Black Diamond Charities
Free Project Management Fundamentals Course
(Full Ride to PMP certification for our graduates who qualify)
Black Diamond Charities delivers a unique, free project management fundamentals class to US military and veterans to help advance their civilian careers. Instructors are all PMP certified and bring a wealth of diverse industry experience to the classroom. At any given time there will typically be half a dozen instructors in the classroom, providing great depth and diverse perspectives during the discussions during topic lectures. The chemistry that comes out of a class of ~ 30 engaged veterans is just magical. Many of our instructors have illustrious military career backgrounds, as well as significant industry experience, and are a key part of cooking up that magic.
The 3-day course provides the following benefits:
Teaches the fundamentals of project management
Connects the dots between military experience and project management in civilian terms
Provides actual project planning experience through group exercises
Facilitates an engaging environment where camaraderie between veterans is built up through team assignments and class discussions.
23 hour certificate of completion
Premium ongoing training and financial support to obtain PMP certification after completion of the fundamentals course!
Meeting for three full Saturdays in a row, the course includes a certificate of completion documenting 23 hours of project management training
spring 2025 session - flyer download
(SESSION DATES ARE SATURDAY, 03/01, 03/08, & 03/15. 9:00 AM TO 5:00 PM CT)
What makes our program different?
It's free, and only for Veterans & Active Duty Service Members
Our course is a concise three Saturday course focused on teaching project fundamentals in such a way that veterans can identify the project management activities they did in the military, and express that experience in the common language of the project management framework as codified by the Project Management Institute (PMI)®.
Most alternative courses are focused specifically on preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam, or are semester-long college courses. The Black Diamond Charities course fills a unique gap -- helping veterans understand more clearly what project management is, and connecting the dots to their military experience. Several instructors have extensive military backgrounds and can convey the value and scarcity of the unique leadership skills that are typically developed through military service. This helps build confidence in the veterans -- that project management could be a viable and attractive career path in their civilian life.
All our students are veterans, from every branch of the US Military — and up to 5 Military Spouses
Students work in teams from day one and select the projects they are passionate about
All our instructors are certified project managers, and many of them are veterans
We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Everyone is a volunteer - we all give back to our veterans
“The class was instrumental in starting my formal training that I will need to become a certified Project Manager soon. The work the Charity and the Volunteers do for the Veterans and Active Duty Military personnel is outstanding.”
It's Team Focused
The team focus is another unique characteristic of our course:
The class is divided into teams of five or six students.
Each team is assigned an instructor to play the role of project sponsor / customer.
Each team works together to select and define a project, and develop the project plan.
Exercises are assigned and each team collaborates to complete these within the context of their selected project.
There are break-out sessions between class topic lectures, where the teams work on the exercises.
Some homework is required between class sessions (approximately 2-3 hours per week on average).
Everyone on the team presents their project plan on the final day, demonstrating the fundamentals they've learned throughout the course.
“Not only did this course get me one step closer to a PMP certification, but it was a great refresher for me. You’re being taught by instructors that also served and you’ll realize that you have more PM experience than you’re giving yourself credit for. I would strongly recommend you attend this program! ”
We'd love to see you in our next class. Apply now and reserve your seat for the session that suits you best. We'll contact you when you apply and answer any questions you may have.
More Testimonials can be found here
Graduates of our course can earn their CAPM and PMP certifications at no cost. Many have done so, and are listed here.