Franklin & White is part of a unique new program to offer coaching and leadership development to executive directors of non-profit agencies.

In September, Executive directors of 12 Guilford County nonprofits will begin their training as a part of the second class of the Executive Director Academy, a nine-month leadership program created specifically for nonprofit executive directors through the collaborative efforts of 11Greensboro businesses, nonprofits and foundations.

"Nonprofit executive directors tend to be alone at the top with no peers, only direct reports and board members, which often leads to frustration and burn out," says Ruth Anderson, Director of the Servant Leadership School of Greensboro, past chair of the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium and a primary force behind the inception of the Academy. "The Academy is a response to this need for support that is unique to non-profit executive directors.”

Valued at $12,000 per participant, the nine months of world-class leadership development and personal executive coaching provided by the Academy costs participating non-profits $500 – a cost most non-profits can afford.

This affordable fee is possible thanks to significant in-kind donations from Discovery Learning, Inc., the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium, Moxley and Associates, the Servant Leadership School of Greensboro, Franklin & White and the Center for Creative Leadership, along with financial grants from American Express, Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, Cemala Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, and Weaver Foundation.

According to Chris Musselwhite, President of Discovery Learning and Academy Curriculum Director, a primary responsibility of Academy graduates is that they use this training to coach and mentor new and less-experienced executive directors in the community.

"The Academy's mission is to build the leadership capacity of the nonprofit sector, which in a time of uncertainty and turmoil in the private and public sectors, is more important than ever," says Musselwhite.