Professional and Leadership Development Days
Thank you for your interest. Our application for the summer 2025 program is open and available for submission until February 15, 2025.
Integral components of our Summer Fellowship Program are the six in person Professional and Leadership Development Workshops held by Forest Foundation. We bring in outside leaders in the non-profit world to instruct and share their experiences in the sector. The workshops and activities empower our interns to become diverse agents who can effectively address the grand challenges facing our communities, nation and world.
2025 Professional and Leadership Development Dates and Themes. These meeting days are core components of our program and attendance is required for accepted applicants.
Friday May 30, 2025: Workshop #1 – Orientation (In Person):
Individual Strengths Workshop: Solving the pressing problems of our day requires strong leaders who are not only passionate about making change, but who are also willing to think “out of the box” about the issues. This orientation session provides an interactive workshop in individual thinking and teamwork. Integral to personal and professional success is working well with others. This workshop focuses on YOUR strengths and how to utilize them to work well with others, lead, and positively impact your passions and professional experiences.
Wednesday June 18, 2025: Workshop #2 (In person):
Grant Writing and Non Profit Financials Workshop: Hallmark internal project is the Group Grant Writing Project. Interns work in teams, research a non-profit, write a grant proposal, and present to Forest’s Trustees at an annual trustee meeting. This is the kick-off for that project, and we start with a Grant Writing 101 workshop- learning about the grant writing process and its place in the sector. A Non Profit Financials workshop is also included in this day. Learn about the financial realities for non profits and how they impact their mission delivery.
Wednesday July 9, 2025: Workshop #3 (In person):
Non Profit Leader/Peer Panel: Meet with leaders in the sector, hear about their career paths, personal and professional journeys.
Post Graduate Career Perspectives and Professional Tracks: Learn about various career options, advancement, job shifts, and workstyles.
Personal Theory of Change: Learn how to address your life’s work with various strategies and pivots.
Wednesday July 23, 2025: Workshop #3 (In person):
Grant Team Presentations and Proposal Progression. Grant Teams polish their grant proposals and run through their board presentations.
Wednesday July 30, 2025: Workshop #5 (In Person):
Grant Team Presentations to Board: Grant Presentations for Board. Forest Foundation is a non-profit focused on leadership development and also a grant making foundation. Its board members determine allocation of the foundation’s resources through grant proposals. Interns are divided into groups early in the summer and work to write a grant for a small, innovative non-profit whose needs match the foundation’s giving guidelines. This day includes the intern group presentations to the board as a culmination of the grant-writing project. Board members decide the amount that each non-profit will receive.
Thursday July 31, 2025: Workshop #6 (In Person):
Workshop on Moving Forward: After a summer experiencing the world of non-profits, how do you connect your learning to your studies, community work and career aspirations? Through reflection and focused presentations, we close the summer with ideas for developing an ongoing commitment to social justice and the non-profit sector.
