Our Impact

learners are leaders

Studies show that capacity-building efforts, such as group training and professional development, can increase nonprofit performance, while strong learning cultures have been correlated with organizational success.*

As community needs continue to exceed nonprofits’ capacity to meet them, the Nonprofit Leadership Center provides training events and customized learning experiences for nonprofit professionals to strengthen organizations and our communities.

Nonprofit professionals and organizations participating in our events report immediate and long-term benefits.

OUR INTENDED IMPACT

Everything we do at the Nonprofit Leadership Center is designed to develop skilled and confident leaders advancing effective and sustainable nonprofits committed to a culture of learning and reflective of the communities they serve.

Specifically, the events and experiences we offer focus on:

how we measure impact

To understand the impact of our programs on nonprofit leaders and organizations, we conduct annual online surveys and one-on-one interviews with nonprofit professionals and C-suite leaders. Quantitative data is collected through Qualtrics and externally reviewed by third-party experts.

To evaluate outcomes for individual leaders, we distribute three online surveys to nonprofit professionals to capture their self-reported perceptions at different moments in time — immediately after event participation, 60 days after event participation and looking back across 12 months of engagement. For 2024, we had 992 partial and completed immediate post-event survey responses, 271 60-day survey responses and 261 annual engagement survey responses (completed between January 23 and February 7, 2025).
To evaluate outcomes for nonprofit organizations, we distribute an annual survey to nonprofit CEOs engaged with the Nonprofit Leadership Center. For 2024, we collected 35 partial or completed responses from nonprofit C-suite leaders between January 22 and February 7, 2025.

RESULTS SUMMARY

WHAT NONPROFIT PROFESSIONALS

are saying:

Participating with the Nonprofit Leadership Center has been transformative for my personal growth and my organization's mission. The training, mentorship and resources provided have helped me develop the skills and confidence needed to become a more effective and visionary leader.

Nonprofit professional & 2024 Participant

DEVELOPING SKILLED & CONFIDENT LEADERS

In 2024, we served 2,191 nonprofit professionals, an increase of 4% from 2023, by providing more than 8,835 hours of training to help them achieve their learning and development goals. Nonprofit professionals who participate in our training events and responded to our surveys report increases in knowledge, confidence and job effectiveness. They cite interactive learning and networking that explores real-world examples, gaining practical strategies and resources they can take back to implement and the opportunity for self-reflection and personal growth as the most valuable aspects of their engagement.

96% of nonprofit professionals say their knowledge increased immediately after a training class. Nearly 9 in 10 say they've applied concepts learned at NLC to achieve a desired objective.
89% of nonprofit professionals feel more confident in their leadership skills immediately after a training class.
Nearly 9 in 10 nonprofit professionals agree their participation in our events has helped them be more effective in their jobs.

"I've done a lot of self-study and read many books, but the information I received from the Nonprofit Leadership Center was unlike anything I've ever explored. It was really helpful and eye-opening."

"After taking the Certificate in Grant Writing, I wrote and was successfully awarded four grants that support work for our nonprofit."

"I am a more effective leader due to my participation with the Nonprofit Leadership Center. The training I received left me feeling more empowered."

ADVANCING EFFECTIVE & SUSTAINABLE NONPROFITS

In 2024, we are proud to have supported 554 nonprofit organizations. Working in partnership with nonprofits across our region, we’re helping nonprofit leaders and teams achieve their goals and strengthen our communities. In 2024, 35 CEOs and C-suite-level leaders took our annual survey to share more about their experience and perspective participating with the Nonprofit Leadership Center.

"Support from the Nonprofit Leadership Center has been invaluable."

"Participating with the Nonprofit Leadership Center has helped our organization build critical relationships across the sector."

"Nonprofit Leadership Center classes have helped my staff understand board issues better. They now understand how to interact with the board and contribute more confidently and effectively."

because where you learn matters

Because a person’s learning environment affects their ability to learn and connect with others, we’re proud that nearly all nonprofit professionals participating in our classroom trainings say they are inclusive experiences where everyone is welcome and belongs. This data represents responses from 992 nonprofit professionals who took our online evaluation survey sent immediately after their classroom event.

Nonprofit professionals rate their overall experience at our classroom events as 4.8 out of 5 — and our trainers as 4.9 out of 5.
More than 9 in 10 nonprofit professionals say participating in our events is a valuable use of their time.
96% of nonprofit professionals say they would recommend the Nonprofit Leadership Center to others.

For more information

For questions or more information about the Nonprofit Leadership Center’s impact strategy or annual impact report, please contact us at info@nlctb.org.

* Sources: Mizner, Klerman, Markovitz, & Fink, 2014; Gallup, 2019: Association for Talent Development, 2021

OUR IMPACT