You didn’t become a nonprofit professional to spend your days buried in strategies you never have the time or resources to execute. The Good Start Program is a twelve-month cohort experience for small and mid-size nonprofit staff who are ready to stop planning in circles and start building—real systems, real momentum, and the confidence to finally move the mission forward, alongside peers who get it.

What You’ll Walk Away With

In just six months, you will have:

1. A 12-month fundraising action plan tailored to your organization’s goals, resources, and growth trajectory
2. A compelling case for support that reflects your mission, voice, and community impact
3. Custom donor personas to guide your outreach, stewardship, and communications
4. A donor engagement and stewardship calendar with specific strategies and outreach tools
5. Templates and tools for tracking, planning, messaging, and more
6. A CRM and systems roadmap to get your fundraising organized

How It Works

• Peer Cohort Network: Learn alongside a small group of 8–12 nonprofit professionals from across the country—peers who get it
• Six Group Workshops: Collaborative, working sessions with real-time coaching and practical exercises
• Bimonthly 1:1 Coaching Sessions: Customized support to translate learning into action for your specific organization
• Ongoing Feedback & Support: Written feedback on all major deliverables, plus open Q&A sessions between workshops
• All-Inclusive Tools: Every participant receives editable templates, planning guides, and resource libraries
• Post-Cohort Check-Ins: Two structured follow-up sessions at three and six months after the cohort ends, because real implementation takes time, and lasting change doesn’t happen in a classroom

More Than a Training. It’s a Launchpad.

The Good Start Program is designed around how adults actually learn: through application, reflection, and community—not passive instruction. This is a working lab, not a webinar series. You’ll build, write, plan, and implement as you go, and our post-cohort check-ins ensure that the momentum you build doesn’t stop when the cohort does.

Join a nationwide network of fellow non-profit professionals who understand your challenges and can offer feedback, inspiration, and solidarity.

Cohorts run twice a year and are limited to 12 organizations. Applications for the next cohort open soon.