The Essential Leadership Lab provides nonprofit sector executives and senior leaders with an opportunity to meet monthly in virtual cohorts of peers for a full 12 months, developing knowledge and skills, exploring critical issues, and cultivating an unparalleled network of leader-colleagues.
Enrollment opens only three times each year. Enrollment is CURRENTLY CLOSED. The current cycle is closed and will be open again in January 2027 for a February 2027 start date.
Join us for the Essential Leadership Lab
- 12 monthly virtual sessions focusing on critical topics facing leaders in the nonprofit sector.
- Participants enroll for 12 months and choose to participate in 9 of the 12 sessions.
- The sessions include facilitated conversations in which participants share their own experiences, elevating the expertise in the room.
- Enrollment opens 3 times per year for start dates in February, June, or October, when new participants join an orientation and then jump into the ongoing meetings.
- C-suite leaders placed together into an Executive Track of Lab.
Schedule of Lab Topics
Participants choose 9 of the 12 monthly topics during their 12-month registration year:
November 2026 | The Trust Deficit: Rebuilding Donor Confidence in a Skeptical Era
Framework Lens: Community — Leading in the Sector
Public trust in institutions, including nonprofits, is … how shall we say this? … not great. How do senior leaders rebuild and sustain donor confidence when transparency expectations have never been higher, misinformation spreads faster than impact stories, and every dollar is scrutinized? In this Lab, leaders will examine their organization’s trust “balance sheet,” share strategies that have moved the needle, and design communication approaches that turn skepticism into deeper commitment.
December 2026 | What We Carry: The Hidden Weight of Leading a Mission-Driven Organization
Framework Lens: Me — Leadership Strength & Sustainability
There is a particular kind of weight that comes with working on behalf of mission-driven organizations: grief when the work falls short, moral injury when values and reality collide, and the relentless pressure of caring deeply about outcomes you cannot fully control. In this closing session of the year, we create space for an honest, restorative conversation about what sustainable leadership actually looks and feels like – not as a performance, but as a practice. We’ll reflect on what we’re carrying, what we might set down, and how to enter the new year with intention rather than exhaustion.
January 2027 | Your Leadership Identity in a Changing Sector
Framework Lens: Me — Leading Yourself
Am I still the right person for this moment?
When the sector shifts as dramatically as it has in recent years, many leaders quietly wonder whether they still belong … whether their skills, instincts, and experience are enough for what’s being asked of them now. In a sector defined by impossible odds and chronic under-resourcing, inferiority complex and imposter syndrome are occupational hazards. This month we explore leadership identity, how it fractures under pressure, and how to lead with greater clarity and conviction, even with an inner critic along for the ride.
February 2027 | The Culture You’re Actually Building (vs. the One You Think You Are)
Framework Lens: We — Leading Your Team & Organization
Culture isn’t what you say it is. It’s what our people feel on a Tuesday afternoon. Every leader has a story about their organizational culture, but the stories their staff tell can be very different. This session challenges leaders to look honestly at the gap between their cultural intentions and their team’s lived experience, using peer reflection and real examples to surface blind spots and identify high-leverage moments for culture change.
March 2027 | What Does Impact Actually Mean? Rethinking Measurement in a Complex World
Framework Lens: Community — Leading in the Sector
The sector has long struggled with the gap between what’s easy to measure and what actually matters. As funders demand more sophisticated data and communities demand more authentic accountability, leaders are being asked to tell a more nuanced story about impact. This month we will examine our current measurement frameworks, share what we wish we could capture, and explore emerging approaches that better reflect the complexity of real change.
April 2027 | AI + Your Team: From Experiment to Integration
Framework Lens: We — Leading Your Team & Organization
DESCRIPTION COMING SOON
May 2027 | The Courage to Lead Differently
Framework Lens: Me — Leading Yourself
Most leaders know what they should do differently. The gap isn’t knowledge; it’s courage. Whether it’s a difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding, a strategic risk you haven’t taken, or a leadership habit that’s quietly holding you back, this Lab session creates space for self-examination and peer accountability.
June 2027 | Hot Topic — To Be Announced
Framework Lens: TBD
Topic to be determined based on emerging trends and sector developments closer to the date.
July 2027 | The Philanthropy Reckoning: Power, Money, and Who Gets to Define What Good Looks Like
Framework Lens: Community — Leading in the Sector
The rules of philanthropy seem to be shifting, and not everyone agrees with the direction they’re taking. Trust-based giving is challenging the compliance culture of traditional grantmaking. Donor advised funds are concentrating philanthropic power. Effective altruism promised rigor and delivered controversy. Meanwhile, the communities nonprofits exist to serve are demanding more voice in decisions that have long been made without them. In this Lab, we step back from our individual organizations and examine the sector’s shifting power landscape together. What’s actually changing? What should change? And what does it mean for how we all do our work?
Future topics will be available in Spring 2027.
Past Topics include…
The Multigenerational Workforce: Leading Across the Divide
Embracing Difficult Conversations
Risk & Reward
Ethical Storytelling
Motivating a Workforce
Navigating Change
Leadership Pipeline and the Next Generation of Leaders
Breaking Down Silos
Providing Challenging Feedback
The North Star: Leading with Intention in 2026
Risk Stewardship: Leading with Intention in a Complex World
The Emotional Toll of Leadership: Leading When You’re Overwhelmed
Accelerating AI Impact in Your Organization
Looking Back & Looking Forward: A Mid-Year Gut Check
The Loyalty Equation: What Employees Actually Want Now
…and many more.
Thank you! TNPA Leadership Programming Sponsors 2026
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
To learn more about becoming a sponsor in 2026, reach out to Dominika Brice, Programs Manager, at dbrice@tnpa.org.
Enrollment is CURRENTLY CLOSED!
The current cycle is closed and will be open again in January 2027 for a February 2027 start date.
Questions? Reach out to Dominika Brice at dbrice@tnpa.org.
Participation in TNPA’s Essential Leadership Lab is open to TNPA members only.
Nonprofit Members: $549
Commercial Members: $749
Enrollment includes 12 months of Lab participation, starting in either February, June, or October.
Enrollment is CURRENTLY CLOSED.
Questions? Reach out to Dominika Brice at dbrice@tnpa.org.
Who are Lab participants?
Essential Leadership Lab is a program for members of TNPA. Click here to learn about membership.
Lab participants are leaders from nonprofit organizations and commercial partners with proven experience and a passion for collaboration, innovation, and organizational health. Is this you? We invite you to join the Lab!
Thank you Platinum Sponsors!
and additional sponsors below
20% Off Educational Package now available for Member Nonprofits
Member Nonprofit Organizations receive 20% off. Register for the three programs through the TNPA Educational Package. Then, over the year, sign up a staff person for each one. The TNPA Educational Package is only $999 and includes:
– one (1) registration to Leadership Summit (September 27 – 29, 2027)
– one (1) registration to Rising Leaders Summit (virtual for 2027)
– one (1) registration to Essential Leadership Lab (virtual 12-month program starting in February, June, or October)
For more info or to register contact Dominika Brice at dbrice@tnpa.org.
Enrollment transfer and cancellation policies: Enrollment in the Essential Leadership Lab constitutes intent to participate for at least one year and is a commitment to the Lab experience for fellow members. Enrollment is non-transferrable as of the last date of the current enrollment registration. Lab membership remains with the individual, such that if a Lab member changes jobs or employers, the individual remains a member of the Essential Leadership Lab for the remainder of the pre-paid one-year term. No refunds will be issued after the final date of the current enrollment registration period.
TNPA DEI Accountabilities: As part of our organizational commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, TNPA strives to hold ourselves accountable for putting our principles into practice. We apply this same accountability to those who create and/or present content on our behalf:
- Be inclusive. Create content that can resonate with an array of listeners and readers.
- Speak to diversity. Recognize that members of an audience or cohort have various lived experiences.
- Recognize that systemic inequities and discrimination exist. Do your best to acknowledge how we can mitigate against them.
- Be mindful of explicit and implicit bias. Review content through the lens of varied identities.
TNPA Code of Conduct: The Nonprofit Alliance exists to foster the development and growth of nonprofit organizations and to protect the donors, members, partners, and volunteers that support them. At all educational offerings and conferences, we commit to fostering an environment free from physical, emotional, and psychological harm. We will not tolerate harassment, discrimination, and intimidation of any form. All individuals must exhibit professionalism, must demonstrate respect for others, must act with civility, and must refrain from inappropriate and unwelcomed physical contact, sexual references and aggressive advances. Anyone who experiences or witnesses a violation to these standards, should immediately contact TNPA CEO Shannon McCracken. Anyone found in violation of the TNPA Code of Conduct by any means may receive a warning, have membership suspended, registration forfeited, or experience escalation to legal authorities.
