Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence

NICNE is the region’s primary resource for nonprofit management and leadership development. NICNE strengthens nonprofits by providing Education and Training, Agency Assessments and Technical Assistance, and Alliances and Linkages. NICNE also compiles Additional Resources to help nonprofits address a variety of unique issues.

Education and Training

Stronger management translates into stronger mission performance. NICNE offers extensive programming in many key areas of nonprofit management and capacity building. Please see our programs for details about these offerings.

CEUs available for licensed social workers. Each NICNE course hour is equal to one CEU. CFREs are also available for select programs thanks to partnership with AFP – Rockford Chapter. 

Agency Assessments and Technical Assistance

Sustainable, high-performing organizations are those that commit to building organizational capacity. Embark on a thorough assessment of organizational capacity. NICNE provides processes, tools, and support to conduct formal agency assessments that benchmark performance according to preferred standards and best practices.

The center is trained in two areas:

• The 81Thrive Initiative, a new approach to collaborative grantmaking, provides a self-assessment tool (DOCX) to help the executive director and board chair self-assess the health and sustainability of their organization.
• The Wilder Nonprofit Life Stageassessment determines what life stage an organization is in and the organization’s strengths and weaknesses. The tool can be used to help nonprofit organizations plan for the future, make decisions proactively, anticipate challenges, and determine necessary adjustments.

Take advantage of technical assistance provided by university staff. Utilize NICNE’s expansive collection of resources including:

• Nonprofit best practices
• Policies and procedures
• Employee handbooks
• Board development
• Business plans
• Strategic planning
• 501(c)3 development
• AND many more

Alliances and Linkages

Connect with peers to develop and share solutions. Linking organizations to one another not only provides nonprofits access to potential collaboration and partnerships, it builds a sense of community and support which makes our entire community stronger.

• Foundation Directory: NICNE updates the Directory of Community, Corporate, and Private Foundations of Northern Illinois annually and provides a copy to all member organizations.
• Membership Directory: We rely on membership to sustain our work of delivering quality service to you, your board, and your staff. Visit our Membership page for details and to view a list of our current Member organizations.
• Mailing List:Our database of over 1000 nonprofit organizations in a 13-county region helps us link you to capacity building resources. Sign up now to receive email updates about programs and events!
• Collaborative Programming:All of our programs are highly collaborative, allowing you to connect with peers, identify changing sector needs, and network with key nonprofit leaders. View our Programs and Events pages for details on current offerings.