A few years ago, in conversations among our board and staff and with our nonprofit partners and others, we began wrestling with these questions anew. The result was a fresh appreciation of what it takes to fulfill our founders’ vision of a just and caring society. It takes a strategic approach, partnerships, a commitment to lasting change. And it also takes something else:

It takes leadership

Whether they are providing safe after-school activities for children or championing the cause of equality for immigrants or gays and lesbians, the nonprofit organizations we work with need strong and capable leadership (on both the staff and board) in order to be effective. The Fund believes so deeply in the power of leadership to transform organizations, neighborhoods and society that we have made strengthening nonprofit leadership a grantmaking priority.

Haas, Jr. Fund’s Journey

Few roadmaps exist, however, for investing successfully and strategically in nonprofit leadership. As the Fund embarked on this journey, we were struck by how seriously and intentionally the private sector has approached the challenge of developing today’s and tomorrow’s leaders—and, in contrast, by how much the nonprofit sector has yet to learn. The nonprofit sector does not invest as much in professional development as the private-sector. It is often viewed as a luxury, not a necessary or recurring budget item. Yes, there are plenty of one-time training events for individual executive directors. But rarely do nonprofit leaders receive the kind of sustained and focused support they need to build strong, collaborative teams (both within and across organizations) and lead change. Leadership for what? After a review of successful leadership development approaches in both nonprofit and corporate settings, we came to the conclusion that the answer is “Impact.” The communities we care most about as a grantmaker depend on key nonprofit groups to advance social change. Strong leadership, in turn, is what drives these groups to achieve their goals. Our research also suggested that leadership development works best when it moves beyond episodic interventions or one-time trainings to deeper, long-term engagements. And, rather than focusing solely on the executive director, we came down on the side of team-based, organizational approaches involving the board and senior staff as well. The reason: It is hard, if not impossible, to build a sustainable organization on the shoulders of just one person. Last but not least, the Fund’s investigation indicated that a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership won’t work. The amazing diversity of the sector, differences in the tenure and experience of nonprofit leaders, and the varying “life cycle” stages of organizations themselves—from emerging nonprofits to established community groups—all argue for tailored and flexible approaches. When provided with the right kind of support, nonprofit leaders themselves are in the best position to identify the leadership investments that will help them most.

The Flexible Leadership Awards

Based on our new understanding of the power of leadership to make a difference, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund launched the Flexible Leadership Awards (FLA) program in 2005. This pilot project engages the executive directors, senior staff and board members of selected nonprofits to create a customized leadership development program tailored to each organization’s unique challenges and strengths. While it is too early to share any definitive “lessons learned” from this work, we are pleased to report that it already has helped us forge stronger relationships with many of our nonprofit partners. Simply introducing the question of what the strategic priorities of these organizations are and what types of leadership support are needed to achieve them has proved valuable in and of itself. It has opened up new and fruitful conversations, candid discussions of the day-to-day challenges these organizations face. To put it very simply, we know these grantees in ways we didn’t know them before. Many feel safer talking to us about sensitive subjects like succession planning, board-staff relations and more. Their openness, in turn, positions us (and others) to help them in ways we couldn’t until now. There is also a sense that, for some of these organizations, having an opportunity to step back and think about their leadership has helped them lift their aspirations of where they want to go and what they want to do. Many of these organizations now are asking the question, “What kind of leadership do we need to achieve our goals?” Their answers are forcing a reassessment of how they want to express their mission and ambitions, while introducing new and exciting possibilities for future work. The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund has always valued and supported nonprofit leaders as they seek to strengthen local communities and create the conditions for positive social change. Now, we are taking this work to a deeper level. In addition to the Flexible Leadership Awards, we are making targeted investments to cultivate the nascent field of nonprofit leadership development through research and knowledge sharing among funders and others. For example, the Fund has supported the work of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) to document how funders around the country are supporting nonprofit leadership development and to draw out promising practices and lessons learned. As we continue to advance our understanding of what works to strengthen nonprofit leadership, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund is pleased to be able to share the story of our journey so far. And, we are eager to hear about the experiences of others and what they are learning in this important arena.

Sylvia M. Yee, Ph.D. Vice President of Programs