Leadership for Social Change

Everyone working in the social sector wants to make a difference. But resources are constrained, and burnout is real.

Strengthening nonprofit and community leadership is the first step toward lasting, systemic, and sustainable social change leadership. Developing capacity deepens impact.

And the benefits of transformative nonprofit and community leadership development opportunities are not limited to a single event or training session. Long after a training program ends, growth continues to resonate and impact ripples outward, affecting not only the individuals in the program, but also each of the lives that they touch and change as a result.

For us, leadership development is more than a mission. It’s a calling.

As a nonprofit organization ourselves, we believe deeply in the power of leadership for social change. Driven by our mission and the belief that effective leadership transforms individuals, teams, organizations, communities, and our world, we’ve been supporting and strengthening social sector, nonprofit, and community leadership for over 3 decades.

We lift the leaders who lift the world.

We also work to make social change leadership training affordable and accessible to all. We offer access to life-changing professional development opportunities through our leadership training programs to deserving educational, nonprofit, and community leaders around the globe through our scholarship program:

• 6,000 social sector leaders trained each year
• $800,000 in scholarship value awarded annually

At CCL, we’ve shaped the leadership development industry for nearly 6 decades through pioneering research and evidence-based innovation. We’re proud of our extensive expertise and experience supporting leadership and social change.

As trusted architects of transformation, we partner with client organizations to help support social sector, nonprofit, and community leadership development. When working with us, your organization can expect:

• Evidence-based leadership training, based on over 35 years of experience specifically focused on social sector leadership development
• Collaboration with best-in-class leadership experts who have earned many awards and accolades for our partnerships with clients
• Customized services tailored to your organization’s needs and drawing insights from one of the largest leadership research databases in the world
• Transformational social change leadership programs centered on individual strengths, skills, and real-world challenges
• Access to scalable learning experiences that foster new ways of thinking, expand capacity, and drive sustainable growth and impact — for example, our new online nonprofit leadership course
• Partnership with a mission-driven organization working to advance the practice of leadership worldwide through a belief in the positive ripple effect that leadership development can have on individuals, teams, organizations, and society

Our approach goes beyond skill-building — we help social sector leaders grow more resilient and effective while instilling new, deeper ways of thinking. With CCL as your partner for social change leadership programs, you gain evidence-based, purpose-driven development that delivers meaningful, measurable, lasting impact for your organization and the communities you serve.

Discover what our research has found are the top challenges faced and competencies needed in each of the social sector areas where we work. Download our reports to learn more about our point of view, research, and solutions for: 

• Foundations & Nonprofits: Building nonprofit leaders
• Population Health: Developing public health leadership capacity
• K-12 Education: Accelerating educational leadership and schools
• Higher Education: Integrating leadership across higher education