Bringing a greater degree of professionalism to the non-profit sector is what Wendy Augustus, executive director of The Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust, is all about.For Mrs. Augustus, who runs the independent organisation set up to formalise the hospitals' charitable relationship with the community, was awarded an executive certificate in non-profit management from the Centre for Public and Non-Public Leadership at Georgetown University in Washington DC.

And now she is calling on the sector as a whole to raise its standards by getting fully qualified.Mrs. Augustus completed the course work during a 10-day period in late June at the university, with her research project called "Leadership Requirements for Effective Organisational Change" to be completed over a duration of four weeks.

On the course she covered everything from advocacy and public interest, financial management and problem-solving skills, governance and negotiation strategies for non-profit partnerships to resource and fund development, strategic planning and volunteer management.

"The certification really dealt with leadership and executive management tools and skill sets and how they could be either refined, fine tuned or enhanced," said Mrs. Augustus.

"We had professors who were tough and they challenged us and we did case studies and a lot of course work and it pushed us to levels that we needed to be pushed to."She said that the course was particularly relevant to Bermuda in general and the work her and her colleagues do at the BHCT.

"What it means to the Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust is that we will always make sure that we have a professional team which has the skill sets and abilities to manage the business and administrative sides of what we do and to make sure that we can execute that at a very high level," she said.

Mrs. Augustus also realised a number of areas and ways in which the skills she learnt can be applied to everyday situations at the BHCT.

"We did a lot of the ordinary stuff such as fund raising and strategic planning, but I think some of the more interesting things that I did was understanding what are some of the management skills needed for non-profit organisations and we talked about partnerships with all community entities as well," she said.

"The other things that we don't do a whole lot in Bermuda, but which was interesting was to get me to understand what advocacy means, but we talked about things pertinent to non-profit organisations.

"So those were really good skills to learn because I may not use them now, but I will use them in the future."She said one of the most important applications was how it works in partnership with other organisations."I think, especially for the Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust, when we first started out, our role was very clear and focused and it had everything to do with fundraising, but some of the skills I have taken from the course at Georgetown University was how to partner up with other entities.

"Doing those initiatives, i knew there were some things that I could do better and I could hopefully utilise during my time here at the Trust."And Mrs. Augustus, who also boasts a certificate in corporate community relations from Boston College, which she attained three years ago, reckons there is a trend, not only in Bermuda, but also globally, towards more professionalism in the non-profit sector.

"From what I understand, in the last 10 years, there have been over 200 universities which have brought in professional courses for non-profit professions and I think the trend is changing to make this profession more professional because I think we want people to look at this sector as a viable career choice, and not just as most of us have done, by falling into this kind of career," she said.

"It is not just to do good and about volunteering - you can actually make a career out of it."The same skill sets that the business industry uses can be applied to the non-profit sector and I think right now everyone is holding the non-profit sector accountable for what they do and we have to execute on these standards, so we need those tools and the ability to network and certification in order to make it a viable industry."The course also gave her the opportunity to network and learn more about how non-profit organisations work in other countries.

"I think you have to look at the non-profit sector in Bermuda and it is slightly different to the US," she said."On the course we had people from Mexico, Nicaragua and Dubai, so it was really interesting to learn how they operate within their countries.

"But, with the US being such a regulated country it was interesting to see what financial management means there, and I know that we can bring some of those regulated skills to what we do here in Bermuda on a regular basis.

"But one of the most valuable lessons she learnt was how to run the business side of things in an ethical manner."I think one of the things that I took away from the certification was that you have to make sure that you run this business in an ethical manner and run it so it is credible as well," she said.

"Training only helps you to develop your skills, it is making sure that it is applied in the right areas that it is important.

"Now, Mrs. Augustus is keen to get the message out there that the non-profit sector should be making strides to become more professional and attract a high calibre of employee to the industry."Not many people have a clear understanding about what goes on in the non-profit industry and I think it is really important that people get to know who we are and our relationship with other industries," she said.

"The leadership within the non-profit organisations are just as strong as with any other industry and I think that we will go from being great to even greater as a result."