Applications Accepted Now for Annenberg Alchemy --- A Free Nonprofit Leadership Development Program

LOS ANGELES June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Annenberg Foundation is pleased to announce new training sessions in January, February and March 2011 for Annenberg Alchemy's Leadership Seminar, an innovative leadership development program for nonprofit executives and board leaders.  

Alchemy offers capacity building with a focus on volunteer leadership and is specifically for Executive Directors and Board Chairs.  Among the central issues addressed in the upcoming sessions are fundraising, board effectiveness, civic engagement and accountability. In addition to a highly customized, robust curriculum and intensive learning sessions full of cutting-edge management practices, participants are connected to a network of local practitioners, distinguished national experts in the field and given implementation tools, mentorship and an ongoing opportunity to share best practices and innovative strategies.

The Leadership Seminar, the signature course of Annenberg Alchemy, is a three day intensive training for the Executive Director and Board Chair of Los Angeles based nonprofit organizations.  The seminars are free, but the attendance of both the Executive Director and Board Chair at all three days is mandatory. Upon successful completion of Leadership Seminar, alumni are eligible to apply for the second half of the program called Alchemy+, a higher-level, more intensive course. Graduates who complete both parts of the program are then eligible for capacity building grants of $10,000.

The Foundation is accepting applications from nonprofits with operating budgets of $2 million or less based in Los Angeles County now - June, 2010 through October 31, 2010.  However, there are a limited number of spaces available, so it is recommend that interested parties apply as soon as possible.  The application and additional information may be found at www.annenbergalchemy.org.

Paul Vandeventer, President and CEO of Community Partners comments, "Alchemy represents a game-changing shift in nonprofit capacity building programs in the U.S.  It affords nonprofit leadership a chance to step back and take a close look at where their strengths are; where their growth needs to be, and to focus with crystal clarity on what it takes to govern well in the complex, changing and challenging economic environment of 2010."

Alchemy builds upon the Annenberg Foundation's 20-year history of providing financial grants, capacity building initiatives as well as other signature projects of the Board of Directors.  

Wallis Annenberg, Chairman, President and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation comments, "Our commitment to strengthening nonprofits comes from the belief that vision-driven leadership shared between the Executive Director and Board Chair makes organizations most effective at creating systemic change for societal problems."  

To see eligibility requirements, 2011 Leadership Seminar dates and additional information about Alchemy Leadership Seminars, please visit www.annenbergalchemy.com.

For more info about Alchemy call 213 403 3030 or email [email protected].

About the Annenberg Foundation

The Annenberg Foundation is a private family foundation that provides funding and support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and globally. Since 1989, it has generously funded programs in education and youth development; arts, culture and humanities; civic and community life; health and human services; and animal services and the environment. In addition, the Foundation and its Board of Directors are directly involved in the community with several projects that expand and complement its grant support to nonprofits.  Among them are innovative nonprofit capacity building initiatives such as Alchemy, the Annenberg Space for Photography, Explore, and the Metabolic Studio.  The Annenberg Foundation exists to advance the public well-being through improved communication. As the principal means of achieving this goal, the Foundation encourages the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge.

SOURCE The Annenberg Foundation