Dr. Eugene Manley, Jr., recently completed the Core Certificate Program (CCP) at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice (INP). The CCP lasted 9 months, running from August 2024 – May 2025. It is designed to equip nonprofit, public, and social impact leaders with the skills, knowledge, and networks needed to be change agents in the current place of employment, their community, or beyond. The leaders in this program are often focused on pressing needs in diverse and underserved communities, and they embed diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) within their work.
SCHEQ Founder, Dr. Eugene Manley, Jr., was part of the NYC Thursday Core Certificate Program. The program consists of weekly Management Seminars and Practice Seminars, each 2 hours in length. The Management Seminar focuses on critical skills for running and leading organizations. Topics included fundraising, board and board management, people management, organizational change management, marketing, accounting, and other aspects of leadership. Practice Seminars were small, focused group discussions that revolved around identifying and solving specific leadership and management challenges faced by each person. These allowed people to be vulnerable, look at things from multiple lenses, and grow exponentially.
“This is a great program for change agents that are seeking to grow in their leadership and be more focused in their actions”, said Dr. Manley. “Thursdays were very long days, but the connections that you make and the information that you learn is in valuable.” The program culminated with a graduation ceremony where all of the national participants received their certificates in “Social Impact Management & Leadership”. The NYC cohort graduation ceremony was held May 1, 2025 at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice.
Dr. Manley took great joy in this certificate as his year has not been easy, and he was not sure that he would complete it. “I fractured my ankle in December, lost my mother in January, and had reconstructive foot surgery in March of 2025. Handling recovery alone was just brutal, but it gave me more appreciation for what those with more permanent mobility limitations have to face on a day-to-day basis”, remarked Dr. Manley. “In all honesty, it was a miracle that I attended all classes. Some classes even were attended while I was still at the hospital. My Practice Seminar cohort was a real source of strength during that time.” Graduates are now part a 3500+ alumni network.
Applications are still being taken for the Fall 2025 – Spring 2026 cohorts of the Core Certificate Program in Boston, Cape Cod & the Islands, Merrick Valley/Essex County, New York City, and Western New York. If you are seeking to make a bigger change for your community, consider applying.
