• Executive Directors and CEOs
• Other C-Suite Leaders
• Directors of Development
• Directors of Marketing and Communications

• Key takeaway 1: Participants will leave with a structured approach to stakeholder mapping, message alignment, and communications planning—enabling them to drive mission-focused engagement across stakeholder audiences.
• Key takeaway 2: Through guided reflection and peer interaction, leaders will develop a deeper understanding of their communication style, strengths, and blind spots—and learn to adapt their approach to diverse contexts and stakeholders.
• Key takeaway 3: Using principles of cognitive science and data storytelling, participants will gain techniques to simplify and visualize complex information, ensuring their ideas resonate with both analytical and narrative-driven audiences.
• Key takeaway 4: Participants will learn how to craft and deliver influential messages that compel action and mobilize support for their organization’s goals.

Strategic Stakeholder Management

• Identify, prioritize and effectively engage key organizational stakeholders
• Empower strategic and frontline leaders to develop a deliberate and compelling stakeholder engagement strategy
• Recognize the power of stakeholder mapping
• Lay out and prioritize the communication channels to maximize effectiveness for communicating to service markets and stakeholders
• Deploy communications to ensure the organization is visible, accessible and accountable

Becoming a Compelling Communicator

• Explore the complexity of communication and examine why it so often breaks down in leadership contexts
• Identify your personal communication style, including key strengths and areas for growth, to increase self-awareness as a communicator
• Develop communication agility by learning to adapt your tone, approach, and message to suit different audiences and organizational settings
• Apply self-monitoring and impression management strategies to refine your communication in real time and lead with authenticity and influence
  

Data Driven Storytelling for Presentations

• Distill complex ideas and data into clear, concise arguments that can be communicated visually and easily understood
• Strengthen your ability to tell data-driven stories through visuals that inform, persuade, and support your leadership voice
• Use key elements of graphic design to create clean, engaging slides that build trust and strengthen your credibility as a leader

Michael Rice - Academic Director; Associate Director, Nonprofit Executive Programs

Shana Carroll - Clinical Associate Professor of Management Communications; Associate Chair of the Management & Organizations Department; Co-Director of the Leadership Development and Communications Program (LDEV)

Ernest Duplessis - Industry Lecturer, Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern Medill (retired); Founder/Pastor, S.T.U.D.Y.S. Ministries; Former – SVP, Communications and Government Affairs, Mondelèz International; VP, Corporate Communications, Kraft Foods; Public Affairs Officer, US Navy

Steven Franconeri - Professor of Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences; Director, Northwestern Cognitive Science Program; Professor of Leadership, Kellogg School of Management (Courtesy)

Location

Nonprofit Management Programs are held at Northwestern University's Chicago Campus.

Wieboldt Hall
340 East Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Directions

Chicago Campus Parking Map - Please Note: the Huron Superior Parking A lot and the Erie Ontario Parking C & D lots are available to the public and should be used when attending programs at Wieboldt Hall.

Application Deadline

The deadline for registration is 10:00 am one business day prior to the program start date.

Scholarship Assistance

Up to 50% scholarships are available for all of our nonprofit executive education programs for those working in nonprofit organizations. All scholarship requests are reviewed by our Registrar and any scholarships granted will be reflected in the amount charged to your credit card.

Payment Deadline

• If you request a scholarship, your credit card is submitted upon registration and will be charged once your request is approved (allow 1-2 business days for review).
• If you do not request a scholarship, your credit card will be charged upon application submission.

Hospitality during the Program

We strive to provide healthy meal choices for our participants for breakfast, lunch and breaks. We typically provide a range of choices, including some vegetarian-friendly and gluten-avoidant selections. We cannot meet all dietary preferences, but we will do our best to accommodate health restrictions, religious restrictions and food allergies.

Accommodations

Participants are responsible for booking their hotel accommodations during their stay in Chicago.

Download Nearby Hotels List

Cancellation Policy:

Participants must notify the Program Manager five business days in advance of the program start date if they are unable to attend. Otherwise, participants will be charged 20% of the stated program fees.

When canceling a program registration, participants may choose to rollover their payment to a future program or receive a refund. Participants are allowed two rollovers, after the second rollover, participants forfeit the money paid to the Center for Nonprofit Management.

*Refund or rollover must be requested at the time of the program cancellation. Once a program payment has been rolled over, a monetary refund is no longer an option. The participant must continue with the rollover process.

Northwestern University reserves the right to cancel a program at any time for any reason. In the unlikely event of a course cancellation, paid program fees will be refunded, but the university is not responsible for any travel or other related expenses accrued by the program registrant.