Arizona State University

Turkish Philanthropy Funds and Arizona State University’s Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation are accepting applications for the Best Practices NGO Leadership Academy, a development program for experienced nonprofit professionals working in Türkiye. Supported by the Haldun Tashman Fund at TPF, the initiative combines executive education, peer learning and practical work connected to participants’ organizations. The published application window runs from October 6 through November 16, 2026, placing the opportunity within its recruitment period as of October 23. TPF’s public announcement identifies the same partners, fund and application dates, reinforcing the timetable provided in its academy-specific information.

The inaugural academy is scheduled for January 20 through June 2, 2027, with approximately 20 participants. Those dates separate three stages of the initiative: recruitment this fall, an informational webinar listed for October 20, 2026, and the educational program beginning in January. The webinar date has passed, but the published application deadline has not. For prospective participants, the relevant remaining recruitment milestone is November 16. The opportunity is specifically directed toward nonprofit and civil society leaders working in Türkiye; the involvement of an American university does not make this a general enrollment announcement for professionals based in the United States.

Experienced Leaders, Not Only Executive Directors

The academy’s FAQ describes its intended applicants as professionals who already carry meaningful leadership responsibilities. Strong candidates will typically have approximately seven to 10 years of nonprofit or civil society experience and responsibility for a team, program, budget or organizational function. An executive director title is not required. That distinction broadens the invitation beyond an organization’s most senior employee while keeping the focus on people positioned to use management education in their current work. The published profile also emphasizes commitment to the nonprofit sector, leadership potential and the ability to participate throughout the program, rather than presenting the academy as introductory training for newcomers.

Applicants must demonstrate support from their organization’s leadership and provide two references. The FAQ identifies an executive director, board chair or another senior leader as potential sources of organizational backing. English proficiency is also important: instruction will primarily be in English, and participants need to engage in discussions and assignments. Together, these expectations make participation more than an individual expression of interest. An applicant must be ready to take part in the learning process, while the supporting organization must understand that the experience is intended to connect with its work. Organizational endorsement is therefore part of the academy’s design, not simply an administrative detail attached to admission.

Selection will consider professional experience, current responsibilities, leadership potential, commitment to completion and the ability to contribute to and learn from the cohort. Reviewers will also examine the clarity and relevance of the organizational challenge an applicant hopes to address. This adds an important practical dimension to the application: describing a leadership role is not the same as identifying a useful focus for learning. The FAQ also says reviewers will consider how participants’ experiences and perspectives complement one another. Selection is consequently framed around both individual readiness and the composition of a group expected to learn together, rather than around seniority or job title alone.

A January–June Program With a Capstone

The published structure includes 12 regular learning sessions followed by a capstone session. The January 20 kickoff begins a calendar that concludes with presentations and closing on June 2. Sessions are scheduled on Wednesdays, generally from 7 to 9 p.m. Türkiye time, although the February 10 and February 24 sessions are listed for 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The calendar is not a continuous weekly sequence, so participants need to consult the individual dates rather than assume that every Wednesday is reserved. These details give applicants a more concrete basis for assessing the commitment than the program’s broad January–June duration alone.

Participation extends beyond being present for scheduled instruction. The FAQ calls for active involvement in discussions and peer learning, along with assignments and applied work. It also asks participants to plan for the full sequence of regular sessions and the capstone. The distinction matters because TPF describes the academy as a shared learning experience rather than a collection of stand-alone courses. Applicants are considering a sustained commitment that includes work between meetings, not simply access to occasional presentations. For supporting organizations, the relevant planning question is therefore not only whether a leader can attend the sessions, but whether participation can be accommodated alongside existing responsibilities.

The concluding capstone gives participants an opportunity to present their work, explain what they have learned and show how they intend to apply it within their organizations. It provides a defined endpoint for the practical emphasis running through the academy’s description. A final presentation, however, should not be confused with proof that an organizational change has already s쳮ded. The published commitment is to learning, applied work and an explanation of intended use. Reading the capstone in those terms keeps the distinction clear between an educational result—a participant’s developed work—and the longer process of deciding whether and how an organization will put a proposed approach into practice.

Connecting Management Education With Organizational Work

TPF’s main program page identifies strategy, governance, sustainability, management, fundraising, communications and organizational effectiveness among the academy’s subject areas. Participants will learn from ASU faculty and nonprofit experts while examining challenges in their own organizations. The central proposition is the connection between instruction and application: the university partnership supplies expertise, while participants bring the responsibilities and circumstances that give that expertise a practical purpose. The published description does not promise an identical solution for every organization. Instead, it presents stronger leadership and management capabilities as resources participants can use when considering their organizations’ needs and possible responses.

The partnership also explicitly links global expertise with local application. TPF says participants will draw on ASU’s nonprofit-management knowledge while working within the realities of Türkiye’s civil society sector. That framing is important to understanding the cross-border arrangement. The educational connection is American, but the intended organizational use is in Türkiye. The academy is not described simply as exposure to another country’s practices; its emphasis is on determining how learning can be useful in participants’ existing settings. Accordingly, the listed subject areas are best understood as a framework for organizational examination, not as evidence that one management model will be suitable for every participating nonprofit.

Peer learning is the other major component of that approach. TPF intends to bring together leaders from across Türkiye to exchange perspectives, discuss practices and establish relationships that continue beyond the formal program. Participants are therefore expected to contribute experience as well as receive instruction. The planned group of approximately 20 is intended to support interaction among leaders, faculty and nonprofit experts. These are stated features and objectives of the design, not demonstrated results from a completed cohort. The academy’s proposed value lies in combining expert instruction, practical organizational questions and sustained contact with peers; whether those relationships produce lasting collaboration remains something the inaugural experience will have to establish.

Contributions, Completion and Application Questions

The financial arrangement combines philanthropic support with participant contributions. TPF’s main academy page says contributions will be made directly to a TPF partner organization in Türkiye. Its FAQ describes a cost-sharing model tied to the participating organization’s annual budget, with contribution levels supplied through the application information. Financial assistance may be available according to organizational need and program guidelines. These statements establish the model without providing a universal price or guaranteeing assistance. Applicants and their supporting organizations should therefore distinguish the confirmed destination of the contribution from the amount they would owe and any conditions attached to assistance; those are separate questions within the participation decision.

Participants who successfully meet the program requirements will receive a certificate recognizing completion of the Best Practices NGO Leadership Academy. The FAQ says further information about completion requirements and certificate distribution will be provided during onboarding. The recognition should be described in those terms, without extending it into a claim about a degree or another university credential. For applicants, the published certificate information sits alongside the larger commitment to instruction, assignments, peer exchange and applied work. It confirms that completion will be recognized, while leaving the detailed conditions to the program’s onboarding process rather than establishing them through assumptions about other ASU educational offerings.

TPF identifies Programs Lead Seval Gulen Arikan as the contact for questions on the main academy page. With applications scheduled to close November 16, prospective participants can seek clarification about contribution levels, participation expectations and the application process before committing. The academy’s immediate news is its open recruitment period and published plan for a first cohort in 2027. Its broader ambition is to strengthen nonprofit organizations by investing in the people who lead them, bringing education, professional relationships and organizational application into one program. That ambition remains a goal of the TPF–ASU partnership; its eventual results will depend on the work participants undertake and how their organizations use it.