As part of its goal to strengthen the local nonprofit sector’s impact on the overall quality of life in our communities, the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation has launched the Nonprofit Excellence program, a training series focused on professional development and leadership for nonprofits serving the greater West Side.
“We are out and about, actively listening to our community leaders. The message is crystal clear: they are facing a wide array of significant challenges, across many different issue areas. They need funding. They also need peer-to-peer support,” said Carrie Summy, president and CEO of the Community Foundation. “The Foundation is in a unique position to serve as a collaborative bridge between organizations that may be doing similar work in different geographies or fields, and to create opportunities for nonprofit leaders to learn from and be resources for each other.”
The Nonprofit Excellence program grows out of Impact Excellence, a long-running Foundation initiative for local leaders. Nonprofit Excellence will provide multiple opportunities for learning and exchange, including workshops, seminars, executive roundtables and other events. These programs address core elements of capacity building and sustainability, such as an organization’s mission and vision, human resources issues, board governance and infrastructure, technology, marketing and fundraising strategy.
The program will launch officially in January 2026, although the Foundation recently offered a workshop on contingency planning in light of recent budget cuts and significant changes occurring at federal and state level, which was well attended and received. “The information was super current and all extremely actionable” said one attendee.
“Nonprofit Excellence is key to our commitment to serve as a local resource and a trusted, valued partner for our social sector,” Summy said. “We are here to serve those helping our most vulnerable community members, and we’re going to do that in as many creative ways as we can.”
Programming is offered free of charge, and events will soon be posted on the Nonprofit Excellence page of the Foundation website, oprfcf.org. Local nonprofit executives and staff interested in participating in the program are encouraged to contact Program Director Elizabeth Chadri at 708-848-1560 or by email at echadri@oprfcf.org for more information.
Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation
The Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation invests in our future. We bring together nonprofits, businesses, civic officials, and caring residents to uncover and tackle issues of vital importance, and to attract resources to address unmet needs. Today we share our community’s vision to increase high quality childcare and education, support healthcare and mental health services, grow financial security, and enhance safety, belonging and stability for all who live and work in our region.
Join the Foundation and help fulfill our vision of a racially just society in which all members of our community thrive and prosper. Donate today at oprfcf.org.
