Nonprofit Leadership Institutes

The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits' Nonprofit Leadership Institutes differ from MCN’s other educational programming by providing a longer-term exploration of leadership and management with a cohort of like-minded professionals. The Institutes often focus on a specific angle of nonprofit work such as advocacy or performance management. By engaging a small cohort of leaders over many months, the Leadership Institutes provide a greater opportunity for developing personal relationships with other leaders and for implementing solutions to adaptive leadership challenges.

Current Leadership Institutes

Performance Management Leadership Institute: At its core, the Performance Management Leadership Institute intertwines principles of nonprofit organizational management and leadership development into a training program that guides participants toward implementing a performance management strategy or system in their organization. For details, contact MCN's program manager, Paul Masiarchin at 651-757-3087.

Nonprofit Advocacy Institute: The Nonprofit Advocacy Institute provides an opportunity for participants to understand the importance of advocacy in nonprofit leadership, the ways in which advocacy builds leadership, and how to build capacity and design strategic issue campaigns. For details, contact MCN's public policy director, Susie Brown at 651-757-3060.

History of the Leadership Institutes

MCN is committed to building the strength and integrity of the nonprofit sector statewide. As part of this commitment, in 2007 MCN initiated the Nonprofit Leadership Institutes to support the personal and professional development of individual leaders at various stages in their nonprofit careers.

The Leadership Institutes have now grown into a handful of unique focuses. In 2012, MCN is offering the Performance Management Leadership Institute (described above). MCN has recently offered the Nonprofit Advocacy Institute (described above) and will offer this format again in the near future. In past years, MCN offered the Senior Manager Leadership Institute and Strategic Connector Leadership Institute, both of which focused on overall nonprofit leadership development with a special emphasis on the skills needed to move institutions and communities to seek adaptive solutions, rather than technical solutions, to local and organizational challenges.

Leadership Institute Alumni

By 2011, over 175 nonprofit leaders have graduated from the various Leadership Institute formats.

Leadership Resources

Through the Leadership Institutes, participants receive copies of cutting-edge articles, learn about best practices in nonprofit leadership and gain access to various tools for strategic planning, program development, project evaluation and various other areas of nonprofit leadership and governance. Many of these resources are copyright protected and are provided as a benefit for Leadership Institute participants. Various leadership resources are also available publicly as a resource to the nonprofit sector.