About the Organization:
Background

Centerpoint for Leaders is a unique resource created by and for people who lead nonprofit organizations and community initiatives.

The Need

Today's nonprofit organizations are seeking new ways to survive and thrive in a high-change, high-speed world. Competition is intense, expectations for performance are high, and effective leadership is essential.

Our Response

Centerpoint for Leaders is a new organization designed to respond to this challenge to nonprofit effectiveness, offering a learning community for leaders that includes programs and services that respond to the unmet needs identified by nonprofit and community leaders.

Centerpoint for leaders is a learning community and resource for current and future executives of nonprofit organizations, board members, community volunteers, business people who volunteer or work part-time for nonprofits, and anyone involved in leading community initiatives.

The Difference            [ Back to Top ]

A systems approach, combined with four distinct elements of our leadership development strategy, provides the nucleus for a genuine learning community for leaders.

1. A tri-sector teaming approach that brings together nonprofit, for-profit, and government leaders and provides opportunities for collaborating, exchanging resources and learning.
2. A focus on peer learning and mentoring opportunities, including technology-supported virtual networking.
3. A commitment to providing learning opportunities in a private, safe environment.
4. An emphasis on developing the whole leader — mind, body, and spirit.

Building Bridges Across Sectors            [ Back to Top ]

Offering opportunities to interact and strengthen collaborations across all three major sectors of our society is a central purpose.

A Single Point of Contact            [ Back to Top ]

Our comprehensive, leadership friendly information access system provides easy, organized access to the myriad resources offered by entities supporting leadership development.

Outcomes            [ Back to Top ]

Leaders have the knowledge, skills, support and values necessary for success.

Leaders of business, nonprofit and government sectors support one another in addressing organizational and community issues collaboratively.

Organizations are more effective through strengthened leadership and involvement of representatives across sectors.

Leaders have access to up-to-date resources and means of communication.

Leaders understand the importance of developing mind, body and spirit for effective leadership.

Meaning of Colors and Logo            [ Back to Top ]

The red symbolizes renewal, life, unleashed potential, transformation and energy.

The purple represents vision, knowledge, learning, wisdom, wholeness, and strength.

The logo, connecting abstract triangles, conveys the capacity to:

1. Connect at points of interest and shared challenges across sectors (business, government, nonprofit).
2. Soar to greater leadership potential.
3. Build new communities, collaborations, alliances, relationships and linkages.
4. Arrive at new knowledge, solutions, and productive ways of working together.
5. Engage leaders at all levels of an organization with a resource for peer learning, tri-sector teaming, and developing one's mind, body and spirit.

Acknowledgments            [ Back to Top ]

We acknowledge with appreciation a planning grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation enabling us to develop our Strategic Business Plan.

Volunteers: We acknowledge with special appreciation the following people who provided volunteer service:

Frenzela Credle, Community Volunteer
Frances Estes, Community Volunteer
Frances Gardner, Community Volunteer
Jonathan Greenstein, Richard B. Talkin, P.A. — Attorneys at Law
Mary Lou Hines, University of Missouri at Kansas City
Lori Jones, Teladora.com
Michael McCormack, Independent Sector
Sharon Parker, Executive Diversity Consultants
Doris Starks, Community Volunteer
Senior Citizen Sunshine Committee
University of Missouri at Kansas City Computer Team 
Williams Group