Leadership DELI 4

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Background
For more than 20 years, NEW has strengthened Southeast Michigan’s nonprofit economy by providing organizations with resources, training, consultation, and support to improve their sustainability, efficiency, and impact. Starting in 2014, NEW partnered with ZingTrain to bring together ZingTrain’s business and leadership training with NEW’s nonprofit sector to create a leadership training experience accessible to nonprofits entitled “Leadership DELI – Develop, Elevate, Launch, Innovate.”

Purpose
The challenges of leadership training through traditional approaches have been well documented. Leadership training, and the broader category of capacity building, has historically been transactional and difficult to tie to outcomes; for example, there is little noticeable long-term impact that results from a traditional board training or two-hour workshop. Directing support or interventions at individual nonprofits or isolated leaders or boards of directors simply has not addressed underlying systemic challenges that are present in communities. The ability to execute on new ideas has been challenging for organizations that are already strapped or ill-prepared to support implementation.

Moving the needle for nonprofits, and strengthening their ability to implement new leadership models in support of their mission work, is dependent on approaches that take into consideration the interconnections between different players in the nonprofit social ecosystem (including funders, businesses, government entities, management support organizations). Leadership DELI focuses on growth in leadership and organization development, along with the powerful connections that happen when we bring leaders together. Through this collaborative venture, knowledge can be shared and applied in the nonprofit sector that challenges the scarcity mindset and increases the likelihood that nonprofits can more effectively strive to meet their goals.

Leadership DELI provides the means for all players in the broader social ecosystem to address leadership challenges of the social sector through a mutually beneficial partnership between the nonprofits, a capacity building organization (NEW), for-profit business (Zingerman’s), and the funding community (PNC Foundation).

Objectives
The Leadership DELI Selection Committee will identify 20 nonprofit organizations to send two representatives to embark on this journey with the following objectives:

Use new tools and knowledge to improve their leadership skills or improve organizational practices.
Create a supportive environment for ongoing learning
Build a network of peers and strengthen relationships among organization leaders in Southeast Michigan
Further explore and develop their skills in the content

Program Outline
Leadership DELI 4 is a three month, intensive program. Through this program, participants will benefit from the opportunity to develop both their own personal leadership skills as well as gain skills and knowledge that will advance their organization’s goals.

Upon acceptance, participants will begin by taking a leadership assessment. This assessment, along with the organization goals defined in the application, will be the basis for the first session, an afternoon welcome retreat. At this retreat, participants will review their organizational goals, set personal leadership goals, and be introduced to the entire cohort and their own triad of accountability partners. The remaining seven sessions will be facilitated four-hour sessions based on the topics listed below. Throughout this program, participants will be asked to implement what they have learned, do some “personal reflection” in between sessions, and meet with their triad to debrief the content and further reflect on the materials. The program will culminate with the final session, Creating a Vision of Greatness, during which each organization and participant will be given a certificate of completion.

Each organization selected to participate in the Leadership DELI will be afforded the opportunity to send one or two representatives from their organization. It is highly encouraged that participants attend all eight sessions, not missing more than two. The curriculum is intensive, and later sessions build off of the content of earlier sessions. In addition, consistent attendance by the same participants will build a stronger cohort of participants over the duration of the program.

The program fee for Leadership DELI 4 is $1,000. Select scholarships are available from our funders, and will be awarded after the Selection Committee has completed the application review.

This program is a good fit for you if:

You are a leader or emerging leader within your nonprofit organization
You are interested in developing best practices in leadership for the benefit of your nonprofit organization

Apply here!