Want a Network of L&D Professionals? An Inside Look at the Nonprofit L&D Collective
Today we're getting an inside look at the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective - a free virtual community for human resources, talent management, and learning and development leaders to share ideas and learn from each other.
I’ll be sharing what the Nonprofit L&D Collective is (and what it isn’t), the value of the Nonprofit L&D Collective, and what exactly goes on inside of it.
Listen to the episode or scroll down to read the blog post ↓
Key Points:
01:21 What prompted me to create the Nonprofit L&D Collective
04:48 What is the Nonprofit L&D Collective?
06:05 The value of the Nonprofit L&D Collective
8:15 What goes on inside the Collective
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Want a Network of L&D Professionals? An Inside Look at the Nonprofit L&D Collective
When I was working internally at a national nonprofit, I can remember talking with others on my team about our work and wondering how it compared to the work of other nonprofits.
Did they experience the same types of challenges?
How did they solve them?
What innovative things were they doing?
Would they benefit from hearing what we were doing?
We wanted an inside look at what other nonprofits were doing.
That's what prompted me to create the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective. I wanted to create a place for nonprofit talent management, DEI, and learning and development leaders to get together and discuss their challenges, their needs, and their ideas. A place where they can learn from one another.
True social learning.
Putting some of those great Learning and Development best practices into practice in real life across nonprofits.
So a few months ago, I finally activated that idea. And I started the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective. It is a small but growing group, and today I'm going to give you an inside look at the collective.
In this blog post, we’re covering the following:
1) What the Nonprofit L&D Collective Is
If you're not in this group, you may be wondering what the group even is.
The Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective is a growing network of nonprofit L&D, talent management, HR, and DEI leaders who are looking to create meaningful learning solutions just like you.
So basically, anybody who might be creating training or leadership development solutions for their organization.
It's a free community where you are invited to respond to questions that are planned by the Skill Masters Market team, post your own questions or celebration posts, and respond to posts by other nonprofit leaders.
The goal is robust, lively communication, where we are supporting each other and learning from each other.
Now, it is a small but growing group, which means without you and your contributions, it will be a quiet group. But as it grows, and as people contribute more and more, this will be an incredible resource for you.
2) The Value of the Nonprofit L&D Collective
The Collective provides a platform to share real-world experiences, emerging trends, and best practices in the instructional design and leadership development fields.
You can ask questions, share information, and celebrate wins with your peers.
The value is the diverse, powerful network, the sharing, and the learning, all at your fingertips.
And the best part is, it's all from other nonprofit leaders.
Here are some examples.
If you want to use AI in your work, but you're not sure how, you could start a post and ask your peers what they are doing.
You're not sure how to structure that leadership development program. Again, ask your peers what they have done.
If you're ready to launch a project your team has been working hard on for months, we want to celebrate.
If you learn something new that you think others could benefit from, we want to see it.
You found a new favorite book that changed the way you think about training, we want to know. I'm looking at you Atomic Habits. If you haven't read that book, go read it; it is so good.
That is what this community is for. That is the value it brings. The potential is endless.
3) What the Nonprofit L&D Collective Is Not
With all this potential, you may be wondering what the Collective is not.
It's not a place for consultants to pitch you.
We're doing our best to keep this a consultant-free zone. Other than me as the host and moderator of the Collective, we are directing consultants to a separate community where they can learn from each other and network in much the same way that you are.
We have group rules about not pitching each other. Anyone who breaks those rules and is reported to the Skill Masters Market team will be removed from the group.
Because this community is for you. It's a place for you to learn and grow.
And I want it to be a safe space for you to share, not be pitched to.
4) What Goes on Inside the Collective
I want to share some of the topics that we've explored inside the Collective so far.
In June, I shared that I was closing out a project where I worked with a nonprofit to redesign an in-person course into a blended course, with live virtual sessions, as well as some self-paced e-learning.
I was planning the project debrief call as a way to capture feedback about the process, the relationship we built, and the results of the work. This is one way that I'm able to understand the impact of my work while also continuously learning and improving. But I know it's not the only way to determine impact.
So I asked the Collective to share ways they evaluate the impact of their work, whether formally or informally.
Now, I know that evaluation and impact are two very important things for nonprofit Learning and Development leaders. Imagine jumping into the Collective and seeing responses from nonprofits all around the country and getting new ideas for how to evaluate impact.
Wow, right?
Here's another example: In May, I shared about a challenging experience I had where I was yelled at by a colleague when working internally at a national nonprofit. This was years ago. I shared some ideas about how someone could remain calm and ‘recover’ from an experience like that.
I asked the Collective to share what they do when they need a well-being break. We all need a break from time to time.
You might start your day with peace and quiet reflecting on the things you're thankful for. You might take a daily walk. You might gather with friends once a week to decompress and enjoy the company of people that fully know you and fully support you.
Or you might be looking for new habits, new ways to look after your own well-being in a stressful environment.
Imagine jumping into the Collective and seeing responses from other leaders who are also in rewarding, but stressful jobs and learning some new ways to take care of yourself.
Powerful.
One more: In April I shared how many nonprofit Learning and Development leaders are trying to create buy-in for their ideas. I had heard it multiple times from my clients. So I wanted to bring it to the collective.
So I posed the question, what are your tried and true methods for creating buy-in with your subject matter experts or others in your organization?
Creating buy-in and influence is something we all do, and something we can all get better at. So this question is one that we can all benefit from.
Now, as I mentioned before, it's a small but growing group. Just imagine as more people join how much you can learn from your peers. That is what I want to create for you.
Come join the collective and kick us off by posting something you're learning, something you're working on, or a challenge you're experiencing.
We all win when we share and learn from each other.
To hear the full conversation I had on the Learning for Good Podcast, scroll all the way up and tune into episode 48.
The Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective
Do you wish you could connect with other nonprofit learning and development leaders?
I know what it feels like to want someone to bounce ideas off of and to learn from, someone who really understands you and your work. Imagine if you could have a simple way to meet people in the field, ask questions, and share information.
That's why I created the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective – so nonprofit L&D, talent management, and DEI leaders can connect with each other quickly and easily in a virtual space.
When you join this community, you will walk away with a new, diverse, and powerful network – and a sounding board for your staff development needs.
So if you're ready to exchange ideas and collaborate with your peers, come join the Nonprofit L&D Collective.
