United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey has launched a new Center for Leadership Equity in Philadelphia, aiming to support, advocate for, and invest in Black nonprofit executives, writes Kristen Mosbrucker-Garza for WHYY.

The new, first-of-its-kind leadership program is being spearheaded by Kelly Woodland, managing director of leadership equity at United Way and co-founder of Black Nonprofit Chief Executives of Philadelphia.

His goal is to uplift his fellow leaders. He noted that the key to the center’s success is that membership to the affinity group and the center is free for local Black nonprofit leaders.

“Programming is throughout the year and it’s free because primarily we’re interested in building relationships, not transactions,” he said.

The Center for Leadership Equity will be run inside the local United Way in Philadelphia.

The affinity group and new center has a larger vision in mind.

“The Black community has been identified as one of the more vulnerable communities. We’ve had to struggle with deficits for so long. It’s important that the folks who have been most vulnerable are responsible for creating strategies and solutions,” Woodland said.

The center will offer services like customized professional development, access to funding resources, and tools to improve advocacy work.

Read more about Philadelphia’s new Center for Leadership Equity in WHYY.

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