Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy

What Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy does

Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy (IWILTA), originally founded as Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership in 2000 and launched with its inaugural training class in 2002, is a Chicago-headquartered 501(c)(4) nonprofit that prepares Democratic, pro-choice women to run for elected office, seek public appointments, and govern effectively at all levels in Illinois. The core offering is an eight-month intensive training program that admits twelve women per year and convenes them across six multi-day sessions in Champaign, Chicago, Springfield, Southern Illinois, and Washington DC. The program covers campaign strategy, communications, fundraising, state and federal government operations, and media training, and the organization covers hotel, meal, and out-of-state travel costs for participants.

The organization is led by two Co-Executive Directors (Christina Nowinski Wurst and Tracy Mayfield), a Program Director (Sofia Rodriguez), and an approximately 20-member Board of Directors that includes sitting Democratic elected officials, senior staff to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, the Chicago City Clerk, county party chairs, and executives from political consulting, labor, and trade organizations. Revenue is generated through individual donations at $5 to $250 tiers and high-visibility fundraising events such as the Trailblazer Award Reception and virtual spring fundraisers featuring national Democratic figures; per its own footer, contributions are not tax-deductible as charitable contributions. Distribution channels are application-based and event-driven: candidates apply into the annual cohort, with awareness generated through the 270-plus alumnae network (100+ of whom now hold elected office), the Ambassador's Circle, and earned media from events. There are no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or technology products, and the organization does not endorse or contribute financially to candidates.

Name

Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy

Legal name

Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy

Website

https://iwiltrainingacademy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy (IWILTA) is a Chicago-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit that trains cohorts of twelve Democratic, pro-choice Illinois women annually, through an eight-month, multi-city program covering campaign, fundraising, and governance skills to prepare them for elected office.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Political Leadership Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Resources, Organizational Behavior & Leadership Institutes (EDAHAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Leadership, Debate & Model UN Camps (EDAMALAK)

Keywords

• Political leadership training
• Campaign training programs
• Women candidate training
• Civic leadership development
• Political mentorship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: The organization raises funds through donations at various levels ($5, $25, $50, $100, $250) and accepts contributions to support training Illinois Democratic women to run for and win elected office.
2. Fundraising Events: Annual virtual spring fundraisers and Trailblazer Award receptions featuring prominent Democratic leaders such as Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Stacey Abrams, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Elizabeth Warren.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy (IWILTA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization that delivers an eight-month intensive training program preparing Democratic, pro-choice women in Illinois to run for elected office, seek public appointments, and govern effectively at all levels of government. Each year the organization accepts a cohort of twelve women from across Illinois who participate in six multi-day training sessions held across Illinois locations (Champaign, Chicago, Springfield, Southern Illinois) and Washington DC. The organization covers all major program expenses for participants, including hotel accommodations, most meals, and out-of-state travel.

Product overview

Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership (IWIL) Training Academy operates as a single unified training program rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is an eight-month intensive training program that prepares Democratic, pro-choice women to run for elected office, seek public appointments, and govern effectively at all levels in Illinois. The program accepts twelve women annually into a cohort-based experience consisting of six multi-day sessions held across Illinois and Washington DC, covering campaign skills, communications strategy, fundraising techniques, government training, and media training. Supporting services include an alumnae network of over 270 women trained since 2002, annual policy forums and events including the Dawn Clark Netsch Policy Forum and Trailblazer Award Reception, and an internship program for those seeking careers in politics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Eight-Month Intensive Training Program An eight-month intensive training program that prepares Democratic, pro-choice women to run for elected office, seek public appointments, and govern effectively at all levels in Illinois. The program includes six multi-day sessions held across locations in Illinois and Washington DC and covers campaign skills, communications strategy, fundraising techniques, state and federal government training, media training, and graduation. All major program expenses are covered by the organization for selected participants.
• Class of 2026 Annual Cohort Program Annual cohort-based instance of the intensive training program accepting twelve diverse women from across Illinois, covering campaign skills, communications strategy, fundraising techniques, state and federal government training, media training, and graduation.
• Internship Program Hybrid internship program based in Chicago offering hands-on experience supporting the training program; interns assist with event planning, administrative and fundraising support, communications and social media, and research and data management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60%+ of trained women ran for public office
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Women EmployedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStarr De Los Santos, Associate Director of Coalitions at Women Employed, is a member of IWILTA Class of 2026, demonstrating organizational alignment on women's leadership issues.
• Women's Bar Association of IllinoisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-hosted event 'EmpowHER: Celebrating Women in Politics at the Chicago Democratic National Convention and Beyond' with IWIL Training Academy.
• NAACPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIWILTA Class of 2026 member Shateveon Goforth serves as Vice President of the NAACP Decatur Branch, and member Makiya Thomas serves as Co-Chair of the NAACP Veterans Committee.
• Organized LaborcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrom the founding, organized labor played a foundational role in shaping the IWIL Training Academy program alongside trial lawyers, Democratic elected officials, and policy/media/political experts.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• New Politics: Nonpartisan organization recruiting and training leaders from outside traditional politics to run for state and local office. Comparable in cohort-based campaign training and leadership development, though focused on nonpartisan and outsider candidates.
• Higher Heights for America: Organization building the political power and leadership of Black women through training, organizing, and electoral support. Comparable as a women's political leadership training pipeline with a defined demographic focus, analogous to IWILTA's Democratic-women focus.
• She Should Run: Nonpartisan nonprofit encouraging women to run for office, with training and community programs. Comparable as a women's political leadership pipeline but operates at a much larger scale and is nonpartisan versus IWILTA's Democratic focus.
• VoteRunLead: Nonpartisan political organization training women to run for office across the U.S. Comparable as a women's campaign training pipeline but operating nationally and nonpartisan, versus IWILTA's Democratic Illinois focus.
• National Women's Political Caucus: Multipartisan organization supporting women in politics through training, endorsement, and recruitment programs. Comparable as a women's political pipeline with training programs, though explicitly multipartisan versus IWILTA's Democratic-only stance.
• Wellstone Action: Progressive political training organization offering campaign, advocacy, and leadership programs. Comparable as a progressive political training organization with cohort-style programs, though broader than women's-only focus.
• EMILY's List: National political organization dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women, with a candidate training and campaign support program. Directly comparable as a Democratic, pro-choice women's political pipeline, but operating nationally rather than state-focused.
• Emerge: Recruits, trains, and supports Democratic women to run for state and local office through state-based chapters. Highly comparable as a Democratic-women-only political training pipeline, and a direct model peer as a chapter-based Democratic women's campaign school with cohort programs.
• Running Start: Nonpartisan organization that trains young women to run for political office and pursue leadership roles. Comparable in cohort-based leadership training for women aspiring to elected office, though younger demographic focus and nonpartisan stance.
• Arena: Campaign training platform for progressive candidates and campaign operatives offering structured coursework. Comparable as progressive campaign training infrastructure, though technology-enabled rather than in-person cohort based.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IWIL_Academy
• Facebookfacebook.com/IWILTrainingAcademy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iwilta

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy