Metrowest Nonprofit Network Inc

MWNN is a small backbone organization that has experienced significant growth over the last five years. The organization transitioned from a volunteer run, workshop delivery model to one with a full time executive director and a full portfolio of services and learning opportunities. We are not a membership organization – we are open to all MW nonprofits 3,076 of whom reported revenue in 2020. Our current network includes 1600+ contacts, which has steadily increased every year since 2016. Ultimately our goal is to have all 3,076 nonprofits in MW part of the MWNN Network.
MWNN is the leader in developing systems for effective cross - organization collaborations and deepening the collective impact of the sector. MWNN has positioned itself as a trusted neutral community organizer and facilitator by engaging in projects that increase our visibility and our impact. – this gives us enormous flexibility and opportunity to respond proactively to the needs of the nonprofit community and identify community challenges that would benefit from coordinated interventions on the part of the nonprofit community. MWNN has dedicated itself to serving as a thought leader on issues of social and racial justice. Our work in the development of the MetroWest Food Collaborative is an initiative to bring food justice into the food system conversation. Our work as a founding member of the MetroWest Care Connection is an initiative to provide comprehensive, streamlined, dignified, and culturally responsive services to vulnerable communities that are underserved. We are grateful to represent the voice of the nonprofit community in that effort.
MWNN leads the development of programs and opportunities to strengthen the pipeline of next-generation nonprofit leaders, with an intentional focus on supporting leaders of color and those with diverse life experience and intersectional identities. According to statistics provided by Candid, in 2012 the approximate percentages of the nonprofit workforce as a whole were - 82% white, 10% African American, 5% Hispanic/Latino, 3% other, and 1% Asian or Pacific Islander. While these percentages have increased slightly over subsequent years, they are still woefully inadequate. The leadership gap is real and will only be exacerbated as senior leaders who entered the nonprofit sector in the 1960s and 1970s begin to retire and look to hand the leadership reigns to the next generation. This tsunami of change has been predicted since 2006 when the article Daring to Lead - A National Study of Nonprofit Leadership was published, in which the authors stated, “Racial and ethnic minorities represent a rapidly growing segment of the population, but executive directors are overwhelmingly (82%) white. Younger executives were just as likely to be white as their older colleagues, and newly hired executives were only slightly more likely to be people of color than the overall sample.”
https://www.compasspoint.org/sites/default/files/documents/194_daring

We have actively been building our communications and visibility profile. MWNN is a founding partner with the Mass Service Alliance and Inspiring Service in a statewide effort to increase visibility and access to volunteer opportunities throughout MA via the website https://weconnectforgood.org –in addition to the statewide initiative MWNN has developed a targeted MetroWest specific website mwconnects.org. which will align with the state site. MWNN continues to build programming that is responsive and reflective of the needs of the community. The Lunch and Learn series, the Lone Rangers affinity group, the Service Enterprise program, the partnerships we have formed with local and statewide organizations, the expertise and resources we have intentionally created. MWNN is the leading organization MW nonprofits turn to when they want to connect, learn, and combine their voices for maximum impact. A steady focus on increasing visibility and outreach efforts are key to MWNN continuing to build its reputation, presence, and standing as a valued community asset.
Our collaboration with the Massachusetts Service Alliance which strengthens organizations that are building strategic volunteer programs has already yielded results. Programs reported that the training they received has already made a significant impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of their organizations. MWNN is an active participant in the Racial Disparities WorkGroup of the MetroWest Health Foundation, and served as co-leader of the series Anti-Racism Conversations: Actions Speak Louder than Words, launched in collaboration with our partners at Leadership MetroWest which focuses on bringing a diverse group of community members together to discuss issues of racism and its impact on education, the criminal justice system, communities, and people of color. Every project or initiative MWNN engages in is vetted through the lens of its core values, Connect, Collaborate, Strengthen, and most important of all Act. MWNN is committed to not only providing an environment that invites active collaboration but is also committed to actively engaging to lead, facilitate and coordinate efforts to achieve the highest level of impact possible.

MWNN, in collaboration with Framingham State University (FSU), launched the first Nonprofit Management Certificate for Practitioners in fall of 2021 with 25 students. The program was developed over a three-year planning process in collaboration with the FSU Department of Continuing Education and with the strong support of a MWNN Board program planning committee dedicated to this project. The program has been designed in response to a survey conducted of 103 MetroWest nonprofit leaders, staff and board members. More than 70 percent reported a need for career ladder programs for mid- and entry-level staff. Nationally the annual turnover in nonprofit leadership positions is between 18-22%, even higher for leaders of color. MetroWest is not unique. Anecdotally local Executive Directors report concerns that succession plans will be hampered by the lack of qualified candidates, particularly candidates of color who represent many of the constituencies that are served by local nonprofits. This exciting new partnership is training the region’s next generation of highly skilled nonprofit employees through workforce and leadership development.
A critical priority of this program is to increase the ethnic and cultural diversity of nonprofit staff and leadership in our region. Research conducted in 2019 by the Boston Foundation and the Barr Foundation (The Burden of Bias in the Bay State: The Nonprofit Racial Leadership Gap in Massachusetts; https://racetolead.org/ma-2019/) finds that “Massachusetts continues to follow national trends in its failure to promote, retain and support nonprofit leaders of color.” MWNN, whose programs and outreach specifically target and support emerging practitioners and their smooth entry to nonprofit roles, considers the diversity of each Certificate program class a key indicator of success.
MetroWest faces two significant challenges; the lack of an affordable, practitioner-focused professional development option for next-generation nonprofit leaders and a woeful lack of diverse representation at the leadership level of many MetroWest nonprofit organizations. The Nonprofit Management Certificate for Practitioners, the only program of its kind in MetroWest, has been intentionally designed to address these gaps.

Launched in 2021, the MWNN/FSU Nonprofit Management Certificate for Practitioners program has been enthusiastically received by graduates and the nonprofit community. The program is designed to support the professional development of a diverse group of next-generation leaders, facilitate the transfer of local knowledge from current to future leaders.
The program is designed to: support the professional development of a diverse group of next-generation leaders,
facilitate the transfer of local knowledge from current to future leaders contribute to strengthening nonprofit organizations by strengthening the people who lead them.
Forty-seven participants have completed the program since 2021. The program is taught by local nonprofit leaders with lived experience in the MW sector. A robust community-supported sponsorship program ensures equitable access. contribute to strengthening nonprofit organizations by strengthening the people who lead them.