In 2024, Sac State’s College of Continuing Education [CCE] launched a new Nonprofit Administration Certificate program. 

With thousands of nonprofits in the Sacramento Region alone, the program filled a need to educate people who work in the nonprofit sector, providing training to aspiring nonprofit leaders. 

Kesha Harris, founder of July Forward, a non-profit organization in the Sacramento Region focused on mental health and wellness, was one of the first individuals to pass through the program. 

“I enrolled to gain the professional expertise to build up July Forward, an organization that focuses on the root causes of mental health, not just the symptoms. I was eager to learn more about the formal tools in compliance, finance, and program development to create a stable structure that could resist being pulled off-mission by external funding rules. Ultimately, this course taught me the rules of the nonprofit industrial complex so we can build onto July Forward, making it an organization that focuses on mental health and long-term systemic change, not just organizational survival.”

The Nonprofit Administration Certificate program consists of four asynchronous online courses, a flexibility designed with working adults in mind. Topics include nonprofit management and governance, fundraising, program development, and resource management.

“The primary highlight was the incredible depth brought by the instructors, who collectively possess well over 100 years of combined experience in non-profit operations. This made the content feel immediately relevant and grounded in real-world challenges that directly affect our nonprofit, July Forward,” Harris said, adding the instructors’ creative and diverse approach to their lesson plans ensured all modes of learning were uplifted. “We were challenged with assignments that required us to actively engage with the field, including intensive use of online resources, conducting professional interviews, and completing practical case studies. This variety of methods was a true highlight, making the complex material accessible and engaging.”

Harris went on to praise her classmates, noting how they represented service areas from mental health to animal care. 

“Learning alongside this diverse group provided instant real-world context for every module,” Harris said. 

Faculty member Stella Premo added that teaching in the first year of the Nonprofit Administration Program was nothing short of inspiring. 

“I’m deeply honored to be part of Sacramento State’s College of Continuing Education and to contribute to a program that strengthens our community through knowledge, service, and leadership,” Premo said.

For more information about the Nonprofit Administration Certificate, including how to apply, visit the College of Continuing Education website.