How to Embrace Continuous Learning in Your Nonprofit Team

How can today's nonprofit stay relevant, adaptable, and desirable as a workplace? One way to achieve each of these is by fostering a culture of continuous learning within your team. Here's why you should make the switch and how you can do it effectively.

Key Benefits of Continuous Learning

Greater Learning Gains

Psychologically, we learn more effectively from smaller bites of information that can be quickly applied. This means shorter, more frequent learning sessions can significantly boost your team's knowledge and skills. Encouraging ongoing, regular learning (such as taking a 15-minute online course or reading a relevant journal article) can enrich your team member's knowledge base and vocabulary, and doing so daily or weekly creates significant momentum and progress.

Encourages Innovation

Continuous learning equips employees with new skills and knowledge, making them more adaptable and open to innovative ways of performing their roles. This adaptability is essential for driving your nonprofit forward in an evolving landscape, and helps your entire team participate in organizational improvement and capacity-building.

Consistent Service Delivery

Maintaining consistent quality in service delivery becomes easier when team members stay updated in their roles. Continuous learning ensures that everyone is on the same page and performing at their best because they all have made a point of staying current in the trends and best practices that relate to their core work.

Strategies for Fostering a Learning Culture

Make Learning Easy

Utilize online systems and microlearning to make education accessible and manageable. Platforms like the Merit® Nonprofit Professional Development system, combined with short, targeted training sessions, can help your team learn without feeling overwhelmed.

Normalize Learning

Talk about learning as a natural part of your organization's culture. Make it clear that "this is what we do around here." When learning becomes a regular topic of conversation, it feels less like an extra task and more like an integral part of the job. This can look like "Things I've Learned Lately" notes on the breakroom bulletin board, 60-second share-outs at staff meetings, or a #funfacts channel on Slack.

Co-Create Expectations

Involve your team in setting learning goals and expectations. When team members have a say in what and how they learn, they're more likely to be engaged and committed. Some teams agree that 15 minutes per week (which adds up to 13 hours of learning time over the course of a year!) is enough, while others might strive for book clubs or watching webinars together.

Prioritize Learning

Help team members make learning a priority with initiatives like lunch-and-learn sessions or designated training times. For example, setting aside Tuesday mornings at 9:30 for team training can ensure that everyone allocates time for their development.

Addressing Challenges

Competing Priorities

In the nonprofit sector, it's easy to prioritize immediate needs over long-term development. However, ongoing learning results in happier and more engaged team members, leading to long-term gains in service quality, staff retention, and overall organizational health.

Perception of Adequate Knowledge

Some team members may feel they already know enough for their roles. It's important to communicate that continuous learning is not about current knowledge but about staying ahead of future challenges and opportunities.

Conclusion

By integrating these strategies, your nonprofit can create a vibrant culture of continuous learning. Not only will this benefit individual team members, but it will also drive your organization toward greater innovation, consistency, and overall success.

Ready to take the next step? Start by implementing one of the strategies discussed today and observe the positive changes within your team. Report back by responding to this article, and connect with the Nonprofit Help Center team to talk about bringing one of our training solutions to your team.