U.C. Berkeley Launches Saudi-Funded Philanthropy University

University of California, Berkeley, and its Haas School of Business are launching an online "Philanthropy University" to help folks in the nonprofit realm with finance, fundraising, strategy, leadership and other challenges.

A leading Saudi business executive and other unnamed funders are making "a multi-million dollar investment" in the project over the next five years, according to U.C. Berkeley officials.

More than 11,000 would-be students have already signed up for free online classes, including Global Social Entrepreneurship, How to Scale Social Impact and Financial Modeling for the Social Sector, according to U.C. Berkeley. Its goal is to have "hundreds of thousands" of participants in the non-credit courses, said a university spokeswoman.