The Nonprofit Track aims to help as many leaders as possible answer God’s call to impact their communities. However, it does require a significant investment of time and effort, and the program emphasizes a culture of accountability to ensure the best possible results. If you are interested in applying, please keep in mind that there are specific criteria that you will need to meet, including: 

1. Age of Ministry – Is your organization relatively new, five years or younger, or have you led a nonprofit for five years or less? If so, you qualify. 

2. Cultural Alignment – To ensure your values align with Orchard’s Cultural Clarity Document, please read it by clicking HERE. This shared cultural alignment is essential to building solid partnerships. If you answered “yes” to this, you qualify!

3. Financial Need– If you have an established nonprofit, please ensure it qualifies to file a 990 – N postcard with the IRS by clicking HERE. This will help us to understand your organization’s financial needs better. If the answer is yes, you qualify. If you have yet to officially launch your nonprofit organization, you qualify.

Discern– If you only have an idea for a new ministry, you will start with our entry-level program, Discern. Discern is a self-led introspective study that will assist you in determining if God is truly leading you to establish a new ministry. If the answer is yes, we will provide you with guidance on organizing your new work and getting it off the ground. The final stage of this program is to legally incorporate your new initiative and file paperwork to obtain nonprofit recognition from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

Foundations Curriculum– If you’re leading a nonprofit organization or have completed the Discern process, you can enroll in our flagship Foundations Curriculum training program. This curriculum is designed to equip nonprofit leaders with the intellectual skills needed to run an organization and the spiritual skills required to lead like Jesus in motivation and practice. The training topics covered in this training include clarifying mission and vision, fundraising, maintaining a healthy board, adhering to IRS compliance, insurance, volunteer engagement, and many more. 

Orchard believes that “Community is a Gift,” and we have incorporated this into our Nonprofit Track. Discern and Foundations are conducted through online cohorts of leaders at a similar stage. This provides an opportunity for participants to learn from one another while still receiving “systematically individualized” attention tailored to their needs. 

Once participants complete Foundations, they receive two consecutive years of individualized care. This includes: 

•  Annual Roadmap- Roadmaps is our process of creating a one-year strategic plan that addresses the direction the leader seeks to take their ministry and the operational challenges they face.   
• One-on-One Consulting- Orchard will utilize the leader’s Roadmap to pair them with consultants who can help address their specific challenges. Orchard compensates the consultants, and they are experts in their field.   

• Leadership Coaching – During all phases of the program, Participants enjoy ongoing care from Orchard staff and trained leadership coaches. 

Are you ready to take the next step in your journey? Open enrollment runs from April 1st to August 1st, with a new cohort starting each February. To be considered for the upcoming cohort, submit your application by August 1st. So don’t delay; our program only accepts a limited number of applicants each calendar year.

The Nonprofit Track lasts 3 or 4 years, depending on whether you start in Discern (4 years) or Foundations (3 years).

• Discern is a self-guided introspective study that can be completed in 3 to 5 months.
• Foundations is a college-style digital learning experience that meets bi-weekly in the mornings on Zoom.

Orchard invests approximately $5,000 annually to support each ministry leader effectively. Fortunately, accepted participants do not have to pay anything to participate in this program. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, this transformative opportunity is offered at no cost to participants. The total investment for each leader throughout the program duration ranges from $15,000 to $20,000.

Orchard partners with generous donors to fund this initiative, which allows us to provide this opportunity to visionary leaders like you. We make a significant effort to identify and select the most committed candidates. Since the program is funded by the generosity of others, participants are expected to uphold high standards of engagement and accountability.