Two resources for the next level

I found a couple of excellent resources in NY (of course) for leadership and education that I wanted to share with everyone.

The National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) has a leadership program designed for young women that looks interesting and addresses a lot of issues that I faced. No matter where I end up, I will definitely be applying here next time around. The link is here: http://www.ncrw.org/programs/2087/emerging-leaders-network and the text reads as follows:

BUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF WOMEN LEADERS
IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR

The National Council for Research on Women is pleased to announce a project, funded by the American Express Foundation, to encourage young women to enter the nonprofit arena, and provide training and sustained support to become leaders.
Many young people are attracted to nonprofit work because of a particular cause they are dedicated to or for a deeply embedded sense of altruism. They view nonprofits as one of the vehicles through which they can work towards making society more equitable and just. In reality though, nonprofits experience some of the same challenges that other sectors face, like career leadership development, work-life balance, and diversity. Nonprofits, including women’s organizations, also face a graying leadership today and it is important to groom the next generation of leaders who represent the U.S.’s vibrant diversity. Young women in nonprofits and particularly women’s organizations, face burnout as a result of low budgets and the absence of mentoring and adequate training. Women make up 70% of the nonprofit workforce, yet according to a new survey by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the top jobs in nonprofits are still predominantly held by white men. Women are still a minority in chief executive roles in large nonprofits with budgets over $5 million. Additionally, minority employees, the study found, hold only 6.8% of full-time, paid leadership positions.
In order to entice and retain the strongest talent in nonprofits, opportunities need to be made available to women to enable them to rise to top-level positions in their field and succeed. To that end, over a two-year period, the Council proposes to work with 25 entry to mid-level nonprofit managers, eager to develop the skills necessary to advance their careers in women’s and other social justice organizations.
The program will offer the following activities to participants:

• Career-building skills workshops at an intergenerational conference on June 11, focused on key leadership skills such as vision, strategic partnerships and planning, communications, and good management skills.
• Ongoing on-line roundtables and web forums. The Council is presently launching an interactive web platform. This platform will make it possible for program participants to interact in “real time” and will provide support for ongoing roundtables and information sharing.
• A mentorship and sponsorship network to sustain leaders over time. We intend to pair seasoned nonprofit managers with our young leaders to create long-term, web-based mentoring relationships that foster career advancement.

The Council, in its role as the hub of a network of over 100 leading social justice organizations, is well-positioned to carry out this project. Building on the success of the Council’s recently formed Emerging Leaders Network, composed of young professionals in the nonprofit and corporate spheres, we will structure the program to provide women with the opportunity to network, identify mentors, and build alliances that will serve their organizations throughout the year. With the growing complexity of the workforce and the proliferation of nonprofit organizations, we believe there is a need to provide professional development opportunities in order to retain talented women with a demonstrated commitment to women’s rights and social justice.

The second resource I found was for starting a nonprofit. I can't believe something like this exists, but there is a cost of $299 a pop, with scholarships available for nonprofits with operating budgets under a million. The Foundation Center has a pretty dense calendar of educational classes related to all aspects of running a non-profit, from how to mobilize a board, to where to find grants, how to engage the corporate sector and the building blocks for successfully running a non-profit! Calendar can be found here: http://grantspace.org/Classroom/Training-Calendar/New-York

Job or no job, my calendar is definitely filling up! If I get accepted to the leadership network at NCRW next year and if I attend classes at the Grant Space, I will definitely be posting what I learned with everyone, so stay tuned!