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City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy and Accelerator Program

The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego, in partnership with the City of San Diego, recently hosted the San Diego Nonprofit Academy and San Diego Nonprofit Accelerator. In this photo, graduates of the 2025 Nonprofit Accelerator Program pose with their certificates of completion at USD.

Nonprofit Academy

This award-winning educational program is designed to educate local nonprofit leaders on maximizing their operational efficiency to better serve the local community. The program also aims to strengthen small-to-midsize nonprofits, grow their impact and better position them to receive funding from the government and other philanthropic partners.

All featured core courses and electives are taught by leading nonprofit management experts. Topics include effective board governance, strategic thinking, financial management, program design, evaluation, and personal leadership. Classes are held at the School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES) on the University of San Diego campus. For updates on future Nonprofit Academies, please click here.

Nonprofit Accelerator

In 2025, 14 organizations were selected to complete a three-month intensive learning experience in partnership with the University of San Diego and the City of San Diego. Nonprofits worked with USD to create logic models, sharpen program design, strengthen their boards, and address other concerns as identified through listening sessions with USD staff. 

Organizations that completed the Accelerator can be found below.

City of San Diego Nonprofit Accelerator Graduates

Partnering With the City

Women poses certificate

The City of San Diego encourages academy attendees and accelerator graduates to apply for City grants. More information about nonprofit grant opportunities with the Economic Development Department can be found here.

 

 

 

City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy Highlights

IEDC Gold The Nonprofit Academy

  • On March 28, 2019, the City of San Diego Economic Development Department and the University of San Diego Nonprofit Institute were honored with a California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) Award of Merit for Collaboration for the City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy. The award was presented at the 39th Annual CALED Conference in Anaheim, California.
  • The City of San Diego Economic Development Department won a 2017 Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for the City of San Diego Nonprofit Academy, a project in the category of Partnership with Educational Institutions of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The honor was presented at an awards ceremony on Sept. 19 during the IEDC Annual Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Read the press release.)
  • In December 2017, the IEDC Journal profiled the academy. Read the article "The Nonprofit Academy in San Diego: Building Strong Nonprofits to Drive Economic Development" on page 37.