A coalition for nonprofit leadership • Est. 2026

Elevating social impact leadership on the North Shore.

A peer-learning community for social impact professionals across the nonprofit, philanthropic, and civic sectors.

What We Do

We convene nonprofit leaders across the North Shore to foster collaboration, share ideas and best practices, and deliver high quality professional development and training.

The Impact Network brings together social impact professionals from across the nonprofit, philanthropic, and civic sectors — people who are often solving the same problems in isolation. Our workshops create the room where those conversations happen.

Each session pairs subject-matter expertise with peer dialogue, so leaders leave with practical tools and a stronger network of colleagues to call on afterward.

About the Network →

The 2026 Curriculum

Upcoming Workshops

November 19, 2026

Banking & Finance Best Practices for Nonprofit Leaders

A governance-informed overview of financial leadership, including board oversight, risk management, banking strategy, and executive financial accountability. Designed to strengthen partnership between staff leadership and board officers.

Register Now →

Past Workshop Insights

April 23, 2026

Artificial Intelligence: Next Practices for Nonprofits

Mariana Dalto, Dalto AI Advisory

  • —A practical, values-driven approach to integrating AI into core nonprofit operations.
  • —Application, governance, risk considerations, and leadership oversight.
  • —Moving organizations from experimentation to intentional, mission-aligned adoption.

June 2, 2026

HR Strategy: Next Practices in Staffing & Capacity Models

NextGroup Panel

  • —Evolving workforce models: outsourcing, fractional leadership, and staffing structure decisions.
  • —Board alignment around new staffing and capacity models.
  • —Building sustainable capacity in a changing labor and funding environment.

September 22, 2026

Fundraising & Development: Building a Balanced Funding Portfolio

Expert Panel

  • —Diversified revenue strategy grounded in recent giving trends.
  • —Major gifts, donor-advised funds, and the development staffing infrastructure behind them.
  • —Multi-year fundraising roadmaps that align development investment with long-term financial sustainability.

Convened By

Aries Consulting
Founder
First Bank Chicago
Presenting Sponsor
NextGroup
Strategic Partner

Led By

The partners behind the network.

Anna Assenmacher

Anna Assenmacher

Aries Consulting

Courtney Olson

Courtney Olson

First Bank Chicago

Candance Chow

Candance Chow

NextGroup