Certificate in Community Initiatives at Portland Seminary

At a Glance

9 Months Program length

12 Semester credit hours

$499 Cost per semester credit hour*

Accreditation

ATS (Association of Theological Schools), NWCCU

Format

Structured, community-rich online experience

Tuition Cost for Entire Program

$5,988*

* All stated financial information is subject to change.

Student looks off to the side contemplatively while workin on her computer

Bring Your Idea to Life

You’ve got a dream, but you’re not sure how to bring it to fruition. Maybe you’ve tried before and hit a wall. Maybe your idea is still just a sketch. Maybe you’re balancing work, church or family, and you’re wondering what’s next.

The Certificate in Community Initiatives is a nine-month program for people of faith with a dream, passion or idea they’re ready to bring to life. Whether you’re launching something for the first time, revisiting a stalled effort or exploring how to serve your community more intentionally, this is your next step.

What Will I Experience?

Led by Ben Sand and Carissa Quinn, the Certificate in Community Initiatives isn’t a quick workshop or a theory-heavy course. It’s a launchpad for emerging founders, entrepreneurs and community leaders who feel God calling them to take a leap of faith. This certificate refuses busywork. We’ll equip you to move from insight to implementation in weeks.

You don’t need a business plan to start.

You come with a place or people you care about. We'll help you listen, reflect, and address a problem worth solving. Your idea takes shape inside the process, not before it.
You’ll build something that matters.

Over nine months, you’ll develop and test a real venture – whether a nonprofit, business or ministry – rooted in your context and convictions.
You’re guided, not micromanaged.

Through structured stages, weekly activities and peer feedback, you’ll stay on track from reflection to launch, supported by realistic, staged consulting along the way.
Faith and action are fully integrated.

From budgets to fundraising, you’ll align leadership and innovation with the way of Jesus for public life.
It’s built for real life.

No prior entrepreneurial or academic experience is required. The weekly rhythm is designed for working adults, and the cost of the program compares favorably to outside consulting.

Meet Your Mentors

Ben Sand and Carissa Quinn bring a combination of civic innovation, theological imagination and leadership formation that directly strengthens your ability to launch a real initiative. Sand provides practical frameworks for building out a concept, engaging partners and securing early resources. Quinn helps you make wise, ethical decisions, keep a steady inner life, and build a leadership approach that lasts. Together they give you the strategy and inner clarity needed to move from conviction to action.

Ben Sand

Convinced that now is a time for pioneers, Sand serves as chief executive officer of The Contingent, a venture non-profit focused on empowering leaders and mobilizing community for the common good. He’s a collaborator, connector and convener.

With 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, Sand and his team at The Contingent have launched 20-plus community initiatives. The Contingent is an award-winning national organization based in Portland, Oregon. They’re committed to ensuring that kids impacted by foster care have ideal placements when they’re temporarily removed from their parents.

Carissa Quinn

Quinn is a leader, a coach, an author and a strategist who invests in human transformation and connection. Her work bridges educational design and whole-person growth, and her experience includes more than 15 years in education and non-profit spaces.

As chief operating officer and director of wellbeing for Femme Rising, Quinn helps empower women and girls through martial arts. She’s passionate about driving operational excellence and fostering a thriving community for her team and clients.

Program Details

As a student in the program, you’ll take four eight-week courses across two semesters. You can expect to spend 15 hours per week developing key deliverables that lead to a launch-ready pilot.

You’ll analyze a community challenge by investigating its root causes and evaluating civic assets, laying the groundwork for a context brief, stakeholder map, problem statement and value proposition.

As you develop a concept sketch and conduct early experiments, you’ll apply faith-informed convictions and ethical principles to justify decisions in your project design and leadership practices.
Your journey also includes building collaborative partnerships with stakeholders and funders, leading to a basic budget and fundraising plan.

By applying a repeatable innovation process, you’ll move from contextual awareness to a tested pilot plan that reflects your values, serves your community and aligns with the way of Jesus.

Student works on a laptop on his couch with his dog

A Format That Fits Your Life

This nine-month program is a faith-inspired innovation lab, not a theory-heavy credentialing program. Through four structured, eight-week courses, you’ll get hands-on experience actively designing, testing and refining your initiative. Here’s what you can count on: