New Program Prepares Seasoned Professionals for Jobs in Nonprofit Sector

The program will help reduce unemployment among professionals and strengthen the nonprofit sector.

<p>Linda Friedman, left, program manager, and David Garvey, director, of the Nonprofit Leadership Program in the Center for Continuing Studies. Photo by Frank Dahlmeyer</p>
Linda Friedman, left, program manager, and David Garvey, director, of the Nonprofit Leadership Program in the Center for Continuing Studies. Photo by Frank Dahlmeyer

Employing seasoned Connecticut professionals and strengthening the state’s nonprofit sector are the goals of Encore!Hartford, a new program being launched by the University’s Nonprofit Leadership Program in the Center for Continuing Studies.

The workforce development program, designed in partnership with Leadership Greater Hartford and other key Connecticut agencies, provides education, experiencial learning, and skill-set transition guidance for seasoned Connecticut corporate and public-service professionals seeking to transfer their expertise to professional and managerial positions in the nonprofit sector. Participants will be selected through a competitive process based on their skill sets and potential for success in the nonprofit sector. The first cohort of 20 Encore Fellows will start the intensive 16-week program on March 2.

A Connecticut Commission on Aging report, authored by UConn School of Social Work professor Waldo Klein, notes that Connecticut has the seventh oldest population in the country, with 20 percent of its workforce reaching age 55 by the end of this year.

“At the same time,” says David Garvey, director of the Nonprofit Leadership Program, “due to projected increases in service demand and a smaller pool of Generation X and Y’ers coming behind a retiring baby boomer generation, the Connecticut nonprofit sector – which employs 10 percent of Connecticut’s workforce – is moving into a management resource crisis.”

Garvey notes that studies, specifically Bridgespan’s Nonprofit Leadership Deficit, project that by 2016 there will be a lack of qualified and prepared managers to take on the leadership roles of America’s nonprofits, unless steps are taken.

“The key is linking the two needs together: reducing unemployment in the Connecticut professional sector and increasing the capacity of Connecticut nonprofits,” he says. “Studies, such as Civic Venture’s 2008 survey, demonstrate that mid-career and traditional-retirement-age corporate and government professionals are seeking purposeful work that provides a salary but also contributes back to society. Many of these ‘encore careers’ are in the nonprofit sector.”

National and Connecticut studies point out, however, that these individuals desire education support to make the transition, Garvey says: “Encore!Hartford provides that training.”

Deep Immersion in the Nonprofit Sector

All components of Encore!Hartford, from education to encore fellowship, are conducted in a diverse selection of Greater Hartford nonprofits, offering a high degree of exposure to the variety of work environments in the nonprofit sector.

The program has three core components:

Education – Forty-four hours of professional and managerial skill-set transition education in nonprofit leadership, program management, finance, governance, funding strategies, human resources, program outcome measurement, and job search strategies.

Job Shadowing – Two job-shadowing days with nonprofit professionals in jobs relevant to the aspirations of the Encore Fellow.

Encore Fellowship – The cornerstone of the program is the two-month Encore Fellowship at a nonprofit in the Greater Hartford area. Encore Fellows will be assigned to a high-level project with a nonprofit within their field and position interest. Fellowships will provide participants with experience in the field and develop the networks and skill-sets essential to be successful in their encore careers.

Encore!Hartford is the pilot program of Encore!Connecticut. The collaborative multi-agency initiative has been in design for two years; in partnership with Capital Workforce Partners, the Connecticut Department of Labor, Leadership Greater Hartford, the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits, CTWorks, United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, the Connecticut Department of Social Services, and other partners.

Capital Workforce Partners, Greater Hartford’s regional workforce investment board, has committed funding for 10 participants to join the program through the use of federal dislocated worker training funds for the pilot.

Encore!Hartford is believed to be the first in the country targeting federal dislocated worker training funds to prepare unemployed professionals for managerial jobs in the nonprofit sector.

While Connecticut nonprofits have not been immune to the nation’s financial downturn (43 percent of Greater Hartford nonprofits laid off employees in the past two years), experts see the trend starting to change. A November 2009 survey of Greater Hartford nonprofits conducted by the University’s Nonprofit Leadership Program and the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits found that 77 percent of Greater Hartford nonprofits expect to hire a manager or specialized professional in the next year and 85 percent anticipate hiring within two years.

The program begins March 2 and runs through early June. Program fee is $2,250. For more information and to apply, go to the Center for Continuing Studies website. The application deadline is Friday, Feb. 12.