WASHINGTON - s4story -- The Transformational (http://ectponline.com/) Philanthropy (http://ectponline.com/) Institute (TPI) today announced the launch of the Executive Certificate in Transformational Philanthropy (ECTP), a 36-hour self-directed online program designed to help nonprofit leaders strengthen donor relationships and advance long-term philanthropic impact.

Approved for 36 CFRE Education Points, the program is geared toward senior and mid-level nonprofit leaders, chief development officers, major gift officers, campaign directors, consultants, and board members ready to move beyond transactional fundraising (http://ectponline.com/) toward transformational philanthropy.

The ECTP consists of six sequential sessions, each requiring about six hours to complete. The program draws on the foundational scholarship of Jen Shang and Adrian Sargeant of the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy; Paul Schervish of Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy; Jim Langley of Langley Innovations; Jason Lewis, CFRE, Chief Innovation Officer at Seed; and Dr. Sanjay Bindra, founder of the GIVE Study and GOSUMEC Foundation USA.

The curriculum was developed by Mark Dobosz, author of Beyond the Ask (2025) and Beyond the Culture (2026), the two books in the Transactional to Transformational Philanthropy Series, and a contributing author to the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Dobosz brings more than 40 years of frontline fundraising experience, having raised more than $100 million across the independent school, healthcare, senior living, and foundation sectors.

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A Framework Built on Evidence
The ECTP is grounded in a single foundational conviction: that fundraising, at its highest expression, is not transactional. It is transformational. The curriculum is founded on Dobosz's central argument that the nonprofit sector has focused too heavily on solicitation mechanics while under-investing in donor identity, organizational culture, and mission alignment.

The program addresses six core areas: Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations of Transformational Philanthropy; Donor Psychology, Identity, and Emotional Alignment; Organizational Culture and Institutional Readiness; Major Gift Strategy, Solicitation, and Portfolio Management; Planned Giving as Transformational Practice; and Leadership, Communication, and the Culture of Philanthropy.

Three Free Digital Tools Integrated Throughout
Three free diagnostic platforms are integrated throughout the curriculum. All three are permanently free and will never be licensed or sold.

donorassess.org is a six-dimension donor emotional alignment assessment measuring Mission Alignment, Values Resonance, Personal Connection, Visionary Alignment, Community Identity, and Emotional Investment.

transactandtransform.org is an organizational culture diagnostic measuring an institution's readiness for transformational philanthropy.

partnerassess.net is a partnership and engagement alignment tool designed for board members, volunteers, and institutional partners.

Endorsements from the Field
"This certificate program offers a concrete way to distinguish transformational practitioners from the tactical and transactional before we see an even greater decline in philanthropic participation." — Jim Langley, Founder and President, Langley Innovations

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"The curriculum reflects both academic depth and practical relevance, offering nonprofit leaders a meaningful lens through which to build trust, belonging, and long-term community participation in giving." — Dr. Sanjay Bindra, Founder, The GIVE Study and GOSUMEC Foundation

"The social sector is at an inflection point, and the leaders who will matter most understand that transformation starts with relationships, not transactions. The ECTP gives practitioners the framework and tools to make that shift." — Jason Lewis, Partner and Chief Innovation Officer, Seed

"Thank you for the recognition and the appreciation as you move forward with the generation after me." — Paul Schervish, Professor Emeritus and Founder (retired), Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy

About the ECTP
The ECTP is a 36-hour self-directed, six-session online learning program issued by the Transformational Philanthropy Institute, approved for 36 CFRE Education Points. Required texts include Beyond the Ask (2025), Beyond the Culture (2026), and Meaningful Philanthropy: The Person Behind the Giving (Shang and Sargeant, Bristol University Press, 2023). Upon completing all six sessions, participants take a final examination and are awarded the Executive Certificate in Transformational Philanthropy.

About the Transformational Philanthropy Institute
TPI is the intellectual home of the transactional-to-transformational philanthropy framework developed by Mark J. Dobosz over four decades of frontline practice. TPI produces the ECTP credential, publishes research-based thought leadership, and maintains three permanently free diagnostic platforms: donorassess.org, transactandtransform.org, and partnerassess.net. Dobosz is Vice President of Philanthropy at Mozaic Senior Life, a contributing author to the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and author of the Transactional to Transformational Philanthropy Series.