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 each other as separate lanes are instead coordinating directly, on shared housing placements, on referrals, on covering the gaps no single agency can close by itself.
"Boundaries" was the word that kept surfacing all morning, not as an abstract idea, but as something partners were actively deciding in real time: what's mine to hold, and what isn't. Our third session gave that question room to play out.
One partner brought a conflict she'd found herself mediating between peer managers, worried the tension was starting to affect how consistent the team felt to the clients they serve. The group didn't let her keep carrying it. The fix was handing the relationship back to the people whose relationship it is, and to their supervisor. She left, naming the boundary she's testing this week: this isn't mine to fix.
A Skills Lab on supervisory habits turned that same question inward. Partners mapped their own one-on-ones with direct reports and admitted that those meetings are usually the first thing to get bumped, not because anyone thinks they don't matter, but because the time isn't being protected by everyone who schedules over it. They left with a shared way to talk about holding that time as its own kind of boundary.
Clearbrook walked us through its day program network spanning 17 sites and shared how early PUNS list registration keeps families from losing time they can't get back, and WINGS Program opened up about the hardest part of housing work: two years of transitional support often isn't enough, but the team keeps doing everything it can to help clients succeed anyway. Agencies talked openly about leaning on each other, WINGS coordinates directly with Life Span, and Journeys the Road Home is opening shelter space this October and can help place clients other agencies can't.
This forum, in partnership with Good Works Results LLC, reinforces the vital role of trust in building stronger nonprofit leadership. Learn more at www.goodworksresults.com/nonprofitforum.
Grateful to support these community-based agencies: Northwest Special Recreation Association (NWSRA), Life Span, Ray Graham Association, The Bridge Youth & Family Services, WINGS Program, The Harbour, Brightpoint, Journeys the Road Home, Kenneth Young Center, Clearbrook. Thank you to the Township of Schaumburg Mental Health Board for supporting this initiative.
#NonprofitLeadership #CommunityImpact #Collaboration #GoodWorksResults #SchaumburgTownship #Partnerships #LeadershipDevelopment #PeerLearning