The John R. Oishei Foundation is partnering with Rockwood Leadership Institute to offer a special Art of Leadership program to support nonprofit leaders of color within the Buffalo Niagara region.
The Oishei Fellowship for Leaders of Color will include participation in the Art of Leadership training, which teaches critical personal and organizational leadership skills, including visioning, listening, speaking, presentation, coaching, collaboration, and feedback necessary for successful, sustainable, and humane leadership. The inaugural cohort is expected to comprise 24 Fellows who will participate in an intensive five-day retreat at Beaver Hollow Conference Center in November.
Self-identified nonprofit leaders of color across a spectrum of professional experience and life are invited to apply. Fellows will be chosen through an application process, vetted by Rockwood Leadership Institute, which will identify individuals who demonstrate readiness to learn new leadership skills; are interested in participating in a rigorous learning experience to explore personal vision, increase sustainability, and build relationships with other nonprofit leaders of color; demonstrate a commitment to improve the wellbeing of all people in the Buffalo Niagara region; and who represent a diversity of racial/ethnic communities and a cross-section of nonprofit professional backgrounds, experiences, and sectors within the Foundation’s focus areas.
More information about the Fellowship can be found here and interested applicants should contact Sarah Demarest de Rivera at Sarah@rockwoodleadership.org.
According to Karen Lee Spaulding, Vice President of Philanthropic Support at the Oishei Foundation, “The Buffalo Niagara region is experiencing a significant need for strong leaders at all levels of our nonprofit organizations, with a particularly acute shortage of people of color who can bring their perspective, expertise, and life experience to leadership roles. Based on feedback from our recent Community Conversations with leaders of color in our region, we have heard that there is both a need and a strong desire for deep intensive leadership training and support. We are delighted to be able to make Rockwood’s outstanding training available to the leaders of color in our community."
In addition to the five-day retreat, Fellows will also participate in a 360-degree leadership assessment, a comprehensive electronic workbook filled with tools and processes to use with their own organizations, and a deep network not only with the Fellows in their own cohort, both also within the international and national network of Rockwood’s 7000+ members. All training fees and accommodation expenses will be covered by the Foundation.
The Oishei Foundation recently hosted two Community Conversations specifically for nonprofit leaders of color. The Conversations were designed to provide a unique space for open conversation and to learn more about barriers faced by leaders of color and perspectives on how to better partner with them and the organizations they lead.
The Oishei Fellowship for Leaders of Color is part of the Foundation’s commitment to racial equity and is strategically aligned with the Foundation’s focus on providing resources and support to local nonprofits beyond grantmaking in the areas of leadership development and network building.