Nonprofit Leadership Alliance
Our World. Only Better.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Every day, countless nonprofit organizations strive to address pressing social issues, but many face a critical shortage of effective leaders. This leadership gap can prevent these organizations from reaching their full potential and inhibits the progress we so desperately need.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) Credential
For more than seven decades, the Alliance’s Certified Nonprofit Professional (or CNP) Program has been offered on college campuses across the U.S., providing students with the training and skills needed to launch successful nonprofit careers. Beyond just coursework, the students participate in extensive career and employability services, including peer coaching, leadership assessment, and internship and job matching.
The only nationally-recognized credential in nonprofit management, the outcomes for the CNP Program speak for themselves. A 2014 study by LinkedIn found that the Alliance’s Certified Nonprofit Professionals are seven times more likely to rise to a nonprofit leadership position than their non-CNP peers.
Due to this success, the Alliance created a fully virtual version of this leadership development program -- available to anyone interested in launching a nonprofit career. The completely online model offers all of the same benefits of the in-person program, but as a scalable solution that removes many of the barriers to participation.
Leaderosity
The Leaderosity platform enables the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance to credential and upskill thousands of nonprofit professionals and emerging leaders each year—bringing these research-based trainings to scale across the entire U.S. Particularly as the nonprofit sector works to build its capacity in response to the pandemic in a now rapidly expanding digital learning space, the NLA is well-positioned to meet the sector’s growing professional development needs through a variety of online offerings. Specific programs on Leaderosity include the following:
(1) CNP Workforce Program – This program offers individuals already working in the nonprofit sector or those looking to switch careers into the sector the opportunity to earn the industry-recognized Certified Nonprofit Professional credential through an asynchronous 6-month online leadership development program. CNP Workforce students master skills and knowledge in management and leadership, program design, budget and financial management, marketing and communications, resource development, and trends and innovations. Students receive guidance and feedback from NLA professional facilitators through five hands-on projects. They also take exams throughout the program to demonstrate mastery of content. Beyond a credential, CNP graduates also benefit from the Association of CNPs (a national network of 11,000+ nonprofit leaders) and access to CNP-only continuing education resources and job opportunities.
(2) Leaderosity Learning Library (L3) – In order to meet the sector’s need for on-demand trainings, we offer a wide range of online courses available via a subscription model for both individual professionals seeking to advance their career and to nonprofit organizations that want to make these trainings available to all of their employees. Training topics include logic models and program design, needs assessments, equity and cultural competency, crisis communications, ethical leadership for social impact, and more.
(3) ELEVATE – Launched in 2018, the NLA hosts an annual 3-day virtual conference for social sector leaders focused on advancing equity and inclusion in the nonprofit sector that has proven to help participants build cultural competency on the personal, organizational, and community levels.
(4) Custom Trainings and Digital Badges – The NLA partners with nonprofit organizations to design custom trainings and/or move their existing training materials online on the Leaderosity platform, enabling them to more efficiently, cost-effectively train staff and volunteers. Additionally, the NLA offers targeted digital badges (e-certificates) to all learners who successfully complete assessed coursework on specific skills areas or specific issue areas. We track assessment completion through Credly (a digital badge platform).
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
National Human Services Assembly (formerly National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations) - Member 2004
Chamber of Commerce 2010
Nonprofit Connect of Greater Kansas City 2011
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of conference attendees
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Nonprofit Leadership Alliance hosts a virtual conference for social sector leaders each year. In 2023, we had 503 attendees.
Number of people trained
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Nonprofit Leadership Alliance trained 3,277 individuals in 2023 through our various programs including CNP, Leaderosity, and Elevate.
Number of unique website visitors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In 2023, we had over 139k unique visitors to our website. Our website has many resources for nonprofit organizations and professionals to leverage.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Every day, countless nonprofit organizations strive to address pressing social issues, but many face a critical shortage of effective leaders. This leadership gap can prevent these organizations from reaching their full potential and inhibits the progress we so desperately need.
We aim to bridge this gap by nurturing a diverse and talented pool of nonprofit leaders. We invest in comprehensive leadership development programs that equip individuals with the knowledge, skills, and unwavering passion required to lead and drive meaningful change. Your support will enable us to reach even more aspiring leaders, empowering them with the tools they need to make a difference in their communities and beyond.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Through our rigorous certification programs, such as the nationally-recognized Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential, we elevate the professionalism of the sector. By setting high standards for excellence and ethical practice, we empower leaders to inspire trust, gain support, and effectively navigate the complex challenges they face.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Nonprofit Leadership Alliance
Board of directorsas of 04/11/2024
Mr. Don Munce
National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA) (retired)
Term: 2018 -
Don Munce
Retired, National Research Center for College & University Admissions
James Pendleton
Retired, Consultant
Jimmie Stark
Retired, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Lee Sherman
Retired, National Human Services Assembly
Al Lambert, CNP
Retired, Boy Scouts of America
Debbie Espinosa, CNP
FIND Food Bank
Alanna Beare
IBM
Errol Copilevitz, Esq.
Copilevitz, Lam & Raney, LLC
Joseph King, CNP
The Narrangansett Group, Inc
Kathy Snead
Education Consultant
Amber Slavin, J.D.
Independent Contractor
David Byrd, CNP
Retired, YUSA
Julianne Gassman, CNP, Ph.D.
University of Northern Iowa
Bob Kendrick
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Richard Rossi
DaVinci Education, Inc.
Jennifer Wade-Berg, CNP, Ph.D.
Kennesaw State University
David LeFebvre, CNP, CFRE
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
Grant Gooding
Proof Positioning
Wendy Bolyard
University of Colorado Denver
Robert Ashcraft, Ph.D.
Arizona State University
Tamara Strickland, CPA
KPMG LLC
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 06/25/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.