Empowering Louisville’s Nonprofits

If your organization is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit that serves the Louisville metro area (including Southern Indiana), you are eligible to apply.  Some government (state and local) agencies, programs, B-Corps, and educational institutions may also be eligible. Business leagues and chambers of commerce with a 501(c)6 status are also eligible. Please note that nonprofits that have applied for a 501(c)3 status but have not yet received it are not eligible.

Community Acceleration Teams are groups of business and community leaders who work together to make nonprofits thrive.

Teams help by providing pro-bono strategic consulting on organizational issues or project design and implementation for your area of need. Participating nonprofits come away with improved operations, increased exposure, and more strategic focus, all while connecting with potential board members and strategic volunteers.

Teams convened and facilitated by the Center have been transforming the community and nonprofit organizations for decades. They include our Ignite Louisville Leadership Challenge and Encore Louisville teams. Nonprofit and civic organizations (including government agencies) are invited to submit proposals for consultancy-based teams and project-based teams two times each year.

Community Acceleration Teams are only successful if the team is supported by your agency.

Someone must be available as an ongoing liaison between the agency and the team. The CEO or C-Suite leadership must be the contact for strategy-based teams. Meetings with the Executive Director/President/CEO, additional leaders from staff or Board may be requested.

Teams that have the most success are teams that have the best communication with their agency. This will require time and energy on the part of the agency to attend meetings, return emails, take phone calls, and make decisions in a prompt manner. If the team is not given direction and feedback from their partner, they will have difficulty moving forward and achieving success.

During the project time period, you will also be contacted by the Leadership Louisville Center staff for status updates and feedback. Evaluations at the end of the project will also be required from all parties.

There are two rounds of selection:

• Round 1: An external committee of volunteers and former community leadership program participants will rank proposals and determine which nonprofits will move to round 2.
• Round 2: Organizations chosen to proceed to round 2 will pitch in-person to either our Ignite Louisville or Encore Louisville classes. The teams composed of class participants will then select the nonprofits they would like to partner with.

Please note that not all nonprofits who make an in-person pitch will receive teams.

When designing your project proposals, consider these things:

• The project must be realistic in scope and be able to be completed in the given timeframe (2-3 months for consultancy work, 4-5 months for project-based work).
• The project should produce sustainable results, allowing your organization to better serve the community and be strategic, structural, operational, or organizational in nature.
• The nonprofit agency must be open to new and innovative ideas that the team will provide.
• The nonprofit agency must have the capacity to communicate with the team regularly, meet with the team regularly, and work with them to make decisions quickly regarding the direction of their project.
• Make sure your submission is clearly written so the teams can understand exactly what you are asking.

Thanks to a contribution from Brown-Forman, there will be $1,000 micro-grants distributed to four nonprofits that partner with Encore Louisville project teams, and the winner of the Ignite Louisville Leadership Challenge will receive a $6,000 award. Click here to learn more about the Ignite Louisville Challenge. Additionally, one nonprofit that works with a Community Acceleration Team from Ignite Louisville will have the opportunity to participate in one or more storytelling training sessions and be part of a competition to win a separate $6,000 grant from the Tommy Elliott Fund for Community Leadership.

Click here to submit a proposal for a CAT team

If you have questions in the meantime, please contact Aimee Jewell via email or call (502) 468-2426.

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