Action Learning Program

The Action Learning Program (ALP) is an initiative designed to support organizations fighting climate change to achieve their mission and realize their goals. The ALP delivers by facilitating customized access to a curated and diverse pool of high quality organizational development (OD) experts, coaches and resources for organizations and their leaders to address their institutional needs.

 

As its name goes, the Action Learning Program is built to support organizations both learn and execute with optimal flexibility and cadence. The ALP strives to be adaptable and customizable with a variety of formats for accessing OD support, from light-touch consultations with experts to solve specific problems to longer organisational transformation projects. Furthermore, it is global in its scope, servicing organizations worldwide by connecting them to each other and to experts and resources that resonate with unique linguistic, geographic and cultural needs. 

What is Action Learning?  Action learning involves taking action and reflecting upon the results. It is based on the assumption that truly successful organizations are learning organisations. They are on a continuous path of self reflection, learning, unlearning and evolving into the best version of themselves.

Topics: Boards & governance, Business models, Business plans, Campaigning, Communications, Financial management, Fundraising, Gender, diversity and inclusion, Hiring and retention, Human resources, Leadership and team building, Legal issues, Monitoring and evaluation, Organizational structure & roles, Safeguarding, Security, Strategy, Succession planning, Technology, and many more.  There are consultants with very niche expertise, at the Nonprofit Builder pool, please reach out to us to guide you and match you with the expert best suited to your demands.   Example questions you may work on as part of this Program: How do we get a simple strategy which works and does not sit on the shelf? How can we find a new business model and diversify our revenue streams? How shall we organise our communications to reach my audiences? How do we find and hire the right people with minimal time and effort? How can we plan our cashflow so we avoid financial droughts? How can we organise our remote team to work in a concerted way? How to make sure that our global team has equity in benefits and compensation? How do we ensure a smooth transition from one leader to another? How do we integrate diversity and gender equity or child safeguarding? Do we need a CRM and if yes, which one?

How it works

 

 

1. Onboarding 

 

We hold a 60 minute intake meeting on Zoom every first Tuesday of the month, for all new grantees. Following the intake meeting, they will receive access to the Nonprofit Builder platform, and an information pack with an explanatory video.

Feel free to communicate to us your organizational development priorities and preferable moment to start the Program via this brief form (it would take you just a few minutes to fill it in). This would allow us to plan ahead the individual needs assessment calls with you.

 

 

2. The Nonprofit Builder Platform

 

The Nonprofit Builder platform allows the grantee and the sponsoring funder to browse consultants and book meetings with them, keep track of all consultations and projects, register for webinars and watch past webinars, and fill in  organisational self-assessment to diagnose its OD needs. It has a live chat to get support at any time.

 

3. Seminar Program

 

The seminars are 90 minute Zoom webinars given by participating experts covering all topics mentioned above, from communications to fundraising to strategy. They are interactive. They are designed to give a comprehensive understanding of the topic and include valuable and practical handouts. They also give the grantee the opportunity to meet the experts they  may later choose to work with. We recommend grantees invite all relevant staff to participate in all seminars that are of interest, to disseminate knowledge within the  organisation. Grantees can also access the webinar library to watch past sessions at their own time and pace. 

Click here to register to the coming Seminars, and here to watch the past ones.

 

4. One-to-one Consultations & Additional Hours

 

This unique service allows grantees to contact any one of 50 participating OD experts  to get support on any pressing questions. They  can book a 60 minute meeting via the NonprofitBuilder platform, and after the meeting the expert will send a helpful follow-up email with advice and suggestions. 

 

If one hour is insufficient, grantees can request up to 20 additional hours from this consultant.

Click here to access the Consultant Browser.

View One-to-one Presentation & Roadmap

One-to-one Consultations Process workflow (1920 × 1080 px) by Nonprofit Builder

 

5. Executive Coaching

 

This kind of coaching is ideal if a grantee is a startup, or if it is the leader’s first time as an executive, or if they are taking the organization through a complicated transition and need a competent adviser to backstop them.

 

Our coaches have very strong practical experience on all the important questions leaders may face: strategic shifts, motivating their  teams, financial management, working with their board, partnerships, etc.

 

Coaching typically comes in packages of 10 sessions, either monthly or every two weeks, to be agreed with the coach. The focus is always on what the leader feels is most relevant to them.

 

6. Diagnostics Self-Test & Needs Assessment Call

 

We recommend starting with this concise self-assessment form.  It should be filled in by the management team, not only the chief executive. The resulting discussion will lead to a common understanding of needs and priorities in terms of developing the organization and may prove to be one of the most valuable gains from this Program.

 

The grantee may then book a needs assessment call with us. We will take 60 minutes to go over the self-assessment with the grantee, and identify priorities, identify what projects could be part of its organisational development plan. We will then send a recap email, including our recommendations about which experts would be the best suited to guide the grantee in the implementation of these projects.  

 

7. Guided projects

 

Guided projects last about 2-3 months and include 5-7 days of consultant support. They are ideal for more mature grantees who are ready for deeper dives into organisational transformation: pivots, transitions, growth, succession planning, income diversification, digital transformation, etc. 

 

View Guided Projects Roadmap (with links to samples)

 

Guided Project Roadmap by Nonprofit Builder

 

What can you expect from this Program?

 

The Action Learning Program should help the grantee put into place building blocks of a healthy organisation: 

 

• A well articulated strategy that includes a theory of change, a resource mobilization model, a communication strategy and a set of goals and indicators with which to measure its progress.
• A solid situation in terms of leadership, governance, team, organizational structure and culture, operational capabilities, and financial management, so it may reach its goals.

 

Additionally, we hope it help you set grantees on a path of continual learning and improvement: 

 

• Self-awareness: the grantee is aware of its position/phase in their OD journey.
• Intentional: the grantee has learned how to set OD goals and priorities, and become intentional in reaching these goals.
• Results: the grantee has laid the foundations in at least three of its OD priority areas.
• Seeking help: the grantee has learnt how to work with OD consultants and coaches.
• Continual learning: the grantee shows interest in adopting a path of deliberate and continual progress in its OD.

 

The working language is English, but our consultants speak Portuguese, Spanish and Bahasa, among other languages. 

How much does it cost?

 

The Program is at no cost to the grantee. All costs and expenses are covered by its funder via the Nonprofit Builder.

 

We recommend a budget of between 5000 and 8'000 USD for each actively participating grantee, which should cover the following typical activities, as an example:

• Five one-to-one consultations (200$ each for a discussion and helpful follow-up email)
• One coaching package (usually around 2500$ for 10 sessions)
• One guided project (usually around 6000$)

This amount is pooled, meaning the more active and ambitious grantees get to use more of the funds than the less active ones.

 

 

Certification and diplomas

 

As of 2022, we aim to validate the learning and achievements of all individuals who take part, from the most senior to the most junior.

 

• All staff can earn a Certificate of participation for attending 8 seminars and writing a 3000 word paper on key insights they gained and how they applied the new knowledge.
• Mid-level managers can earn a Certificate of achievement for leading a change project and writing a 5000 word case study on their experience.
• Senior executives can earn a Diploma of advanced practice for leading a significant change project, completing a coaching program, in leadership development, and writing a 9000 word paper on their learning and experience.

 

Contacts

 

To enquire about this Program, please contact Anna Kondratyuk at anna@nonprofitbuilder.org 

Useful links:

• ALP flyer
  
• ALP Onboarding Survey
• Discovery Discussion Survey
• Organizational Development: Core Expertise Glossary

ALP Presentation

ALP Grantee Presentation by Nonprofit Builder

Demo of the CRM

The NPB CRM: Your account by Nonprofit Builder