About the Nonprofit Excellence Program

Throughout their lifecycles, nonprofits routinely struggle with limited bandwidth, resources, or know-how—capacity gaps that can make it more difficult for them to advance their missions, scale up, and adapt to challenges. The Nonprofit Excellence Program (NEP), an initiative of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, is a unique capacity-building accelerator designed to fill those gaps, strengthening the long-term sustainability and efficacy of select high-impact organizations serving Northwest Arkansas through targeted support and funding.

This initiative, supported by and in partnership with the Walton Family Foundation, will support 15 nonprofit organizations by connecting them with a pool of vetted, experienced consultants who can provide targeted technical assistance, training, and capacity-building support. It is open by invitation only to select Walton Family Foundation Home Region/Northwest Arkansas.

CNE is now seeking qualified consultants to apply to be a part of the NEP Consultant Pool.

 

The role of consultants in the Nonprofit Excellence Program

The NEP addresses capacity-building needs with a targeted, practical, and results-oriented support model, driven by a pool of vetted consultants with demonstrated expertise across one or more of the program’s six capacity-building areas. Each of the program’s 15 participating nonprofits will receive $20,000 in grant funding to support one or more consulting engagements aligned to their organizational needs within these six categories:

Nonprofit grantees will interview and select consultants for their respective engagements out of the NEP Consultant Pool, and contracts will be between the nonprofit grantee and the consultant.

Please note that acceptance into the Consultant Pool is not a guarantee of work during this NEP program cycle and that Consultant Pool profiles may be shared with Walton Family Foundation staff as a resource for current and future grantees seeking capacity-building support.

For the duration of the program, participating consultants will have access to CNE for technical assistance resources in areas beyond the contracted scope of work, as identified by the consultant and grantee. Consultants will be able to request resources such as tools, templates, and guidance in subjects spanning nonprofit management and governance to share with their nonprofit clients.

As part of the program, participating consultants will participate in an onboarding meeting at the program’s start and will also meet individually with CNE staff at the program’s midpoint to share feedback about the process, the program, and their engagements and to request resources that may benefit their organizations. At the close of the program, participating consultants will also receive a feedback survey from CNE.

 

Qualifications

Consultants selected for the NEP Consultant Pool must have nonprofit experience, have expertise in one or more of the six capacity-building areas listed above, and have experience and/or alignment with 7 Actionable Principles for a Strong Social Sector, which serves as CNE’s guiding framework for this program. For more information about 7 Actionable Principles (7AP), please visit CNE’s 7AP website.

Preference will be given to consultants in Northwest Arkansas and/or those who have experience working with nonprofits in the Northwest Arkansas area.

 

Program Timeline

  • February-March 2026: Consultant Pool application is open for consultants interested in joining the NEP Consultant Pool. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. (CT) on Friday, March 6, 2026.
  • March 2026: Consultants accepted into the NEP Consultant Pool will be notified in March, no later than March 31, 2026.
  • March-April 2026: CNE will host a group onboarding session with consultants accepted into the NEP Consultant Pool.
  • April-May 2026: CNE will begin meeting individually with nonprofit grantees selected into the program. CNE will provide recommendations from the NEP Consultant Pool that align with grantees’ needs and plans and share consultant contact information.
  • May 2026: Grantees will begin reaching out to consultants they are interested in working with to explore alignment; design activities, scopes, and timeline; identify deliverables; and review costs. Grantees will finalize contracts with their chosen consultant(s). The engagement contract(s) will be between the consultant and the nonprofit.
  • June 2026: Projects will begin getting underway.
  • September-October 2026: CNE will schedule individual midpoint check-in meetings with each grantee and each consultant engaged with a grantee or grantees to solicit feedback, ask about progress and other support needs, and answer any questions.
  • February 2027: Projects must wrap this month, with each grantee organization completing a project completion report, a post-program assessment based on the 7 Actionable Principles, and a feedback survey, all due to CNE by February 26, 2027. Each consultant who has contracted with a NEP grantee will also be asked to complete a feedback survey at the close of the engagement or no later than February 26, 2027.

 

Call for consultants: how to apply to the NEP Consultant Pool

Before applying, please note:

  • If you navigate away from the form while filling it out, you may lose information. We recommend that you compose your answers in a separate document and then copy and paste your information into the form when you are ready to submit.
  • To learn more about CNE’s 7 Actionable Principles for a Strong Social Sector, our framework for learning and growth that guides the NEP initiative, please visit the 7AP website.
  • Consultants who would like to be considered for the NEP Consultant Pool should apply via the button below. The deadline to apply is March 6, 2026 (11:59 p.m. Central Time).

If you have any questions or need assistance with the application, please contact Jen Jacobs at 434-989-5282.

Apply

About CNE

Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, with offices across the Commonwealth, CNE works to advance equitable, thriving, and just communities powered by healthy nonprofits. We serve as a champion, learning partner, and advisor to nonprofits through year-round advising, training, consulting, and convenings.

Through our partnership with the Walton Family Foundation, we are excited to extend this work to Northwest Arkansas and support high-impact nonprofit organizations through the Nonprofit Excellence Program.