Nonprofit experts discuss impending leadership deficit

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Local and national leaders in the nonprofit sector will discuss ways to solve an imminent problem — a possible lack of leadership.

The Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Grand Valley State University, in partnership with the Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management at Arizona State University and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, is hosting Nonprofit 2020: Issues and Answers from the Next Generation.

The event will take place July 26-28 at the Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids. Emerging leaders nationwide will convene and, through the use of Open Space Technology, explore the issue of the nonprofit sector’s impending leadership deficit. This meeting method allows the agenda and discussion topics to be developed by conference participants who move freely between various discussion groups.

According to the Bridgespan Group’s report “The Nonprofit Sector’s Leadership Deficit,” from 2007-2016, nonprofits will need to attract and develop some 640,000 new senior leaders — the equivalent of 2.4 times the number currently employed. This statistic creates more impact on the sector as baby boomers prepare for retirement in the next few years.

“The final test of leadership is securing a smooth succession to the next leader,” said Kathy Agard, executive director of the Johnson Center. “That test is facing the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors now and in the decade to come. How we respond to it will determine the fate of millions of people during the coming decades. We have no margin for error — we must ensure the succession.”

NP2020 is designed for individuals between the age of 21 and 40 who are committed to community and social change and who are concerned about the future leadership of the nonprofit sector. Attendees do not need to be currently working in the sector to participate.

For more information contact Nicole Notario-Risk at the Johnson Center at (616) 331-7585, or GVSU News and Information Services at (616) 331-2221. Participants can register online at www.gvsu.edu/np2020 . Registration deadline is July 5, 2007 (space is limited).