Frequent Asked Questions
Q: How is NLC sustainable?
A: NLC Chapters pay for themselves after two years, raising half of the funds required for operation in the first year. Average programmatic expenses are $5,000 per chapter per year. These expenses include faculty, food for the NLC Institute, events, gifts for Fellows and faculty, office supplies, and program-related travel. Through the Fellows fundraiser and the chapter fundraisers (at least one per year), chapters are able to raise at least $2,500 their first year and $5,000 their second year. This allows each chapter, from a program perspective, to be self-sufficient after its first year. The funding on the chapter level also largely comes from small contributions ($250 and less), also allowing it to be sustainable, even during economic downturns.
Organizationally, NLC invests a great deal of time, energy, and resources into its leadership to ensure that its leaders are trained and able to run a chapter effectively. With a national leadership retreat in August filled with training, national conference calls for ongoing training and coordination, and nationally coordinated events, NLC invests a great deal in its leaders. These investments have a direct correlation with chapter performance, so they are very important for us. NLC also conducts due diligence on its chapter directors to make sure they are capable of running a chapter, understand their reputation, and assess their skill set and relationships as they may relate to running an NLC chapter.
Q: Is NLC a Democratic organization?
A: No, NLC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that focuses on people whose ideology is progressive. NLC does not take positions on any policies nor does it endorse politicians, but it does have a values statement that encompasses socially progressive views, does not focus much on economic views. These values are consistent with Millennial's values.
Q: How does NLC select its Fellows?
A: The application process is standardized nationally to ensure quality applicants, comprehensive and professional selections process, and integrity. NLC’s selection process is a data-driven, proactive, standardized process. Each chapter’s selection process is implemented by a Selections Chair (or Co-Chairs) who ensures the integrity of the selection process. The Chair(s) trains the Selections Committee and disseminates national selection process materials (interview questions, scoring rubrics, criteria, etc.). Alumni, faculty, mentors, and Advisory Board members are all invited to participate in the selection process. Beyond requiring applications with essays, resumes, references and letters of recommendation, and a nominal application fee, NLC also requires applicants to take a characteristics test through HireTrue, a Kiosite product.
HireTrue provides the Selections Committee with key personality characteristics information, like how assertive, helpful, good at problem solving, etc., each applicant is. This insight is critical to selecting the most qualified and diverse class. After reviewing the application, essays, resumes, references, and letters of recommendation, the applicants deemed qualified for the NLC Institute are interviewed by a pair of the local chapter’s leaders, and then the Selections Committee convenes to make its final selection of Fellows for the next NLC Institute.
Q: What are NLC's metrics for success?
A: NLC's impact can be seen in the short-, mid-, and long-term. First, NLC's impact is seen with its Fellows, local advisory boards (local working boards), and its alumni. By helping its local advisory boards through various means, it is able to have a larger impact and build a broader, larger movement. In the short-term, NLC measures its success by key indicators like jobs NLC was able to help secure for Fellows and the impact of mentorship opportunities. In the mid-term, NLC examines precisely what it has done to help people reach their next steps. The local and national advisory boards as well as the alumni network are responsible for this. NLC's alumni and advisory boards will act as a committee to help each other reach their next step. In the long-term, NLC's impact will be measured by whether its alumni and board members are industry leaders and if they leveraging their influence to advance progressive causes.
Q: What is NLC's vision? What is its end goal?
A: NLC actively works to promote emerging leaders in different industries to reach the top of their professional field, helping them become leaders in their field. Once they do this, they will be able to leverage more in terms of fundraising, political influence, and lobbying for progressive causes. They will also add credibility to their favorite causes as respected and well known leaders in different fields. Some will run for office and some will be leaders in their industry. We need a coalition of people from all sectors to support these causes if we are to advance a progressive agenda.
Q: How much does the NLC Institute cost for Fellows?
A: The NLC Institute costs about $1,000 per Fellow (includes operational expenses like web, legal, accounting, etc.), but it is free for accepted applicants.
Q: Where does NLC have operations?
A: New Leaders Council has chapters in San Francisco, New York, Washington, DC, Boston, and Los Angeles. It will launch its six new chapters in 2010 in Atlanta, Chicago, Louisiana, Missoula, San Diego, and Sacramento.
Q: What impact has NLC had to date?
A: Chris Cassidy: as a Fellow was a law student whose mentor hired him to get real world PR experience; through NLC was connected with a local campaign and because its voluntary communications director; used NLC reference and relationships to help secure job as communications director for the campaign to protect a woman's right to choose in South Dakota and won; now, through his great resume and some relationships, serves as Deputy Communications Director of the American Constitutional Society and heads up NLC's Alumni Network
Shannon McKinley: always been active in local, grassroots politics; was receptionist working on a little policy when she was an NLC Fellow in 2008; by 2009, her mentor hired her to work for Assembly member Sandre Swanson and she now heads up health care, labor, and other key legislative areas for the Member; she is also the new co-Director of the Sacramento chapter
Albert Hwu: banker at Wells Fargo who had been politically active in college; mentor plugged him into Asian American community and still maintains that relationship today; Albert now seen as one of the key Asian American leaders in San Francisco; professionally now the Chief of Staff to the Head of International Products, getting a phenomenal job experience
Q: Who are your supporters?
A: We respect the right of our investors not to disclose their names, but you can look at our board and see they are investors (VCs, investment bankers, etc.) and traditional entrepreneurs in technology and clean tech along with some elected officials.
Q: Who else is in this space? Who are your competitors?
A: No other organization targets young professionals, filling the gap between college when students are incredibly active and have immense training resources and mid-career when again there are many resources at their disposal. While NLC's real value add is the quality training, mentorship, the network, and new career and political opportunities, keeping Millennials plugged in and active is a very important value.
Q: Who is on your Advisory Board?
A: Our national Advisory Board is composed of the following people: Chairman Mark Walsh, California Assembly Majority Whip, Josh Becker, Gautam Barua, Greg Nelson, Noah Yago, Adam Borelli,