When Alison Fraga decided to enroll in a nonprofit graduate program, she had a clear goal: master nonprofit financial management. Transitioning into the nonprofit sector after 15 years in the banking industry, she wanted to ensure her financial knowledge and skills would translate.
But financial management wasn’t what she took away from the program. What she discovered instead helped shape the trajectory of her career.
Today, Alison is CEO of the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County, leading an organization that impacts thousands of children and families to prepare the region’s youngest learners for lifelong success. It’s her first CEO role after serving as chief development officer at Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay and later at the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County. While she’s quick to note that her leadership evolution has many sources and mentors, one experience stands out: the Certificate in Nonprofit Management graduate program at The University of Tampa in partnership with the Nonprofit Leadership Center.
“Before the program, I was a strong leader,” Alison reflects. “After the program, I was an exceptional leader.”
A Partnership Built for Rising Nonprofit Leaders
The Certificate in Nonprofit Management at The University of Tampa is far more than a professional development course. It’s a rigorous graduate-level program designed specifically for nonprofit professionals aspiring to senior leadership and C-suite roles. Over 15 months, participants engage in interactive classroom learning led by University of Tampa faculty, Nonprofit Leadership Center experts, and nonprofit leaders across the region. Additionally, participants work on strategic projects for real nonprofits alongside their peers — all while balancing their full-time positions.
The program attracts a specific caliber of professional: leaders who are already making an impact but know they have more to learn, more to give, and more to become.
The Surprise That Changed Everything
When Alison entered the program in 2019, she was convinced that nonprofit financial management was her knowledge gap. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
“I quickly learned I had a strong grasp on financial management,” she laughs. “Where I really learned the most and what accelerated my growth in my next role was marketing.”
It was an unexpected revelation. The marketing component of the program, one of four week-long sessions that focused on understanding your audience, market research, messaging, and more, opened up possibilities Alison hadn’t considered. She experienced what she describes as “many more lightbulb moments” during that course, absorbing content that felt entirely new and applicable in ways she hadn’t anticipated.
“Sometimes the most valuable learning is what we stumble upon when we're open to the journey."
The Real Cornerstone: Learning by Doing
Ask Alison about the most impactful part of her experience in the Certificate in Nonprofit Management, and pinpointing an answer isn’t easy.
“It’s really hard to strip away the components, as opposed to just the totality of the way the program is run,” she explains. “Everything is very intentional.”
From learning project management and navigating peer relationships with fellow nonprofit leaders, to balancing classroom learning with real-world responsibilities and working on projects that could actually be implemented at their organizations, every element served a purpose.
But if pressed, Alison says the capstone project was the cornerstone of her experience.
“It was applying everything we learned, working among leaders, and understanding something very tangible and real that could be implemented in your business,” she says. Her project focused on Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay (now Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tampa Bay). While leadership transitions and the pandemic prevented implementation, she says the learning was invaluable.
“The program taught me to think like an executive and see the bigger picture beyond just my role or lane. It helped me better collaborate across departments and hierarchies, skills that are essential for a nonprofit CEO.”
Building Confidence Through Validation and Knowledge
Perhaps the most profound impact of the Certificate in Nonprofit Management on Alison’s career was the confidence it built.
“The program made me more confident in my knowledge and abilities,” Alison says. “In many ways, it validated how much I already knew, while also reminding me that I don’t have to be an expert in everything. That’s part of being a leader.”
This dual gift — validation of existing strengths and the development of new skills — gave Alison permission to own what she already knew while filling in genuine gaps.
For an aspiring CEO, that kind of confidence is essential.
The Network That Becomes Your Boardroom
If you ask Alison what she’d tell someone considering the Certificate in Nonprofit Management at The University of Tampa, her advice is emphatic: “You’ll regret it if you don’t do it.”
But there’s more to her endorsement than the classroom and project learning. It’s about the people you meet and the relationships that last far beyond graduation.
“The connections you make within your cohort are the closest you get to college friends,” she says. “This is far beyond networking. This is creating your own future CEO roundtable.”
Alison appreciates being able to call fellow alumni years later, able to ask what they’ve been facing and problem-solve together.
“The program creates a built-in advisory board of peers who understand nonprofit leadership’s unique challenges, who’ve walked similar paths, and who genuinely want to see each other succeed,” Alison says.
For someone new to the Tampa Bay nonprofit community, Alison says this network alone could be transformative. For established leaders looking to expand their sphere of trusted advisors, she believes it’s invaluable.
What It Really Takes
Alison has one clear message for future cohort members: “You will only get out of the program what you put in.”
She emphasizes the importance of being intentional about presence, treating classroom time and project work as the priority they deserve, even while juggling full-time leadership responsibilities.
“That is your job, your priority, and your responsibility while you’re in that classroom and while you’re working on that project,” she says firmly.
It’s not easy. The program demands significant time, energy, and mental commitment over 15 months. But for Alison, that intensity is precisely what makes it work.
“The Nonprofit Leadership Center and The University of Tampa have thoughtfully put together something special: a program where exceptional higher ed educators want to see you succeed and are there for your personal and professional success.”
From Participant to CEO
Today, as Alison settles into her new role leading the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County, she carries forward everything the program gave her: the marketing insights that changed how she connects with audiences and communicates, the project management skills that help her drive organizational strategy, the confidence to make bold decisions, and the network of peers who understand the weight of being a CEO.
When asked what excites her most about her what’s ahead, her answer is simple and powerful: “The opportunity. The opportunity to positively impact this community.”
It’s the kind of clarity that comes from knowing what you’re capable of and who you are as a leader. It’s the kind of self-awareness that happens when you invest in yourself. When you say yes to learning. When you show up with intention, openness, and commitment.
It’s what happens when you move from being a strong leader to becoming an exceptional one.
Take the Next Step in Your Leadership Journey
The Certificate in Nonprofit Management is now accepting applications. If you are a nonprofit professional ready to elevate your leadership and make a greater impact in your community or have a team member who is ready for this next step, this is the opportunity that could change everything.
