Fueling Knowledge, Fostering Impact: Unveiling United Way Academy’s Non-Profit Learning Experience!
Get ready to ignite your curiosity and enhance your skills with our diverse and engaging offerings. From interactive workshops to thought-provoking classes, we have something for everyone. Whether you’re passionate about personal development, career advancement, or contributing to community impact, United Way Academy is your go to place for training and development. Join us in creating an environment of learning, growth, and connection.
Browse through our upcoming schedule that is open to all United Way Safety Net partners and secure your spot for an enriching experience that goes beyond the ordinary. Let the journey to knowledge and inspiration begin at United Way Academy – where learning meets purpose.
We are also excited to offer The Volunteer Management Training Series presented by United Way of Greater St. Louis Volunteer Center. This comprehensive, four-session series is appropriate for new staff and seasoned professionals and will give individuals better insight into utilizing your organization’s volunteers more effectively. Click here to learn more about this opportunity!
United Way Academy provides capacity building opportunities for the network of United Way funded agencies.
WashU/United Way Olin Board Fellows Program
Timeframe: January – December 2027
Facilitated by: Washington University Center for Experiential Learning and United Way Safety Net Member Agency
Ideal for: Any Safety Net agency that is looking for fresh ideas and has a strategic project for the Fellow to tackle.
About the Program:
The Olin/United Way Board Fellow Program allows students to serve on your Board as a voting member for one year and is responsible for executing a project with your agency designed to provide lasting social impact.
Contact person: Leah Maniaci
Registration will close October 12, 2026.
Still Standing: Leadership Skills for the Sector’s Hardest Season Series
Presented by United Way Academy + HR TailorMade
When: 3-part series on Aug 6, Sept 10 and Oct 15
Facilitator: HR TAILORMADE
Location: Virtual
The nonprofit sector is not what it was three years ago. Funding is shrinking. Staff are burned out. And executive directors are expected to lead with clarity, compassion, and confidence, often with fewer resources than ever before. Still Standing is a three-part virtual workshop series designed specifically for executive directors who are navigating this moment in real time. Each session delivers practical, immediately applicable tools rooted in the realities of nonprofit leadership. This is not theory. This is the work.
By the conclusion of this series, participants will:
- Reframe feedback as a leadership tool — not a source of conflict
- Build consistent, sustainable rhythms for giving and receiving feedback
- Identify and address burnout as an organizational risk, not a personal failure
- Leave each session with tools they can use before the next one begins
Who should attend?
Nonprofit executive directors and senior leaders who are managing teams, navigating culture challenges, and ready to lead with more clarity and confidence. This series is especially valuable for EDs who are newer to people management, leading through transition, or operating in under-resourced environments where HR support is limited or nonexistent.
Workshop # 1
Reframe the Story: Why Feedback Feels Risky and Why that has to Change
When: August 6, 2026 (10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
Location: Virtual
Nonprofit leaders are not avoiding feedback because they don’t care, they’re avoiding it because they care too much. Fear of damaging relationships, saying the wrong thing, or disrupting an already stretched team keeps too many executive directors silent when clarity is exactly what their people need. This workshop creates a safe space to name that fear honestly and begin the shift toward seeing feedback not as confrontation, but as one of the most powerful acts of leadership available to you.
Registration is now closed.
Workshop # 2
Build the Rhythm: Tools for Giving and Receiving Feedback Well
When: September 10, 2026 (10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
Location: Virtual
The leaders who are best at hard conversations are not braver; they just don’t let things get that hard. When feedback is predictable and ongoing, the conversation that feels impossible rarely has to happen. This workshop gives leaders the practical tools to build a feedback rhythm that works for their team, their culture, and their capacity. No complicated systems. Just clear, consistent communication that keeps small issues from becoming big ones.
Registration is now closed.
Workshop # 3
Protect the Mission by Protecting Your People: Burned Out and Still Leading
When: October 15, 2026 (10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
Location: Virtual
Burnout does not arrive all at once. It builds quietly in the gap between what the mission demands and what the team can actually carry. By the time most leaders notice it, their best people are already halfway out the door. This workshop reframes burnout as an organizational design problem, not a personal failure, and gives leaders the tools to address it at the root. Because a depleted team cannot deliver on any mission at all.
Registration has reached capacity at 100 registrants.
LeadINg STL: Professional Development Series for St. Louis Nonprofit and Community Leaders
Presented by WashU’s Bauer Leaders Academy and In St. Louis, For St. Louis
Strong nonprofit organizations need strong, adaptable leaders. This four-part series brings together St. Louis nonprofit and community leaders to learn practical leadership skills grounded in research from WashU faculty and tailored to the realities of leading mission-driven organizations. Each session offers actionable tools leaders can put into practice immediately, while creating space to connect, share ideas, and learn from peers across the St. Louis community. Join us at Delmar DivINe to build your leadership toolkit, expand your network, and strengthen the work you’re already doing in our community.
Leading to Build Collective Psychological Ownership
September 29, 2026, 2:00 – 3:30 pm, DELMAR DEVINE
Faculty Facilitator: Andrew Knight, PhD | Bank of America Professor & Senior Advisor to the Chancellor
How do you get people to feel invested in the work, not just responsible for it? Nonprofit leaders rely on staff, volunteers, and board members to bring time, energy, and commitment to a shared mission. Drawing on WashU research, this session explores how leaders can build a sense of collective ownership—the feeling that something is “ours”—while mitigating the territorial behaviors that can divide teams. Participants will leave with practical strategies for creating greater investment, accountability, and connection to the mission.
Leading to Move Ideas into Actions: Implementing Creativity
November 16, 2026, 2:00 – 3:30 pm, DELMAR DEVINE
Faculty Facilitator: TBD
Great ideas are only the beginning. For nonprofits, the challenge is often turning creative thinking into ideas that can actually be implemented. Drawing on WashU research, this session explores how leaders can create conditions for better ideas, recognize group dynamics that get in the way, and build creative processes that help move ideas from brainstorming to action.
Foundations of Negotiations
February 9, 2027, 2:00 – 3:30 pm, DELMAR DEVINE
Faculty Facilitator: TBD
Every nonprofit leader is a negotiator. Whether you are working with funders, vendors, community partners, board members, or your own team, knowing how to navigate competing priorities is essential. This interactive session introduces the fundamentals of interest-based negotiation and gives participants an opportunity to practice through a realistic nonprofit scenario. Participants will leave with practical strategies for understanding interests, creating options, and navigating difficult conversations with greater confidence.
Leading without the Spotlight: Introverted Leadership
June 15, 2027, 2:00 – 3:30 pm, DELMAR DEVINE
Faculty Facilitator: TBD
Leadership takes many forms. Many leaders, staff, and volunteers assume that effective leadership requires being extroverted or having a commanding presence. But research shows that extraversion is not a prerequisite for effective leadership. This session explores the strengths of quiet leadership and offers practical strategies for building influence, fostering connection, and leading effectively by leaning into your own strengths.
Tap Into Free, Professional Support for your Nonprofit!
Need help with marketing, strategy, finance, or other key projects? Our partners at the St. Louis Community Foundation offers local nonprofits free access to Catchafire — an online platform that connects you with skilled volunteers who are ready to help. From graphic design to grant writing, you’ll find expert support to strengthen your organization and maximize your impact.
Exciting News: United Way Academy’s Partnership with NRMC!
We are excited to share that United Way Academy has partnered with the Nonprofit Risk Management Center (NRMC) to provide your organization with a fully paid 12-month affiliate membership!
This exclusive membership grants you access to a wealth of risk management resources, including:
✔️ Live risk management webinars (every other month)
✔️ Access to a library of 200+ recorded webinars
✔️ Risk Help™ – Direct access to expert advice on governance, legal risks, employment practices, and more
✔️ Discounts on risk management tools, assessments, and publications
Your membership is active, and you can start utilizing these benefits today! To access your affiliate membership, visit nonprofitrisk.org and follow the registration steps under Membership > Affiliate Registration. Please see the attached flyer for more details.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to Whitney Thomey at 571-307-4321 or [email protected].
We hope you take full advantage of these valuable resources!