2. The story of YNPN today, is
the story of an active,
vibrant, impactful network.

3. As we move into 2012, we
are a network of almost 34
chapters and 30,000
members across the
country from Boston to
Little Rock to Detroit to San
Francisco.

4. We’ve nearly doubled in
membership over the past
3 years1 and the number of
chapters we boast has
grown dramatically in the
past 7 years especially.2
______________________________________
12008 = 15,000 members
2 1997= 1 chapter; 2001 = 2 chapters, 2005=8 chapters; 2009=22
chapters; 2012=34 chapters

5. Everyday, through board
leadership, offline
programming, and social
media, we are living out
our basic mission:

6. To promote an
efficient, viable and
inclusive nonprofit sector
that supports the
growth, learning, and
development of young
professionals.

7. And we’ve grown not only
in the number and type of
support we provide, but in
the sophistication of that
support.

8. In addition to providing
practical professional
development workshops
and regular networking
events, over the past
several years, our chapters
have begun to provide*:
(*examples – we know you’re doing lots of amazing stuff that we’re
missing!)

9. Researched reports on the
state of local emerging
leadership*
(*YNPN Cleveland!)

10. Mentoring programs that
connect emerging and
seasoned professionals in
the sector*
(*YNPN Pittsburgh!)

11. Insightful blog posts that
encourage us to think
critically about our role in
the sector*
(*YNPN Twin Cities!)

12. Community-wide awards
ceremonies that celebrate
the critical contributions of
local leaders*
(*YNPN Grand Rapids! YNPN Phoenix!)

13. Partnerships with the likes
of CompassPoint & the
White House Office of
Public Engagement that
amplify the voice &
visibility of YNPs*
(*YNPN SFBA! YNPN DC!)

14. 2, 3 and 5 year strategic
plans for leveraging
resources and increasing
chapter impact*
(*WAY too many of you to name. You know who
you are and we salute you!)

15. So, as we move into
2012, we have much, much
to be proud of as an
organization. In many
ways, YNPN has arrived.

16. The sector is awake to the
importance of building
sustainable careers in the
sector and YNPN’s critical
role.*
(*YNPN named Top 10 organizations to watch in
2012; YNPN at the table for the White House
Forum on Nonprofit Careers.)

17. More importantly, the time
for our model has also
arrived.
Beyond the sector , the
world has finally awakened
to a powerful idea.

18. The idea that you can put a
basic framework around a
space, allow people to
bring their best selves to
that space, and they will
create something far more
incredible than any one
person could have
imagined.

19. Examples of these
open, leader-full spaces
include Wikipedia and the
App Store online and the
2004 Dean Campaign and
Occupy Wall Street offline.

20. YNPN has been on the
cutting edge of this idea –
operating with this ethos
for our entire 15 year
history.

21. As a result, YNPN has
become more than a space
for young people to build
sustainable careers in the
sector…

22. …it is a place where
untapped leaders are
awakened to their agency
and given the chance to
exercise their leadership
muscles.

23. YNPN 3.0 is about
strengthening our network
infrastructure and
deepening relationships
across the network so
these critical opportunities
are more accessible to a
greater number and more
diverse range of people.

24. Why YNPN 3.0?
Because we believe that
YNPN is entering its 3rd
major era in the 15-year
history of the organization.

25. Our growth during each of
our previous eras is marked
by distinct moments where
we made the choice to
think as a network and
invest in infrastructure.
________________________________________
= investment in infrastructure

26. What the sector looked like
(1997):
•Pre-professionalization
•Early beginnings of the sector
defining itself as a place to build a
career
•Pre-Daring to Lead3 &
Bridgespan Reports4
•Sector not yet discussing lack of
sustainability of the ED role and
possible leadership deficit
_________________________
3 http://daringtolead.org/
4http://www.bridgespan.org/learningcenter/resourcedetail.aspx?id=946

27. YNPN Response (‘YNPN 1.0’):
• Bill Tucker, Nelson Layag
& Christina Chan – young
professionals working at
CompassPoint (then the
Nonprofit Support Center)
in SFBA - decide to form a
peer professional
development and support
group

28. YNPN Response (‘YNPN 1.0’):
•Start hosting regular
events
•CompassPoint (under
then-ED, Jan Masaoka)
provides major, in-kind
support
•$3000 Grant from Haas, Jr.
•Hire an intern
•Build a list serv

29. Turning Point:
• The Great YNP Migration
•Folks from SFBA move to other cities
• Begin to replicate SFBA
Model in places like New
York
City, DC, Chicago, Denver
and L.A.

30. What the sector looked like
(2003):
•Daring to Lead released 2
yrs earlier
•Brought attention to need for
emerging leadership pipelines
•Strengthen Americorps
Act
•Doubled number of Americorps
members
•Unprecedented number of young
people introduced to working in the
sector

31. What the sector looked like
(2003):
•Lots of people – emerging
leaders AND those looking
to support emerging
leaders suddenly interested
in YNPN model
•Few existing YNPN chapters are
being asked to help seed chapters in
places where the SFBA originals
didn’t land
•Exciting time for YNPN but strain on
existing chapters

32. YNPN Response (‘YNPN 2.0’):
• Formed YNPN National
•Focused on supporting existing
chapters and helping to build
cohesion across the network
•Also focused on providing technical
assistance to new chapters
•Began National Voice
Work
•Aggregated the voices of the
membership for greater impact on
sector-wide conversations

33. YNPN Response (‘YNPN 2.0’):
•Incorporated as a 501c3
•Attempted group exemption but
denied due to lack of infrastructure at
the time
•Secured first Major Grants
•Annie E. Casey, American Express, &
Meyer to fund the following
•Began Annual Conferences

34. YNPN Response (‘YNPN 2.0’):
•Built Technology Platform
•Recognizing the needs for a
connected system and for even the
youngest chapters to have a web
presence
•Hired part-time staff
•Customer service
•Tech Support
•Chapter levels guide
•Set clear common benchmarks for
chapter growth and develop

35. All this has led to the
fastest growth in our
history as well as more
stable, effective chapters.
So what’s next?

36. YNPN 3.0

37. What the sector (and
beyond) looks like today:
•Greater appreciation for supporting
emerging leadership and building
sustainable careers
•Exciting work like the Initiative for Nonprofit
Talent and Leadership
•YNPN (chapters and national) are approached on
a weekly basis by established groups wanting to
connect with young leaders
•Unprecedented numbers of young people looking
to join the network. level is approached on a
weekly basis
•Greater appreciation for our model of
distributed network leadership

38. How YNPN should respond
(‘YNPN 3.0’):
•Continue to support the
growth and development
of YNPs
•Develop into a more
robust space for attracting
and engaging diverse
leaders

39. What might that look like
in the coming years?
• Shared membership status
across the network
•Institutional memberships for
national organizations
•An all-member conference
•More shared technology such as
a CRM
•Funding and support for
chapters that pilot programs to
scale nationally

40. What might that look like
in the coming years?
•More active, organized
involvement in the advocacy
and policy arena
• Training Institutes
throughout the year for
chapter leaders and members
• Fiscal sponsorship via YNPN
National
•Group purchasing
opportunities

41. So many exciting
possibilities? Where do we
start?

42. We’ll start with 3 projects
that are:
•Ripe
•Built on conversations we’ve already
begun as a network.
•Fit capacity
•Can be developed/implemented
with the financial and staff resources
we have now.
•Foundational
•Will position us to make more
complex decisions as a network in the
future

43. Project #1: Developing
Shared Standards
Developing a set of shared standards will
allow us to name the essence of what it
means to be a chapter in our network
and determine what supports and
systems of accountability we’ll need to
uphold these standards.

44. Project #2: Creating a Data
Center
Together, we’ll come up with a system for
collecting and aggregating chapter level
data that will create a cohesive story
about YNPN, our chapters, our
membership, and our collective impact.

45. Project #3: Setting up
chapter input & decision-
making structures
This project will focus on creating a
system of feedback and joint decision
making for YNPN National and YNPN
chapters that will create a stronger
network that effectively engages the
talent and perspective of all leaders.

46. Chapter Congress [beta]:
Proposals will be developed in these
three areas and decided on between now
and August by members of our first-ever
Chapter Congress – a “beta version” of
the chapter input & decision making
model .
There will be many opportunities and
decisions in the coming years that will
affect the direction of the network. In
the short-term, the Chapter Congress will
provide a clear way of hearing your ideas
and implementing decisions across the
network.

47. Chapter Congress [beta]:
Your chapter’s involvement is critical to
the success of this process. We are
hoping that each chapter will select a
Chapter Representative for the Congress
and that we achieve 100% participation
across the network.

48. Next Steps:
 Be sure to check out YNPN.org/30 for
more detailed information about
everything from the starting projects to
how to register your Chapter Rep.
 Let us know your thoughts, questions
and ideas about YNPN 3.0 via the
comment boxes on the website, email
(national@ynpn.org) or join the
conversation via #ynpn30.

49. Get excited, stay excited
You get to be part of an
incredible moment for the Young
Nonprofit Professionals
Network!
We’re looking forward to taking
this journey with you.