After 45 Years, a New Chapter for The Nonprofit Center
What’s next in strengthening the region’s nonprofits
[PHILADELPHIA, PA] The Nonprofit Center, which has helped strengthen the region’s nonprofits for 45 years, is entering a new chapter as its own organization, and expanding its support for the sector at a time when many nonprofits are under real strain. The Center is now a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation operating under the fiscal sponsorship of TriCounty Community Network.
Over more than four decades, The Nonprofit Center has trained more than 30,000 nonprofit professionals and provided learning, consulting, and coaching to thousands of nonprofit, foundation, and corporate partners in Greater Philadelphia and beyond. Today, a team of eight staff and more than 50 consulting partners works alongside nonprofit leaders, boards, and employees, offering board development, interim executive leadership, strategic planning, and partnerships that help funders extend meaningful support to grantees.
“This next chapter bodes well in the long arc of the organization, helping build a robust nonprofit sector that supports just and sustainable communities,” said Karen Simmons, outgoing CEO, Chester County Community Foundation and former Executive Director of The Nonprofit Center. “The Nonprofit Center practices what it preaches.”
This work has rarely mattered more. Across the region, nonprofits are navigating tighter funding and rising demand for their services, pressures the Center sees in its work every day. Its aim in this new chapter is to help more organizations build lasting strength, working alongside them more closely than ever. This fall, The Nonprofit Center will begin offering free programming for nonprofit organizations, including board development programming and professional development for sector leaders, with funding support from the William Penn Foundation.
“I’ve seen firsthand the thoughtfulness and intentionality NPC brings to this work,” said Folasshade Dunbar, Chief Joy Officer, Black Nonprofit Chief Executives of Philadelphia (BNCEP). “Their approach of delivering what’s needed on demand, forging meaningful partnerships, and meeting organizations where they are, will continue to elevate the capacity and impact of our sector as a whole.”
As this chapter begins, the Center is helping lead a regional, multi-organizational effort to strengthen nonprofit capacity across Greater Philadelphia in collaboration with the Center for Leadership Equity/BNCEP and other critical organizational partners. That work is backed by a growing group of funders which includes The Independence Foundation, Vanguard, and Spring Point Partners.
The Center is also grateful to the foundation partners of the Nonprofit Repositioning Fund, who invested to support this transition.
“We’re stepping into this new chapter at a moment when nonprofits need real support, and we’re ready to meet that moment alongside the organizations and people doing this work,” said Kara Wentworth, Executive Director, The Nonprofit Center. “We can’t wait for what’s ahead, and we’d love to hear from anyone seeking support or collaboration.”
The Nonprofit Center welcomes inquiries from nonprofits, funders, and partners across the region. Reach out at hi@npcenter.org or visit www.npcenter.org.
The Nonprofit Center is a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation operating under the fiscal sponsorship of TriCounty Community Network. For more than 45 years, it has provided consulting, training, coaching, and peer learning to nonprofit organizations across Greater Philadelphia and beyond.
