Your chance to go to Harvard!

by Amy Ambrose, Executive Director, Milwaukee Aging Consortium

A year ago, I attended an executive education program at the Harvard Business School. The program is called Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management (SPNM), and it’s a weeklong intensive just for executive directors.

This was an incredibly valuable experience, and I recommend it for anyone who is interested in advancing their leadership skills, refining the strategic vision of their organization or learning from other nonprofit leaders from around the world.

The program this year will be held July 15-21, 2007 in Boston. The fee for the course, which includes meals and housing for the week, is $4,500.

Don’t let the cost stop you if you feel this is what you really need. I was fortunate to receive a scholarship from the Hansjoerg Wyss Fund for Social Enterprise at Harvard which covered my entire fee. Applications for SPNM are requested four weeks before the program start date, but if you are interested in scholarship funding, apply early. Call 1-800-HBS-5577 for more information, or visit the Harvard Business School Executive Development website.

A local Harvard Business School Club in Milwaukee also has invited nonprofit leaders to apply for scholarships to attend the program. The club typically gives two or three scholarships. This year's deadline (in February) has passed.

To be eligible for this scholarship, applicants must be "head of a Wisconsin nonprofit organization serving the public in arts, education, environment, health care, human services, community development or related areas." Scholarships cover tuition, books, room and board, and all institutional materials, with agencies responsible for travel and personal expenses.