It was on my mind almost since I launched Nonprofit.Courses five years ago. Over that time my educational tool for nonprofits grew from a handful of my own videos on fundraising, to more than 8,000 videos, podcast shows and documents on nearly every aspect of running a nonprofit, all from more than 200 Content Experts. But if I was one of my learners watching video after video over weeks and months, I'd feel like I was missing something: a place to keep track of all I've learned. Nonprofit.Courses needed to offer what I didn't know was called a "professional development management system" (PDMS).
Searching for a PDMS
Every once in a while, it would really bother me, and I'd dive deep into a web search… and nothing – at least not for the average person. Every PDMS I found was embedded into a membership association – and those focused on a narrow specialty, like accounting or fundraising. I wasn't spotting anything for someone who studied across a wide variety of subjects (which is really needed when you run a nonprofit) while tracking their educational accomplishments and goals.
I was frustrated. I was puzzled. I was annoyed. Could I create my own? Well, yes, but did I want to? No. That would really take me off finding content and increasing viewership (and thus, revenue), and besides, I know that a lot of people could do it better. "There has to be something," I said to myself. "I can't be the only person to think of this."
That's why I was surprised… thrilled… and relieved to find PD able, and especially Bruce and Jim from Stream Interactive. They were looking for a general market to roll out a professional development management system for everyone – exactly what I wanted to do.
It's been great.
Record Your Success
In the few months since it's launch on Nonprofit.Courses under the name "Record Your Success," we've attracted dozens of new users. What's even better is that signing up identifies someone as a "superuser." They're the ones who care enough about their career that they will invest in a tool to keep a record of what they've done, set goals and even develop a learning plan. That helps us communicate with them at a whole new level.
So, for me, the search is over. Now it's about getting the word out about PD able/Record Your Success and getting feedback from my learners to make it even better for them – and that's what I love to do!
Nonprofit courses is a USA based learning portal that provides training, guidance and help to the nonprofit and volunteer sector.
Nonprofit Courses by the numbers:
- 5000+ Videos
- 500+ Documents
- 200+ Experts
- 50+ Podcasts
PD able was developed by Stream to make professional development software more accessible and affordable to mainstream users.