Silicon Valley Next (SVN) seeks to develop a pipeline of Executive Director (ED) talent – especially among BIPOC leaders – to lead the region’s nonprofit sector. Consulting Within Reach founded SVN and now leads it as a program of the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits (CEN).

The 2021 cohort consisted of 12 Fellows (11 of them BIPOC). 10 were leaders with identified ED potential and the remaining 2 very recently ascended into the ED position. Full bios of the Fellows can be found here.

The impact survey and other recorded data demonstrate that the program achieved the following:

• Significant growth in the Fellows’ Personal Calling, Management, and External Social Capital (the three pillars of the curriculum)
• Increased the likelihood of BIPOC leaders staying in the field and taking ED positions. As one Fellow stated explicitly in the anonymous survey: “Because of this fellowship, I now want to be an executive director.”
• Provided highly valued support during the challenges of the pandemic and other social disruptions. Established a mutual support network for the Fellows that is likely to continue beyond the program.
• One Fellow ascended to her first ED position during the program; two other Fellows applied for the first time to ED positions (outcomes TBD).
• Expanded geographic scope to include San Mateo County (in addition to Santa Clara County)
• Spun off the program concept to NextGen Fellowship, which serves the talent development needs of a broader range of BIPOC leaders that are highly promising, but not necessarily aiming at the ED role.

The full Impact Report that includes the results of the impact survey can be found here.