Building Community & Capacity for Nonprofits: Introducing Our New Leader Salons

Jan 21, 2024

Noel McKenzie

I hope that the holidays provided some much-deserved rest, recovery, cheer, and quality time spent however felt right to you. I’m excited to begin this new year with an introduction: mine!

I’m Noel McKenzie, Brooklyn Org’s new Nonprofit Engagement Manager. I’m a facilitator, Coach, Ops and HR professional, and a former nonprofit Founder and Executive Director. Following Brooklyn Org’s strategic plan, I’ve been welcomed to the Programs team with one very clear purpose: to support and bring resources to all leaders who serve Brooklyn. That means you — I was hired to support you.

After spending a few months reading grant reports, joining support visits, and partaking in BKO’s listening tours, I’ve heard you leaders say one consistent thing: the burn-out is real.

As Brooklyn Org’s Nonprofit Engagement Manager, I’ll be working to find and curate resources – or at the very least, direct you to resources – to take the right next steps to help reduce the strain and better manage burn-out in 2024.

A Focus On Orientation: Leader Salons

At Brooklyn Org, we understand that driving your organizations forward can be lonely work. We’ll continue to share capacity-building resources on our website, and we’re also working to create more authentic spaces for community leaders like yourselves. We’ll be creating opportunities for local leaders to come together and connect with other nonprofits, potential partners, and future funders, and will also provide other opportunities to help make your work more sustainable.

Please consider joining us for one of two special events coming up: our new Leader Salons. These free, low-stakes (but high-connection) breakfasts are designed to bring local nonprofit leaders together in one room to discuss the issues most top of mind for you:

January 25th – For Executive Directors/CEOs with budgets under $2 million
February 8th – For Executive Directors/CEOs with budgets over $2 million

See below for more details. These events will be in-person, so please RSVP as space will be limited. I hope to see you there!