Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute

Our Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute (NELI) has been recently redesigned with improved leadership and management tools to equip a diverse cohort of nonprofit leaders to take their organizations to the next level by reaching more or better serving their constituents. Participants in this cohort program will learn from subject matter experts and their peers in the nonprofit arena. The 10-session program will commence in December 2025 and conclude in October 2026.

This is what our participants are saying:

“I value connecting with others and NELI provided an excellent platform to connect with people who could relate to my concerns, hopes, and successes as a nonprofit leader. As fellow NELI classmates, we share information with each other and find ourselves attending the same functions. Additionally, connecting with speakers and consultants has helped to expand networks and opportunities.”
- Tonya

“Attending NELI has impacted my professional development in every way. While my circle has broadened, the greatest impact is how it has helped me look at each aspect of our organization with different lenses and empowered me to delve deeper into how we can continue to make improvements.”
- Jennifer

The application window for the 2025-26 cohort is October 1 - October 31, 2025. 
(All dates for NELI are the 2nd Friday of the month December 2025 through October 2026 except July.)

Apply for NELI Now

NELI fills educational gaps for rising nonprofit leaders. It helps them become a more knowledgeable manager of their organization, a competent designer of infrastructure, and a stronger leader in their community. NELI is where you take “how to” information and turn it into action. This program will help participants understand how to scale their organizations and, ultimately, improve their programmatic outcomes.

Participant Criteria

Position

• New nonprofit executive directors and CEOs who want to take things to the next level
• Up-and-coming executive directors and CEOs
• Program managers with similar responsibilities to the executive director and CEO.
  
  

Budget Size

• Small to mid-size organization with a budget of $200,000 to $1 million

Staffing Responsibilities

• Manage a staff of at least 1-2 people or volunteer leadership of 10-12 people
  
  

Proven Track Record of Skills and Experience

• We want to form a diverse cohort who will learn and grow from each other, sharing their
   skills and experience so we can create an exceptional team of learners.

The application period opens October 1, 2025 and closes October 31, 2025.

For more information about the application process, please contact Deidre Clark, NELI Program Manager at deidre@alabamanonprofits.org.

Program Costs

• $1,200 ($120 per session)
• Partial scholarships are available
  
  

Time Commitments

• Attend monthly training sessions on the 2nd Friday of each month, December 2025 through
   October 2026. Session times are 8:15 AM – 1 PM.
• Complete monthly homework assignments
• Total time commitment is about 8 hours per month

NELI participants will meet on the following dates: 

December     12/12/2025
January          1/9/2026
February        2/13/2026
March            3/13/2026
April              4/10/2026
May               5/8/2026
June               6/12/2026
July                No Meeting
August           8/14/2026
September      9/11/2026
October        10/9/2026

The NELI application period opens October 1, 2025 and closes October 31, 2025.

For more information about the application process, please contact Deidre Clark, NELI Program Manager at deidre@alabamanonprofits.org.

Apply for NELI Now