Since its inception in 2012, Hostos’ Center for Bronx Nonprofits (CBNP) has worked toward building a better Bronx by assisting and supporting the numerous organizations in the borough who are committed to the same mission.
 
Thanks to a generous $150,000 grant from the Booth Ferris Foundation, which runs over two years, CBNP will expand on two pilot leadership programs serving Bronx nonprofit middle managers and executive directors, so they can work more efficiently for their communities. Hostos is proud to work with Booth Ferris, a prominent New York City-focused funder of public education, arts and culture, and other life-changing initiatives, on supporting these critical organizations. The two CBNP Leadership Development Programs have served two cohorts to date, to further the successful development of Bronx nonprofit leadership. More than 50 percent work in the fields of human services or health, and about 67 percent have been at their nonprofits for more than three years.
 
Eileen Newman, who became CBNP’s first Executive Director in May 2013, said (something like this, which I stole from the narrative, would be great:
 
“While the Bronx nonprofit sector is critically important in terms of employment and provision of essential services, many nonprofits lack the skilled personnel or organizational capacity to bring about the positive changes they seek,” Newman said. “Our goal is to assist these nonprofit leaders, who are often under-resourced.”

Specifically, the grant funding will support:
  1. The Executive Management Certificate Program, a 10-month training program for rising executives, will run from May 2017 to February 2018. During the first six months, these managers attend monthly, three-hour sessions to increase their skills base. The program builds incrementally to develop skills crucial to a leader's success, covering topics such as collaboration and team building, managing up, managing staff, and maximizing influence and impact. CBNP designed the interactive training curriculum in conjunction with Community Resource Exchange (CRE), who facilitated the sessions. During the final four months, students participate in a monthly Peer Learning Network. These four-hour interactive training sessions allow them to continue to learn from and network with their nonprofit peers. Participants who complete the program earn a certificate from Hostos Community College.
 
  1. The Executive Director’s Peer Learning Network (PLN), which meets monthly for six, 3.5-hour peer-to-peer interactive sessions, will run from September 2017 to February 2018. PLNs are considered a valuable approach to building nonprofit capacity, as participants learn necessary lessons and build skills that support their leadership success while strengthening their capacity to address specific issues. Facilitated PLNs help peers learn to problem solve from each other on issues of mutual concern. ED PLNs are highly focused, addressing specific organizational challenges that each participant brings to the group. As such, groups are intentionally kept small. After program completion, alumni have opportunities for in-person or web check-ins with CBNP to continue peer learning.
 
With the help of generous funders, including Booth Ferris, CBNP has created a much needed capacity building resource in an under-resourced community, where none existed before, to bolster the success of nonprofits and their current and future leadership. To date, CBNP has trained 20-25 nonprofit middle managers and 10-15 executive directors per cohort, totaling 70-80 participants across cohorts.
 
More about the Center for Bronx Nonprofits (CBNP)
The mission of CBNP is to impact the Bronx community’s quality of life by strengthening the capacity of the borough’s nonprofits. CBNP strengthens Bronx nonprofits’ individual and collective effectiveness by facilitating opportunities for leadership and organizational development, technical skills training, and networking and knowledge resource sharing. It provides nonprofit leaders with capacity building programming, focusing on topics such as succession planning, leadership development and evaluation and data analysis. Additionally, it hosts public conversations and forums on topics of importance to both the borough and the city at large. Since CBNP was established in 2012 within the Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development at Hostos Community College, it has served as a vital support organization to Bronx-based and Bronx-serving nonprofits, with more than 1,400 nonprofit staff members participating in its events to date. CBNP is now well-positioned to expand its two pilot Leadership Programs serving Bronx nonprofit middle managers and executive directors, and so requests the support of the Booth Ferris Foundation.
 
About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities for nearly half a century. Since 1968, Hostos has been a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs.
 
Hostos offers 27 associate degree programs and two certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to The City University of New York’s (CUNY) four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 500,000 students at 24 colleges.