Social Innovation ForumSIF’s Nonprofit Network includes more than 250 organizations across Eastern Massachusetts. Since launching our Alumni & Nonprofit Network program six years ago, we’ve remained committed to one core principle: our programming should be shaped by the needs of our community. That means we don’t repeat the same offerings year after year—we listen, adapt, and evolve.
We get feedback from our community through a variety of ways:
- Our Annual Survey provides a snapshot of trends across organizations, and allows us to compare data from one year to the next to assess how the needs of our community are changing.
- We invite ongoing feedback from everyone who participates in our programming. Last year, we collected 97 additional survey responses from participants in our workshops, learning cohorts, events, and executive coaching.
- Our Alumni Council meets three times a year to co-design and guide our programming. This group includes 8-12 nonprofit leaders representing a cross-section of missions, organization size and stage, and geography within Eastern Massachusetts.
Across these channels, we heard a consistent message: early-to-mid career nonprofit professionals need more opportunities to build skills and grow as leaders. Executive Directors shared that developing junior staff is critical to organizational success, while emerging professionals expressed a desire for more peer connection and clearer pathways for growth.
In response, SIF intentionally expanded our programming to support this group, complementing our long-standing investment in Executive Directors and senior leaders. We launched the first learning cohort designed specifically for emerging leaders in the spring of 2025, and we’ve continued to build on that momentum with new offerings designed to support professionals at this stage of their careers.
Upcoming Opportunities for Early-to-Mid Career Professionals:
May 21, 2026 | Find Your Path: Building Capacity to Thrive in Nonprofit Work
A virtual session focused on understanding personal capacity, navigating generational and workstyle differences, and building habits that support long-term sustainability in mission-driven careers.
This session is open to all current staff at organizations that are part of SIF’s Nonprofit Network.
June 11, 2026 | Building Mutually Respectful and Trusting Relationships: A Training for New Supervisors
A full-day session designed to build practical, equity-centered skills for new supervisors. Across five modules, participants will reflect, build skills, and apply learnings with a network of peers.
This session is open to all current staff at organizations that are part of SIF’s Nonprofit Network.
If you’re an early-to-mid career professional in our network, we encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities to invest in your growth. If you haven’t already, sign up for our newsletter to learn more about these and other workshops we offer. Reach out to Annette at avaldouin@socialinnovationforum.org with any questions.
As our community’s needs continue to shift, we remain committed to listening closely and responding with intention. Expanding opportunities for early-to-mid career professionals is one example of how feedback shapes what we build next. By investing in leadership development at all levels, Social Innovation Forum is helping strengthen the capacity and resilience of the nonprofit sector across Eastern Massachusetts—and we look forward to continuing this work together.