Amex Fellows Program: Building the Next Generation of Women Leaders in the NonProfit Sector

Submitted by Kyla Bender-Baird on Wed, 07/27/2011 - 2:55pm

NCRW’s Building the Next Generation of Women Leaders in the Nonprofit Sector program (“AMEX Fellows”), funded by the American Express Foundation, trains young professionals to become tomorrow’s leaders in the non-profit sector. The program is designed for mid-level non-profit managers with 4 to 7 years experience in the sector – a time when they are particularly susceptible to burnout and attrition due to limited budgets and a lack of training and mentorship. The program encourages young women to remain in the non-profit sector and become leaders in their organizations and fields by providing them with skills training, knowledge, a diverse peer network and sustained support.

Goals:

  • Create an increasing number of women prepared for non-profit leadership and sustain that leadership over time
  • Build and deepen a supportive network of women leaders in the non-profit sector
  • Encourage other centers and organizations to develop a culture of support for mid-level women in the non-profit sector

The program offers the following activities to participants:

  • Strategic Skills Workshops at Intergenerational Conferences: Career-building workshops focus on key skills, including leadership, strategic partnerships and planning, budgeting, board development and communications. 
  • Webinar Trainings and Online Forums: The webinar platform makes it possible for program participants to interact in “real time” and will provide support for ongoing roundtables and information sharing. Past trainings have included sessions on human resources, fundraising, leading from “the middle,” and strategies for being an effective supervisor.
  • Mentorship: Three to five Fellows are matched with a mentor from the nonprofit sector and one from the corporate sphere. Through regular conference calls and some face-to-face meetings, mentors provide guidance to the Fellows about career decisions to foster career advancement.

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The first cohort of leaders will complete the program in November 2011, and we hope to have a second cohort begin in January 2012.

For more information about the AMEX Fellows program, please contact contacts@ncrw.org