Nonprofit Support Resources

Leadership Coaching & Peer Learning Cohorts

Apply for the 1st cohort through Friday, April 10, 2026.

In partnership with Brico Works*, the Northland Foundation is supporting a 10-Month leadership development experience for nonprofit leaders in our rural region.

Brico will facilitate two virtual Change Cohorts made up of eight people each. The cohorts will include a facilitated 2-hour virtual session every month for 10 months.

This virtual cohort model allows emerging leaders from across northeastern Minnesota to participate without traveling. 

*Brico Works is a Duluth-based leadership and strategy practice focused on strengthening changemakers and the organizations they serve. 

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Please note that participation in this cohort will not affect eligibility for Northland Foundation grant programs in any way. 

About the Program

This opportunity is aimed at mid-level nonprofit staff who want to grow their leadership confidence, cultivate a regional network of trusted peers, and develop sustainable leadership habits. Click here for a flyer.

Monthly session content will include Grounding + check in, Leadership topic or tool, Skill Building lab, Peer problem-solving, and Commitment + accountability. Brico Works curates the cohorts, facilitates the monthly sessions, and supports participants throughout the full 10 months. Goals include: 

• Building leadership confidence and clarity
• Strengthening communication and decision-making. 
• Reducing isolation.
• Improving adaptability in times of change. 
• Creating a regional peer network that continues beyond the program. 

Eligibility

Each cohort will include 8 individuals, for a total of 16 openings. One person per organization, please. 

• Staff working for direct-service, 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organizations within the Northland Foundation’s seven-county service area (foundations, government, educational institutions, and purely volunteer-led nonprofits are not eligible to apply). 
  
• Middle-level leaders (program managers, program directors, coordinators, supervisors, team leads, emerging leaders, community-facing staff navigating partnerships, etc.). This includes leaders by influence, not just title.

Timeline and Requirements

Applicants should be able to participate in a 2-hour virtual session held once a month for 10 months and be open to reflection and peer learning.

COHORT 1 – April 2026 through January 2027  

• Application Deadline: Friday, April 10, 2026 
  
• Participants selected by: Wednesday, April 15, 2026 
  
• Cohort I Sessions: April 29, May 27, June 24, July 22, August 26, September 23, October 28, November 18, December 16, January 27. All monthly sessions are held on Wednesdays from 9-11 AM.

COHORT 2 – October 2026 through June 2027

Are you interested but the Cohort 1 time frame doesn’t work for you? Another virtual cohort is launching in October 2026!

• Find and complete the Interest Form on Brico’s website to be included in communications regarding Cohort 2. 
• Application Deadline: to be announced 

Apply or Nominate Others

Click below to visit the Brico Works Change Cohort webpage, scroll down to Cohort Options and select Virtual Cohorts. There are links to:

• Apply for Cohort 1.
• Nominate someone you know (we will follow up with them to gauge their interest).
• An interest form for Cohort 2.

Individualized Consulting

We will hold an initial application period with a deadline of April 6. If additional slots are still available, the deadline may be extended.

Starting in spring 2026, Propel Nonprofits* will provide confidential consulting/technical assistance (TA) for a limited number of nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations within our region.  

This opportunity is available to current or past Northland Foundation grantees that provide direct services. Government organizations, foundations, or educational institutions are not eligible. 
 
*Propel Nonprofitsfuels the impact and effectiveness of nonprofits with guidance, expertise, and capital. Propel provides a holistic range of services that meets a large set of nonprofits’ needs, including the ability to more closely link strategy, governance, and finance, and to support nonprofits throughout their organizational life cycle. 

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Participation in this cohort will not affect eligibility for Northland Foundation grant programs in any way. 

About the Program

Propel will work closely with a team of people from each organization to inform the outcomes, champion the process within the organization, and provide input and insight into content produced.  

Participants will receive up to 20 hours of individualized consulting/technical assistance, selected from the following topic areas. 

• Strategic retreat facilitation such as setting up an approach to reprioritize strategic goals, a visioning session, mission/vision/values review, assessing the organization’s current state using a series of internal and external assessments, or creating a work plan for an existing strategic plan. 

• Board training & development such as board self-assessment, board action plan, board engagement strategies, customized training, board/bylaws tune-up, board chair/ED coaching, etc. 

• Financial analysis & planning such as scenario planning, mission money matrix, financial business model analysis, exploring earned revenue strategies, etc. 

• Infrastructure and capacity planning support such as organizational assessment, emergency succession planning, logic model development, etc. 

• Other as agreed upon by client and Propel. Note that Propel does not consult on fundraising. Click for the full menu of Propel’s available services.

Eligibility

A limited number of organizations will be selected to participate. To be eligible, applicants must meet all the following criteria. 

• Nonprofit 501(c)(3) direct service organization within our region. 
• Past or current grantee of the Northland Foundation whose programming aligns with one or more of our Quarterly Grant Program priority areas (What We Fund). 
• Formalized staff roles (paid staff) and multiple programs and/or revenue streams. 

Government entities, foundations, or educational institutions are not eligible. 

NOTE: Organizations CANNOT participate in both the Individualized Technical Assistance AND the Financial Resiliency Cohort. These are one-or-the-other offerings, in order to maximize the number of organizations that can benefit from this initiative. 

Timeline and Requirements

Propel Nonprofits takes a collaborative approach in their consulting, greatly valuing the perspectives and knowledge of organizational leaders. It is important that participants can commit the personnel and time required for effective TA.

Propel will work closely with a team of 3-5 people from the organization to inform the outcomes, champion the process within the organization, and provide input and insight into content produced. Depending on the type of project, this team may require the board chair and/or board members to participate. 

Participants that pass Northland Foundation’s screening process will schedule an initial meeting with Propel to discuss in more detail their goals for TA and determine a scope of work, work plan, and timeline. This organizational team of 3-5 will have planning and debriefing meetings with Propel, as well as inform the rest of their organization of progress and updates.  

• Exact time commitments and suggestions of specific participants will be determined before commencing a project. However, selected organizations should commit to meeting with Propel at least 2-to-3 times during the project and doing homework between meetings.
  
• Depending on the type of project, work may span the period of several months. Work may or may not be able to begin right away, based on the capacity of consultants and/or desired time frame of selected organizations.
  
• Once selected organizations have the initial meeting with Propel, Propel will create a proposed scope of work and timeline that they will ask selected organizations to sign to indicate their agreement and commitment.

Apply

This opportunity is available to current or past Northland Foundation grantees who meet all eligibility requirements. Application deadline April 6, 2026.

Financial Resiliency Cohort

Eligible northeastern Minnesota nonprofits can apply through April 6, 2026.

In partnership with Propel Nonprofits*, the Northland Foundation is supporting a Financial Resiliency Cohort combining training and individualized technical assistance (TA) for up to 10 nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations within our region to support their overall financial resilience.  

This opportunity is available to current/past Northland Foundation grantees that provide direct services. Government organizations, foundations, or educational institutions are not eligible.

*Propel Nonprofits fuels the impact and effectiveness of nonprofits with guidance, expertise, and capital. Propel provides a holistic range of services that meets a large set of nonprofits’ needs, including the ability to more closely link strategy, governance, and finance, and to support nonprofits throughout their organizational life cycle.

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Participation in this cohort will not affect eligibility for Northland Foundation grant programs in any way. 

About the Program

The Financial Resiliency Cohort will include three, 3-hour online learning sessions—one each in April, May, and June 2026—along with access to 10 hours of individual TA provided by Propel Nonprofits*. Organizations selected to participate will receive support to implement their self-identified action steps. 

The Northland Foundation will not be informed of any discussion or technical assistance content resulting from this cohort nor will we be made aware of any financial issues or plans that surface as a result of participation.

Eligibility

Organizations with an annual budget between $150,000 and $3 million are the best fit for this opportunity. To be eligible, applicants must meet all of the following criteria. 

• Nonprofit 501(c)(3) direct service organization within our region. 
• Past or current grantee of the Northland Foundation whose programming aligns with one or more of our Quarterly Grant Program priority areas (What We Fund). 
• Formalized staff roles (paid staff) and multiple programs and/or revenue streams. 

NOTE: Organizations CANNOT participate in both the Individualized Technical Assistance AND the Financial Resiliency Cohort. These are one-or-the-other offerings, in order to maximize the number of organizations that can benefit from this initiative. 

Timeline and Requirements

Each organization must commit to three participants: executive director, head of financials, and board member, who will engage in three, 3-hour online sessions:

• Tuesday, April 21, 2026: 1- 4 p.m. – Assessing Financial Health 
• Tuesday, May 19, 2026: 1-4 p.m. – Scenario Planning Tools, Tips, and Resources 
• Tuesday, June 23, 2026: 1- 4 p.m. – Analyzing Program Costs and Impact 

Apply

This opportunity is available to current/past Northland Foundation grantees that provide direct services. Government organizations, foundations, or educational institutions are not eligible. Application deadline: April 6, 2026.

In-Person Training: Finance and Board Governance

Fundamentals of Nonprofit Finance and Fundamentals of Nonprofit Board Governance will be held July 29 in Duluth and September 23 on the Iron Range.

Give newer staff and board members at your nonprofit a better understanding of the basics of finance and board governance. In partnership with Propel Nonprofits, we are offering half-day, in-person trainings free of charge to staff and board members of nonprofit organizations located within our service area.

About the Trainings

Led by consultants from *Propel Nonprofits, these in-person learning opportunities will be held in two locations in our region.

These trainings are aimed at staff and board members of 501(c)(3) nonprofit direct service organizations in Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, or St. Louis Counties. 

Register for the half-day morning session (Finance), half-day afternoon session (Governance), or both (full day). Space is limited to 40 people per session.

• Fundamentals of Nonprofit Finance (9AM to Noon) 
  This training is designed to make participants more comfortable with nonprofit finance. Propel Nonprofit finance trainers will walk through nonprofit financial reports including the income statement (statement of activities) and balance sheet (statement of financial position). Participants will gain an understanding of nonprofit finance terminology, financial statements, and staff and board roles and responsibilities. This workshop is right for you if you are new to the nonprofit sector, nonprofit finance, or your position as staff or board member. 

• Fundamentals of Nonprofit Board Governance (1PM to 4PM) 
  Though suitable for staff who are newer to board governance, participating board members will gain more confidence and more knowledge about their role after attending this workshop. Participants will learn typical board responsibilities and explore the nuances of board authority and relationships. Participants take home Propel’s Nonprofit Board Governance workbook, which includes the Fiduciary Duties of Directors of Charitable Organizations. While this training is open to all, it is designed for those new to serving on a board or those who are contemplating joining a board. 

*Propel Nonprofits fuels the impact and effectiveness of nonprofits with guidance, expertise, and capital. Propel provides a holistic range of services that meets a large set of nonprofits’ needs, including the ability to more closely link strategy, governance, and finance, and to support nonprofits throughout their organizational life cycle.

SESSION DETAILS AND REGISTRATION 

Registration is first-come first-served, and space is limited to 40 people per session. Propel Nonprofits’ workshops are not recorded.

Register by clicking below to attend in your choice of locations. Sign up for the half-day morning session (Finance), half-day afternoon session (Governance), or both (full day).

• REGISTER FOR DULUTH sessions: July 29, 2026 – location to be announced

• REGISTER FOR IRON RANGE sessions: held September 23, 2026 – location to be announced