Nonprofit Executive biography playbook
Mission, scale, and the verbs that produce outcomes.
What the reader is hiring this bio to do
Nonprofit leader bios are read by funders, board members, journalists, prospective hires, and peers. They want to see the mission, the scale of operation, and the programs the leader is currently most responsible for.
Credibility signals to include
- Title, organization, mission.
- Operating scale (budget, staff size, beneficiaries served).
- Programs and named partnerships.
- Prior nonprofit, philanthropic, or public-sector roles.
- Board service and advisory positions.
Avoid in this industry
- Donor-deck language as bio prose.
- Vague impact claims.
- Hiding scale to seem grassroots.
Structure
Preferred structure for the bio
A reliable order that performs in this field. Adjust to the venue.
- 1Name, title, organization, mission.
- 2Operating scale and most significant programs.
- 3Prior service and turnaround or growth context.
- 4Board service.
- 5Education and personal sentence.
Tone
How this industry's bios should sound
Grounded, specific, and oriented around the mission. Avoid superlatives. Avoid the moralizing register that nonprofit communications can drift into.
Lengths
Recommended lengths by venue
Openings
Opening formulas that work in this field
Open with mission and role.
Jeremiah Sullivan is the Executive Director of Bridge Forward, a national reentry-services organization serving formerly incarcerated adults across twelve U.S. cities.
Worked examples
One hundred words. Fifty words.
Jeremiah Sullivan is the Executive Director of Bridge Forward, a national reentry-services organization serving formerly incarcerated adults across twelve U.S. cities. Under his leadership since 2018, Bridge Forward has grown from a $4M budget and three program sites to a $19M budget and twelve sites, with employment-placement outcomes that exceed the field's published benchmarks. Before joining Bridge Forward, Jeremiah was a regional program director at the Vera Institute of Justice and earlier served as a senior advisor on reentry to the Brooklyn District Attorney. He sits on the board of the National Reentry Resource Center. Jeremiah holds a JD from NYU and lives in Brooklyn.
Jeremiah Sullivan is Executive Director of Bridge Forward (national reentry services, twelve cities). Grew the org from $4M / 3 sites to $19M / 12 sites since 2018. Previously Vera Institute (regional program director) and senior reentry advisor, Brooklyn DA. Board: National Reentry Resource Center. JD NYU.
Vocabulary
Words to reach for — and words to handle with care
Cross-references
Frameworks and voices this playbook pairs with
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