.
– Janice Jensen
Regional Executive Director
Habitat for Humanity
With a well-developed and intensive curriculum, the program challenges nonprofit leaders to think critically about ways to grow and develop their organizations. It not only offers cutting-edge education with excellent professors, but also provides access to a global alumni association. I highly recommend the program for all nonprofit executives, whether they are at the top or on their way.
– Jerome D. Grant
Vice President, Development & External Affairs
YWCA of the City of New York
At Stanford's EPNL, the incredible intellectual stimulation from the classes and the creative and re-energizing atmosphere of an amazing group of global nonprofit leaders had a tremendous impact on me. It was an incredibly productive two weeks.
– Dave DeForest-Stalls
President and CEO
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado (BBBSC)
 
 
Key Takeaways

Nonprofit leaders participating in the program can expect to leave with the following takeaways:

  • Increased confidence in leadership ability and deepened appreciation of a general management perspective
  • Richer understanding of how to integrate organizational mission with economic strategy
  • Development of a strong network of relationships with a diverse array of other nonprofit leaders
  • Extensive interaction and exchange of ideas with the world's leading faculty
  • Improved ability to evaluate the rigor and relevance of new management ideas and concepts
  • A personal 'plan of action' for addressing key organizational and strategic challenges

Who Should Attend?

Participant selection is based on an individual's leadership experience or potential as well as their organization's impact or potential. Participants will typically be the executive director, president, or CEO of their organization. In some cases, an individual who currently serves as a deputy director, chief operating officer, or equivalent will be accepted if he or she is expected to advance to the CEO position within the next three years.

Facilities

 
 
 
 
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Stanford University
The Stanford campus is world renowned for its natural beauty, Spanish mission-style architecture, and temperate climate. With more than 8,180 acres (3,310 hectares), Stanford's campus ranks as one of the largest in the United States. Participants in Stanford's Executive Programs become part of a quintessential university setting, residing together, walking or biking to classes, and enjoying access to Stanford University facilities.
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The Knight Management Center
Opened in spring 2011, the Knight Management Center has transformed the Stanford Graduate School of Business into a vibrant and unified indoor-outdoor, living and learning community. Participants will take classes at this new state-of-the-art campus, which features tiered classrooms with extensive floor-to-ceiling glass, the latest in audiovisual technology, numerous breakout and study rooms, outdoor seating areas to encourage informal discussion, and an open collaboration lab that employs hands-on and design thinking techniques.
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Schwab Residential Center
Designed by renowned Mexican architect, Ricardo Legorreta, the Schwab Residential Center gives residents ample privacy while promoting collegial interaction through shared lounges, outdoor meeting areas, a library, and an exercise room.

CONTACT

Brett Cicerone
Associate Director, Programs
Phone: 650.723.0544
Email: cicerone_brett@gsb.stanford.edu

Center for Social Innovation

The mission of the Center for Social Innovation (CSI) is to foster innovative solutions to social problems by enhancing the leadership, management and organizational capacity of individuals and institutions pursuing social value creation. The center's core activities of research, teaching and community engagement focus on social entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership and management, philanthropy, corporate social responsibility and public policy.