The nonprofit sector trains its people differently now.
Cohort-based courses built by practitioners who've managed seven-figure budgets at community foundations — not consultants who've read about it.
nonprofit professionals trained
across 47 states and 12 countries
report applying skills within 30 days
of course completion — 2024 cohort survey
in grants secured by alumni
cumulative, independently audited figure
The sector has a skills problem it rarely admits.
Nonprofit professionals are promoted for their program expertise, then handed fundraising and governance responsibilities with no training. The result is predictable — and expensive.
"The average development director manages a $400K+ grant portfolio with no formal grant writing training. We treat this as normal. It is not normal. It is a sector-wide liability."
— Catalyst Sector Analysis, 2024
of development directors report writing grants without formal training
"Three grant deadlines. One underpaid staff member. A board that forwards you PDFs from 2017."
new EDs leave within 18 months — most cite board dysfunction as primary cause
"Inherited a board that hasn't fundraised in three years. Your major donor list is a spreadsheet with no last-contact dates."
of program managers lack a formal evaluation framework when hired
"Asked to "prove impact" before the next funder meeting. You have a logic model someone printed in 2019."
What practitioners say they were never taught.
Catalyst's annual sector survey of 4,200+ nonprofit professionals reveals consistent gaps between job responsibilities and formal training. These aren't soft skills — they're technical competencies with measurable funding impact.
Average annual grant revenue lost per untrained development director, per the 2024 Funding Capacity Index.
of surveyed professionals report this as a skills gap
of surveyed professionals report this as a skills gap
of surveyed professionals report this as a skills gap
of surveyed professionals report this as a skills gap
of surveyed professionals report this as a skills gap
of surveyed professionals report this as a skills gap
of surveyed professionals report this as a skills gap
of surveyed professionals report this as a skills gap
Source: Catalyst Sector Survey 2024 (n=4,212). Bars represent % reporting skill gap on entry to current role.
Courses built around the problems on your desk right now.
14 courses. 3 role tracks. Cohorts every 6 weeks.
Browse by role, topic, or experience level in the full catalog.
The outcomes speak. We've collected the receipts.
Applied skills within 30 days
Average grant revenue increase, year one
Would recommend to a colleague
Median time from course end to first application
I wrote my first federal grant six months after completing the Federal Mastery cohort. We were awarded $480,000 from SAMHSA. I had never written a federal grant before. The budget narrative module alone was worth three times the tuition.
I took the Board Development course six weeks after becoming ED. The board chair and I went through the governance module together. We restructured our committee system, recruited three new board members, and closed our first $100K planned gift within the year.
My funder asked for a logic model. I had two weeks. The Logic Models course gave me a framework I actually understood. We submitted. They funded. $220,000 over two years. Now I teach the framework to every new program staff member.
Ready to add your outcome to the report?
Join the next cohort. Applications close 3 weeks before start date.
Taught by the people who've actually done it.
No adjunct academics. Every Catalyst instructor has managed a budget, sat in a funder meeting, or rebuilt a board from the inside.
14 faculty. 247 combined years of nonprofit experience.
Every course is co-designed with practitioners still working in the field.