Category: Nonprofit Leadership Initiative

In May 2024, 18 nonprofit leaders embarked on a transformative twelve-month journey through our Leadership Institute. This year-long series of modules was designed to enhance their confidence and capabilities in critical areas such as leadership, management, technical skills, and governance. Covering topics from marketing and board governance to fundraising, finance, and ethics, this dedicated group […]

I love celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with its parades, shamrocks, leprechauns, and the chance to add green dye to my favorite beverage. This St. Patrick’s Day, I’m celebrating writing my last monthly Loop post! After seven remarkable years, I’m bidding farewell to the Community Foundation and Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (NPLI). The Luck of the Irish […]

By Annette Look, program manager, Nonprofit Leadership Initiative What do diapers, wigs and the Miles for Myeloma Walk/Run have in common? All three are connected in some way to a Fox Valley nonprofit that will be taking part in the Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (NPLI)’s upcoming Join a Board event on April 18. Volunteering on a […]

Written by: Hope Schaefer, Executive Director of the Nonprofit Leadership Initiative Did you know that every nonprofit organization is required in their bylaws to have at least 3 board members? When you add up how many nonprofits exist throughout our area, that totals up to thousands of board members needed to provide governance, strategic guidance […]

I’m pleased to be part of a team that plans educational events for nonprofit leaders. Our work includes listening to nonprofit staff and board members and providing sessions relevant to the topics they want to learn about. On May 2, we delivered! Our session on Board Engagement & Fundraising Through a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) […]

By Annette Look, Nonprofit Leadership Initiative What is expected of you? In your work, as a family member, a community member, a volunteer? It seems like a straight-forward question – what is expected of you? How do you feel when you don’t know what is expected? In the case of nonprofit staff and boards of […]

Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (NPLI) was created because visionaries understood the critical role nonprofits play in the wellbeing of our community. At NPLI we listen to our noprofit partners share their stories to ensure we’re providing services that help them better achieve their missions. We get to hear both their successes and pain points. A pain […]

‘Tis the season of gift giving, and Santa Claus isn’t the only one who gets to hear wish lists! At Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (NPLI), we are privileged to have nonprofit leaders share their wish lists with us all year long. If you’re searching for the perfect present for your favorite nonprofit, we’ve got you covered. […]

Thanksgiving and grant writing may not seem immediately similar, but after hosting the Art of Grant Writing Workshop for nonprofit leaders, some interesting parallels came to mind. Talking turkey There is no way around it — grant writing comes with the territory when you’re a nonprofit fundraiser, yet very few of us have received formal […]

We are a community with a broad range of nonprofits doing important work to improve all aspects of life here. Likewise, the people running and overseeing these efforts bring to the job a wide range of talents and experience. A lot of organizations are putting a lot of time and effort into a way to give […]

I’m honored to share with you the impact that Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (NPLI) has had on my personal journey in the nonprofit world. After working in mission-driven programming for over 12 years at Heckrodt Wetland Reserve, I knew I was ready for the next chapter of my leadership journey. Thankfully, NPLI’s Leadership Institute was there to […]

By: Hope Schaefer, Executive Director, Nonprofit Leadership Initiative It may be September, but end-of-year giving appeals are coming, and at the Nonprofit Leadership Initiative we are thinking about how we tell our stories. Are we telling empowering stories? Are we telling them in an ethical way? Storytelling is embedded into all that we do in […]