Nonprofit Excellence Program

As part of our goal to strengthen the nonprofit sector’s impact on the overall quality of life in our community, the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation offers the Nonprofit Excellence program, a training series focused on professional development and leadership for nonprofits serving the greater West Side.

The Nonprofit Excellence program provides multiple opportunities for capacity building to nonprofits, including workshops, seminars, executive roundtables and other events. These programs address core elements of capacity building, such as an organization’s:

  • Mission, vision and goals
  • Strategy
  • Human resources
  • Systems and infrastructure
  • Governance and structure
  • Culture

Nonprofit Excellence is integral to our commitment to serve as a local resource and a trusted, valued partner within the community. 

To learn more about the program and be notified of future events, please contact Program Director Sam Siers at 708-848-1560, or by email at [email protected] for more information.

Additional Resources

Health & Social Services:

  • The HUB is a closed-loop referral database that helps connect community members to the behavioral health and other social services that they need. Learn more and search for services by zip code at namimetsub.org/the-health-connection-hub/ 

Funding:

  • The Illinois Arts Council’s mission is to build a strong, creative and connected Illinois through the arts through a variety of grants and services. Learn more about available opportunities and browse arts directories at arts.illinois.gov.
  • Forefront is a statewide association representing both grantmakers and nonprofits, as well as their advisors and allies. Its mission is to build a vibrant social impact sector for all the people of Illinois. Learn more about its programs and services at myforefront.org.

BIPOC Consultants:

  • AMPT: Advancing Nonprofits supports West and South Side community organizations in building organizational health and sustainability through capacity building. Visit their consultant portal at amptchicago.org.
  • Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy maintains a directory of Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) advisers and consultants at caaip.org/find-a-consultant.

Board Development:

  • BoardSource provides leaders with an extensive range of tools, resources, and research data to increase board effectiveness and strengthen organizational impact. Learn more at boardsource.org.
  • The Executive Service Corps provides consulting, coaching, and professional services to over 150 nonprofit organizations impacting 1.2 million people each year. Learn more at execservicecorps.org.

Administrative Support:

  • The Back Office Cooperative offers nonprofit organizations complimentary expense management reviews, provides access to group buying programs, and provides procurement services and consulting. Learn more at thebackofficecoop.org.
  • National Able Network offers personalized staffing and training resources for businesses and career coaching, training and connections for job seekers. Learn more at nationalable.org.