Training and Upskilling: The Benefits of Investing in Professional Development 

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Staff training benefits your organization’s accounting team by upskilling and retaining quality staff. Investment in employee training is crucial for organizations looking to grow and succeed. An additional benefit is that employees at organizations that provide professional development have greater job satisfaction and longevity. That makes investing in training programs important for staff retention, as well.  

As nonprofits consider software to help them improve business processes, leaders should also look to the quality of ongoing training and support for their end users. Your team can be more efficient by investing in training and looking for software providers that provide support and training.  

How Training Supports Nonprofits

Supporting employees increases job satisfaction and employee retention rates. Studies say 94% of employees stay with an organization longer when offered training and development opportunities, according to Zippia.  

Investing in employee training is a win-win scenario. When considering training opportunities, evaluate whether your technology vendors offer training and upskilling opportunities. 

Some important training considerations include:   

How current is the training?
Does the training come in multiple formats like: free classes, paid, subscriptions, online/in person, and others? 
How do you show team compliance? 

MIP Fund Accounting has multiple types of training available to help nonprofits move their mission forward through Community Brands University.  

Best Practices for Upskilling Your Finance Team 

MIP Fund Accounting offers comprehensive training opportunities through Community Brands University (CBU) that lets organizations upskill their employees with technical training. 

CBU has personalized, flexible, and accessible classes for onboarding and upskilling around MIP Fund Accounting. There is no one size fits all when it comes to training, so CBU provides personalized and flexible learning experiences, including:   

In-classroom: Our in-person classroom training is delivered by professional trainers with extensive product experience at training centers nationwide and is ideal if you prefer a hands-on learning environment and in-person interaction with other professionals. In-person training provides certified electronic course materials, structured training, and the knowledge you need to overcome real-world challenges.
Online, instructor-led: Our live webcasts feature multi-hour and day options delivered by professional trainers with extensive product experience. These live webcasts allow you to ask questions and interact with other participants during the session. It is the interaction of a classroom with the convenience of staying right where you are. Live webcast learning also includes electronic or printed course materials and hands-on activities. 
Online recorded and self-paced training courses: Take advantage of our online self-paced training courses and learn at your own pace on your schedule. This format is instructor-led, and participants can interact with the course in a virtual setting. Enjoy the ability to set your schedule and pace and have access to a certified instructor for personal assistance.  

Recognizing Incentive-based Learning Opportunities  

MIP Digital Badges 

With Community Brands University training you can show off the skills you learn through MIP Digital Badges and keep your accreditation through CPE-eligible courses.  

MIP Digital Badges are modern digital badges powered by Credly. With the badges, you can highlight the hard work your team has put into improving your skills to help your organization succeed. Several of our courses are eligible for digital badges, and your employees can share them on social media, in their email signature, embedded in a résumé, or across the web.  

Badges are a new way to access labor market insights that connect your employees’ skills to their jobs. 

“I think the value is in the knowledge and skills acquired through earning the badge,” said Greyson Seymour, MIP Client Services Training Supervisor. “The badge is a digital representation of those skills. Having skilled, knowledgeable, effective staff ultimately facilitates achieving the mission of the organization. Not just in having team members who are better able to do their jobs but also in intangibles such as increased team moral and buy-in to the organization mission but also reduce employee burnout and turnover.”

Continuing Professional Education (CPE) 

Many Community Brands University courses are also eligible for continuing professional education credit. These courses award points to employees for completing specialized training in IT and other fields. CPE credits are based on study hours and count toward certification programs that enable professionals to maintain or update their credentials and remain in compliance.  

Once an employee completes an eligible course through Community Brands University, a CPE certificate will be emailed.

On-demand Training for Your Budget

Organizations have options for training programs, but one of the most important things is making training accessible to employees to complete on their own schedules.   

MIP created MIP Training Subscription Passes to ensure MIP customers have access to continuous career enrichment opportunities. These passes let organizations access any eligible scheduled live webcast and self-paced courses for one year.  

“I’m very pleased with the decision to offer an organization pass purchase option otherwise, I would not have been able to justify the expense,” said DeAnna J., CFO of an early-learning organization. “This way we are able to have more staff trained and it is not such a big hit to our budget. Easily affordable this way for small nonprofits.” 

MIP also features end-of-year tax preparation classes. These courses cover several aspects of tax filing, including 1099 Processing, W-2 Processing, and 1095 Processing.