Insights

A partnership between organizations is worth what it moves for the people they serve. Ten nonprofit leaders spent a year building the trust that makes that possible. In the final session of the 2025-2026 cohort, mid-level leaders from agencies funded by the Hanover Township Mental Health Board named what it produced. Partners named the order in which it happened: connection and trust first. Then, by hearing each other's needs, they better understood what could be shared. Because it is natural...

Thank you to NWSRA for hosting the Nonprofit Leaders Forum in a space where inclusion isn't just a mission statement, it's how the agency operates: NWSRA leans on park districts across northwest Cook County and its own fundraising arm (SLSF) to make inclusive recreation happen. That same instinct carried into this cohort convening nonprofit mid-level leaders: agencies that could easily treat...

"What if I am the problem?" That question stopped the room at our Bloomingdale Township Nonprofit Leaders Forum, hosted by UCP Seguin of Greater Chicago. Partners realized that stepping in to just handle something themselves, instead of inviting a teammate to rise to it, might be quietly limiting how well they lead. Together, we dove into the real challenges of mid-level leadership in community...

Two people have a place to live tonight because one partner shared a landlord list with another agency. That's the return our Resource Sharing segment was built to produce, and it's the news that opened our seventh session of the Nonprofit Leaders Forum serving the residents of Hanover Township. Two Partner Consultations picked up that same thread. One partner had been quietly asking herself...

"It is not my responsibility to carry their feelings." There is a difference between supporting your team and absorbing what belongs to them. Finding that line is a challenge in any management position, and understanding it does not make it easier to hold. This professional development intentionality carried into Nonprofit Leaders Forum, supporting Schaumburg Township-funded agencies....

"It's your challenge, but I don't hear you wanting to do something about it." That kind of honesty happens in a group that has built real trust, and it's exactly what showed up at our Nonprofit Leaders Forum, where mid-level nonprofit leaders serving Bloomingdale Township residents come together for peer support, skill building, and cross-agency connection. Learn more:...

Sometimes the most useful resource is the person sitting next to you, because they already found what you're looking for. This truth sat at the center of our June session of the Nonprofit Leaders Forum, hosted by Maryville Academy. This session's Resource Sharing segment proved its worth immediately: partners surfaced dozens of community resources across housing, food access, transportation,...

Rappelling down 12 floors on behalf of DuPagePads (https://www.dupagepads.org), one partner from a completely different agency did this because the commitment in this cohort does not stay in the room. That energy carried into Nonprofit Leaders Forum #3, supporting Bloomingdale Township-funded agencies. Learn more at www.goodworksresults.com/nonprofitforum. The Difficult Conversations Skills Lab...

Know what is yours to own. Ask clearly for what you need. A room full of trusted peers who understand the work is one of the most valuable resources a leader can have. That was the thread running through our May session of the Nonprofit Leaders Forum, held at Hanover Township's hidden gem, the Izaak Walton Center in Elgin. Together, we tackled the real day-to-day of mid-level leadership:...

Feeling stuck in operational tasks with no time for "new and needed things"? Wanting to expand your thinking but unsure how to navigate existing leadership dynamics? These were the real challenges we tackled during our Nonprofit Leaders Forum session, where midlevel leaders dove into navigating perceived versus real barriers to their growth. This powerful peer-learning model empowers nonprofit...