We’re ALL IN, but there is room for you.

Let’s make a difference.
Are you ALL IN, too?

What is the Academy?

The PLI Academy is a seven month cohort-modeled fellowship program designed to assist diverse leaders in the Baltimore area in growing their network, leadership, expertise and capacity in the field of assisting Boys and Men of Color (BMOC).

While immersed within the Academy program, our Academy fellows are exposed to content experts, philanthropists, policymakers and other key stakeholders, providing education and guidance in their growth. They will also be provided with knowledge and tools to improve their leadership skills and capacity.

Goals of the PLI Academy

As a fellow in the program, you’ll find that you’re exposed to masterful leaders who will open new paths to success for your organization. We know that at the end of the day, successful programs in the Baltimore area enact REAL CHANGE in the lives of boys and men of color. You make that happen, and we make you better at it. As we say around these offices, we’re ALL IN.

Our current Academy goals:

  • To enhance and sustain practitioner capacity to remain connected to programs that deal with boys and men of color.
  • To create stronger networks that support practitioners, and connect diverse sectors together to strengthen and sustain the field of boys and men of color.
  • To provide strong channels of access to trainings, resources and experiences that can contribute to practitioner stability to sustain and improve services provided to boys and men of color.

The Academy Experience

Expect to get fired up. Expect to hear from others who are in the trenches, every single day, just like you. Expect to have your eyes opened. Expect expert advice. Expect lights of hope and powerful education.

The Academy experience unravels throughout our seven month program, with personal mentoring and monthly learning engagements with both face-to-face sessions and web-based workshops. We are designed to strengthen and sustain your leadership, built your capacity and affect real outcomes for BMOC.

Baltimore focused and nationally supported means just that; alumni of our program stretch across the country, and their combined experiences all lend to your education. Additionally, Academy faculty bring their expertise to the table, giving you greater competency across the board.

The Academy fellow selection process is limited to fifteen approved applicants through a competitive application process. The 2019 application process is currently closed. For more information on the application process, read this document.

The PLI Academy made me feel more confident as a leader in the field and in my agency, as I transitioned into the role of Program Director. The opportunity to learn and apply strategies, and to work with other fellows, helped strengthen my ability to network and go after new resources.

Nate Lett

Program Director at Beech Acres Parenting Center
Class of 2013

What's In It For My Organization?

It’s a valid question. We are asking you to dedicate your time and effort to attend, and we work to ensure your time investment is valued and you graduate with a greater understanding and ability to empower your own mission.

Academy competencies for the 2019 PLI BMOC Academy will include:

  • Leadership
  • Strategic planning and visioning
  • Asset framing
  • Program data and evaluation
  • Financial fitness
  • Sustainability and collaboration
  • Return on investment
  • Communication and branding
  • Policy advocacy

And it’s more than these topic-specific learning sessions mentioned above. Academy fellows who participate in the program also receive these benefits:

  • Access to Online PLI Academy Discussion Forum. Exclusive access to PLI BMOC Academy faculty and Fellows via an online discussion board, where you can connect with your peers.
  • Opportunities to Contribute. Opportunities to provide content to be published on PLI’s blog and/or social media campaigns during and after Academy participation.
  • Enhanced Network. Access to a diverse network of field leaders, practitioners, policymakers, philanthropists and content experts, including a formal, guided mentoring relationship with an Academy graduate.
  • Ongoing Support. Graduate fellows matriculate through the program and are afforded ongoing support over time. Graduates also remain connected to the Academy through various communication, professional development, and evaluation opportunities, as well as the opportunity to mentor current fellows.
  • Mentoring. Each Fellow will have individual and small group mentoring with specific support based on self-selected programmatic challenges.
  • Outcomes. At the end of the Academy, Fellows will be able to create a program logic model, data plan, 18-month strategic plan and more.
“CFUF does a great job of getting the right people in place that have expertise in all fields necessary to grow a non-profit. Whether it’s developing a business plan, or developing marketing materials or telling your story or understanding the legal documents that you are responsible for… they’re all relevant components to 501c3.

“I’m very grateful to have been a part of the PLI Cohort in 2018.”

Denzell Walker

Program Director, Project Pneuma
Class of 2018