Board service often begins with purpose. But purpose alone is not enough to lead effectively.

For many leaders across the NeighborWorks® network, governance starts with a desire to serve and evolves into something more intentional, more strategic and more impactful. That shift is at the center of the NeighborWorks America Excellence in Governance Academy, a board leadership and governance certification program designed specifically for community development nonprofits.

NeighborWorks® America’s Training Division knows collaboration is key for participants when they are learning new skills. So in Chicago last month, division leaders piloted a new course with a collaboration focus during the NeighborWorks Training Institute.

When we talk about strengthening affordable housing and community development, we often focus on what is visible. 

Units built. 
Homes preserved. 
Families counseled. 
Dollars leveraged. 

But there is another asset driving every one of those outcomes. 

It does not show up on a construction site. 
It does not sit in a line item. 
It does not appear in a ribbon cutting photo. 

It is professional learning. 

If you work in housing counseling or community development, you know the pressure is real. Renters are navigating rising costs. Funding requirements are tightening. Expectations for compliance and measurable outcomes are growing. 

You do not have time for training that feels theoretical or disconnected from your day-to-day work. 

That is where Regional Group Learning makes the difference. 

NeighborWorks® America recognized the achievements of the newest graduates of its Advancing Leaders in Real Estate Program with a ceremony during the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Chicago.

NeighborWorks America capped off its NTI on Friday the way it began: With learning and a focus toward the future. More than 1,000 affordable housing and community developers came from across the U.S. to expand their resources – and capacity – during a weeklong training institute in Chicago.

From all across the country, affordable housing and community development practitioners convened at the NeighborWorks® Training Institute (NTI) in Chicago, Illinois, this week to learn, to grow and to help build solutions to an affordable housing crisis that continues to put homes, both rented and owned, out of reach. The training institute attracted well over 1,000 participants, though some were slowed by an East Coast snowstorm that landed just as the institute began. 

This past week has much of the nation focusing on weather conditions and forecasts. At NeighborWorks® America, Chief Operating Officer Lee Anne Adams is also looking at the conditions for the housing market, as NeighborWorks and the network focus on scaling solutions for the year ahead.