Advancement Academy Aims to Improve Nonprofit Effectiveness

Many companies support local communities through programmatic grants, but fewer funders venture into supporting nonprofit organizational effectiveness. Bucking the trend, the Applied Materials Foundation recently announced a joint venture with the Austin, Texas-based consulting group: Greenlights for Nonprofit Success, creating the Applied Materials Foundation Advancement Academy.

Fifty Central Texas nonprofits joined the Academy - all organizations were funded by the Applied Materials Foundation in the last two years. Academy members will receive strategic consulting services and professional development training that will help them strengthen core operations allowing them to more effectively meet their mission.

The more successful our nonprofit grantees are, the closer Applied Materials is to meeting our goal of making a positive social contribution and improving the way people live.

This week, Applied Materials hosted the Academy members (shown above) at our offices for an intensive day-long training on “Strengthening Board Engagement and Leveraging Your Board for More Effective Fundraising.” Nonprofits walked away armed with increased knowledge about board engagement, a board measurement toolkit and a personalized six-month action plan for board invigoration. Next, the members will participate in professional development trainings and topic-driven consulting workshops.

Read more about the Academy on the Greenlights blog.