Young Leaders Council

What Young Leaders Council does

Young Leaders Council (YLC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1985 and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. YLC identifies, recruits, and trains young professionals — primarily between the ages of 25 and 40 — to serve on nonprofit boards, delivering an 11-week board-readiness curriculum followed by a one-year board internship at a partner nonprofit. The organization operates five cohorts per year, training roughly 170 to 213 individuals annually, and reports a network of more than 3,500 alumni supporting more than 400 Middle Tennessee nonprofits over its 40-year history.

In August 2024, YLC launched Board Connect, a digital matching platform that extends the organization's training pipeline into a self-service placement tool connecting alumni with nonprofit board opportunities. The platform is described as using "advanced matching technology" and was initially available to recent graduates, with plans to open access to the full alumni base in 2025 as part of the organization's 40th anniversary. YLC has also formalized dedicated cohort partnerships with Belmont University's Jack C. Massey College of Business and the Junior League of Nashville to broaden its recruitment channels.

YLC's business model combines participant tuition ($750–$850 per class), event sponsorships, nonprofit tour booth fees, and philanthropic contributions from corporate and foundation supporters. Named institutional backers include Amazon, Asurion, PMC, AllianceBernstein, the Frist Foundation, the HCA Healthcare Foundation, and the Truist Foundation. The organization operates with a small team of 1–10 employees and is currently recruiting for a CEO, suggesting a leadership transition occurring alongside its product and partnership expansion.

Name

Young Leaders Council

Legal name

Young Leaders Council

Website

https://youngleaderscouncil.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Young Leaders Council is a Nashville-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that trains professionals ages 25–40 to serve on nonprofit boards through an 11-week curriculum and one-year internship, and operates Board Connect, a digital board-matching platform launched in August 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Leadership Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI)

Keywords

• Nonprofit board training
• Board skills development
• Nonprofit leadership training
• Volunteer board placement
• Nonprofit governance education

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Class Participation Fees: Program participants pay a class participation fee to attend the 11-week training program. Standard fee is $850 per participant; Junior League cohort fee is $750. This is a primary revenue stream for the organization.
2. Donations and Contributions: Individual donors can make tax-deductible donations to support the organization's mission. Donations are accepted online through Kindful platform and by mail.
3. Event Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors support the annual Leadership Luncheon and other events. Multiple sponsorship tiers are offered, providing sponsors access to over 300 YLC alumni, corporate partners, and community leaders.
4. Nonprofit Tour Booth Fees: Nonprofit organizations pay registration fees to host booths at the 'Into the System' Nonprofit Tour events ($25-$75 depending on Board Connect membership status).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Young Leaders Council operates an 11-week nonprofit board skills training program for young professionals aged 25-40, followed by a one-year non-voting board internship with a Middle Tennessee nonprofit organization. The program is delivered through five annual cohorts (Nashville Spring, Nashville Fall, Williamson County, Junior League of Nashville, and Jack C. Massey College of Business at Belmont University). Graduates gain access to Board Connect, a proprietary matching platform that connects trained alumni with nonprofits seeking board members, board interns, and volunteers.

Product overview

Young Leaders Council operates as a unified nonprofit service offering, combining an 11-week immersive training program with a proprietary matching platform. The core offering consists of the YLC Training Program paired with Board Connect, a technology-enabled matching platform that connects trained graduates with nonprofit organizations. Additional programs include the Leadership Luncheon (annual fundraising event), Impact Series (continuing education events), Nonprofit Tours (trade-show style introductions), and Alumni Happy Hour celebrations. The organization hosts five cohorts annually across Nashville and Williamson County, with program fees ranging from $750-$850 per participant.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Board Connect: A matching platform designed to connect highly-trained individuals with opportunities to invest their time and talents to strengthen the Middle Tennessee nonprofit community. Uses advanced matching technology to analyze profile information provided by individuals and nonprofit organizations.

Products and services

• YLC Training Program An 11-week interactive training program covering fundamental nonprofit board skills including financial literacy, legal considerations, strategic planning, fundraising, and governance, delivered in-person across Middle Tennessee and followed by a one-year non-voting board internship with a nonprofit organization. Designed for young professionals aged 25-40 from corporate, civic, and volunteer backgrounds.
• Board Connect A proprietary matching platform that uses advanced matching technology to connect YLC-trained alumni with nonprofit organizations seeking board members, board interns, and volunteers based on shared interests and needs. Users can explore a directory of opportunities and profiles for filtering and review.
• Leadership Luncheon

Quantifiable outcome

• 170+ young professionals trained annually across 5 cohorts
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered founding, core and supporting.

• United WayfoundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Way was a founding partner of Young Leaders Council in 1985 alongside the Council of Community Services and Frist Foundation. Supports YLC's mission to replenish volunteer leadership for the Nashville nonprofit community.
• Council of Community ServicesfoundingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal founding organization that established Young Leaders Council in 1985 in partnership with the Frist Foundation and United Way to address the emerging need to broaden and strengthen Nashville's volunteer leadership base.
• Belmont University (Jack C. Massey College of Business)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner hosting a dedicated YLC cohort exclusively for Massey College of Business alumni. Provides meeting facilities and academic credibility to the program.
• Junior League of NashvillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partner hosting a dedicated YLC cohort for JLN members. Reduced program fee ($750 vs $850) reflects partnership arrangement. Thursday sessions from 8:00-10:30 a.m.
• Pierce Public RelationssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerYLC's public relations and marketing partner. President Julia Bonner-Zade serves as YLC Board Chair and authored content on personal branding for YLC alumni.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CompassPoint Nonprofit Services: San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit providing management and leadership training, consulting, and research to nonprofits. Comparable in mission (nonprofit leadership development) and has a regional training model similar to YLC's Nashville-centric cohorts.
• BoardSource: National nonprofit focused on strengthening nonprofit board leadership through training, research, and consulting. Directly comparable to YLC as both train individuals to serve effectively on nonprofit boards, though BoardSource operates nationally and serves all ages rather than YLC's 25-40 cohort.
• JumpStart (Board JumpStart / BoardSource JumpStart): Nonprofit recruiting and training young professionals (typically under 40) to serve on nonprofit boards in multiple U.S. cities. Closest direct comparison to YLC — same target demographic, same cohort training model, same nonprofit board placement mission, with a multi-city footprint YLC lacks.
• Common Impact: National nonprofit that connects skilled professionals with nonprofits through skills-based volunteering and board-matching programs. Highly comparable — both operate placement platforms between trained professionals and nonprofit board roles, with similar multi-stakeholder funding models.

Broad incumbents

• Points of Light: Large global nonprofit focused on volunteer service and civic engagement. Overlaps with YLC's civic-leadership-development mission but operates at a much larger scale with broader volunteer mobilization rather than cohort-based board training.
• VolunteerMatch: Largest online volunteer engagement network in the U.S., matching individuals with nonprofit opportunities. Adjacent to YLC's Board Connect model but at much larger scale and broader scope (volunteer matching rather than board training + placement).
• National Council of Nonprofits: National network of state and regional nonprofit associations providing advocacy, training, and resources. Broader incumbent in the same nonprofit-capacity-building space, with overlapping training offerings but a network/advocacy orientation rather than YLC's cohort-based placement model.

Emerging players

• Catchafire: Skills-based volunteer marketplace connecting professionals with nonprofits for project-based engagements. Compares to YLC's Board Connect in using a matching platform to connect professionals with nonprofits, but focuses on project work rather than board placement.
• Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP): National network supporting early- and mid-career philanthropic professionals. Compares to YLC's 25-40 age focus and civic-leadership development, though EPIP focuses on philanthropy practitioners rather than nonprofit board service.

Regional players

• Center for Nonprofit Excellence: Nashville-based nonprofit that provides training, consulting, and resources to Middle Tennessee nonprofits. Strong regional overlap with YLC's geography and serves a related but broader audience (nonprofit staff and boards rather than just emerging young leaders).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/YLCNashville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youngleaderscouncil
• Instagraminstagram.com/ylcnashville

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Young Leaders Council