LEADERSHIP
Developing New Leaders for Tomorrow
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi
Today's leaders navigate a world that is undergoing continuous change. As the landscape changes, so do the tools needed for leaders to harness that change and improve organizational and individual performance. At American Express we appreciate the impact that talented leaders can have on business and society as a whole, and we dedicate significant resources to attract, develop and retain talented employees.
Through this giving theme, we are extending our commitment to leadership development to a broader community. We are seeking the best methods, programs and partners that provide current and future nonprofit leaders with practical opportunities to learn and build leadership skills.
We are especially interested in proposals that cultivate leadership opportunities for diverse communities within the nonprofit sector or that focus on innovative leadership development programs for emerging leaders of world-class institutions. We specifically target programs for emerging nonprofit leaders in the arts, environment, higher education and social service sectors. We will accept a limited number of requests for programs impacting emerging leaders of the public sector.
In addition, we will accept a limited number of requests for programs outside the US to support entrepreneurs to become future business leaders.
Criteria:
Supported programs must encourage leadership development for emerging
leaders through one of the following:
- Addressing the leadership deficit in the
nonprofit sector, whether by training emerging leaders, enabling new
executive directors, or feeding the pipeline of talent into the sector
by encouraging graduating college students to consider careers in the nonprofit
sector.
- Diversifying the current landscape of
nonprofit leaders.
- Transforming organizations via best-in-class management and leadership practices, whether through board leadership, implementing management principles, or expanding an organization's capacity to attract, develop and retain leadership talent.
Organizations we support typically fall in one of the following categories:
- Networks: Supporting leadership
training by an organization to a wider group of organizations within the
same discipline or field.
- National Organizations: Supporting leadership development of an organization's local members or affiliates.
- Local Organizations: Supporting leadership development of an organization located in key markets (see list of markets here).
Applications for youth leadership programs are discouraged. We do not support scholarships for an individual's personal leadership training.
RECENT EXAMPLES
The Bridgespan Group,
Boston, MA
American Express commissioned Bridgespan
Group's recently released follow-up survey to the Group's 2006 study, "The
Nonprofit Sector's Leadership Deficit," that documented the mounting
leadership deficit in the nonprofit sector. The new survey of U.S. nonprofit
executive directors shows the leadership deficit may have widened last year
and identified trends, opportunities and challenges in developing and
recruiting talent to fill executive vacancies in the nonprofit sector.
Respondents reported that actual senior job openings in 2008 were running at
77,000, or 42% above the leadership gap forecast in Bridgespan's original
survey. The new report indicates that despite tightening budgets, nonprofits
already foresee a need to fill 24,000 vacant or new roles in areas like
finance and fundraising, amid increasing management complexity and baby
boomer retirements. The study showed that 25% of nonprofit leadership
vacancies in the past 18 months were filled through career progression, 41%
through in-sector hiring, and 21% via bridging talent from the corporate
sector.
Center for
Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC
Center for Creative Leadership ("CCL") is one of the country's premier
leadership development educational institutions. In partnership with
American Express Company, CCL developed and launched the American
Express Nonprofit Leadership Academy ("Academy"). The Academy is a selective
and rigorous training program, convening the nation's top emerging
nonprofit leaders to develop the personal and business skills required for
successful leadership in the sector. Adding value to the training, American
Express senior executives participate in the Academy and address the
importance and application of customer service, leadership development,
brand management and marketing for the nonprofit sector. Academy
participants are selected from national organizations and local nonprofits
located in American Express service center communities. Post Academy,
participating nonprofit leaders can access CCL's robust website, continue executive coaching sessions, and take advantage of
ongoing personal assessment leadership development opportunities.
Japan
Philanthropic Association, Tokyo, Japan
The Japan Philanthropic Association (JPA) is a non-profit organization,
established in 1960 to build a civil society where all citizens collaborate
in enhancing philanthropic initiatives. To fulfill its mission, the JPA
focuses on improving philanthropic skills and knowledge by organizing
seminars and building a network of leaders from various fields – business,
non-profit, government, and academic. A new three-day ‘mini-academy' was
made possible through a grant from American Express. The program's
curriculum, which mixed problem-solving activities with presentations by
American Express business leaders and local nonprofit leaders, focused on
building the personal and business skills needed to lead a successful
nonprofit organization.
JA Worldwide,
Colorado Springs, CO
JA Worldwide is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating
students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial
literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. In 2008, American Express
helped establish JA Worldwide's Strategic Leadership workshop -- an
intensive, week-long experience designed and facilitated by Penn State's
Smeal College of Business Executive Education. Targeting JA's high-potential
emerging leaders, a diverse international cohort of managers receives
leadership training to prepare them for future roles as JA Area Office
Presidents or JA Worldwide Executive and Senior Management positions. The
Strategic Leadership workshops are directly attributed for increasing
participants' exposure within the JA Worldwide organization; clarifying
leadership roles in a global organization; enhancing longer term strategic
thinking; and providing opportunities and key assignments, such as
participating in JA's strategic planning process. Follow-up evaluations will
gauge the longer-term, ongoing impacts the Strategic Leadership
workshop is providing.
Leadership
Education for Asian Pacifics, Los Angeles, CA
Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics ("LEAP") is a premier leadership
development organization for Asian and Pacific Islander communities in both
the for-profit and non-profit sector. Through the Emerging Leaders Program,
LEAP targets 10 to 12 talented emerging Asian Pacific Islander leaders at
nonprofit organizations to prepare them for future leadership roles. The
Emerging Leaders curriculum blends one-on-one coaching with group learnings
such as: basic leadership skills through experiential learning; leadership
simulations; interactive problem-solving; and action-planning and networking
sessions with seasoned community leaders. At the conclusion of the six-month
program, expected outcomes are to strengthen individual leadership skills
and advance the work and mission of the nonprofit organizations at which the
participants serve.
National Arts Strategies, Washington, D.C.
National Arts Strategies (NAS) is one of the premier leadership trainers for arts
and preservation organizations. NAS recently redirected some resources to
training emerging leaders, or those who will direct organizations in the
arts community in the next five to ten years. The focus of the program,
titled "Future Leadership," is to accelerate the development of these
emerging leaders and to close the gaps in their leadership experiences. Phase
I of the project successfully
launched the Future Leadership online community discussion forum. The
ongoing discussions about the future of leadership in the arts will help
inform the design of a series of educational seminars and services which
will be launched for Phase 2.
National
Minority AIDS Council, Washington, D.C.
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) was founded in 1987 to build
institutional leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS in communities of
color. NMAC provides training and technical assistance to thousands of
minority-serving organizations, reaching tens of thousands of people of
color living with HIV. The Women of Color Leadership Institute is a new
leadership program designed to identify, train, organize and support local
women of color to lead community-based HIV/AIDS service programs. The
project focuses on small community-based agencies, clinics, and
social-service providers that target women of color who are
disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. After individual needs
assessments, the women are trained in 3-day workshops followed by 1-day
coaching sessions held 4 months after the initial training. The workshop
topics range from personal leadership development to women's health,
government relations and advocacy, communication and media, and
collaboration. By building a cadre of talented and confident nonprofit women
leaders, NMAC is working to demonstrate clear impact on HIV/AIDS in
communities where it is most virulent.
Pop!Tech,
Camden, ME
Pop!Tech is a recognized social innovation network accelerating the positive
impact of world-changing people, projects and ideas. The Pop!Tech Social
Innovation Fellows Program equips the next generation of world-changing
innovators with tools, insights, and a professional network to help meet
significant global challenges. Fellows participate in an all-expenses-paid,
multi-day intensive program focused on insights and tools for accelerating
and scaling innovations for global impact. The program culminates with
participation at Pop!Tech's annual conference in Camden, Maine from October
21-24, 2009.
Public Allies,
Milwaukee, WI
Public Allies is a national organization that advances new leadership to
strengthen communities, nonprofits and civic participation by engaging a
diverse group of young leaders and leveraging their passion for community
service. Public Allies is committed to inclusive, community-driven
leadership, making it the premier pipeline for developing diverse young
nonprofit and community leaders. Its signature program, AmeriCorps, deploys
young people ("Allies") to work at nonprofit organizations through an
intense 10-month formal internship program and engages participants in a
rigorous and rewarding leadership development program with a diverse group
of peers who are also of and working within their home community. American
Express partners with Public Allies in four locations (Phoenix, New York,
North Carolina, and South Florida) where the company has a strong community
presence. Our grant underwrites the cost of recruiting, hiring, training and
supporting Allies in these communities. Additionally, Public Allies was one
of six national nonprofit organizations that participated in the inaugural
American Express Nonprofit Leadership Academy in New York City.
Semillas -
Sociedad Mexicana Pro Derechos de la Mujer, A.C., Mexico City, Mexico
Semillas ("seeds") is a fund for women's organizations in Mexico that works
to develop these organizations in the promotion and defense of the human
rights of marginalized populations (marginalized women, in particular).
Since its founding in 1990, Semillas has financed more than 235 projects
benefiting more than 650,000 Mexicans. Through a grant from American
Express, Semillas launched its first NGO Leadership Seminar, a week-long
training event that focused on increasing the capacity of 10 non-profit
organizations to be economically sustainable, primarily through the use of
American-style fundraising and development strategies.
Taproot
Foundation, San Francisco, CA
Taproot Foundation strengthens nonprofits by engaging business professionals
to provide high value services via a pro bono consulting model. Through this
model, Taproot Foundation gives "service grants" to eligible nonprofit
organizations. Taproot Foundation launched a new practice area around
Leadership Development, which is a groundbreaking initiative to support and
strengthen the nonprofit sector's leadership capacity. The new practice area
will be rolled out over the next three years in major U.S. metropolitan
areas including: New York, Boston, Washington, DC, Chicago, San Francisco,
and Los Angeles.
Thunderbird
School of Global Management, Glendale, AZ
Since its founding in 1946, Thunderbird has been synonymous with global
leadership in business education. This leadership is recognized by major
publications around the world, which have consistently named Thunderbird as
a leader in global business education. American Express is partnered with
Thunderbird to produce the Social Sector Leadership Program. This leadership
training program brings together emerging leaders from nonprofit
organizations to help develop their leadership skills while also building
the organizational capacity of their organization. This two-prong approach
ensures dedicated commitment, focus and accountability to the
transformational and future sustainability of global social sector emerging
leaders and organizations. The following international and national
organizations participated inaugural program: American Cancer Society, Make
A Wish of America, International Rescue Committee, The Peace Corps, Fresh
Start Women's Foundation, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria, The Grameen Foundation, National Audubon Society and Habitat for
Humanity.
UNCF, Fairfax,
VA
UNCF serves nearly 60,000 students via a network of 39 member colleges and
universities. UNCF faces a network-wide transition as a new generation of
presidents steps into leadership roles. UNCF partners with the Association
of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities (AGB) and Harvard
University's Graduate School of Education to facilitate the UNCF Executive
Leadership and Governance Program. Through a portfolio of unique and
innovative leadership development programs, the program is building a
stronger cadre of well-trained, high-potential executives equipped to foster
meaningful and enduring institutional change at the nation's historically
black colleges and universities. Additionally, UNCF's second tier leaders
are offered leadership and management seminars to enhance their skills and
further feed the pipeline of future leaders.
INITIATIVES
American Express Nonprofit Leadership Academy
