Eight Major Accessibility Insights for Your Nonprofit Learning Strategy

Designing a learning experience for the average learner is a thing of the past. We must now design for everyone. So, in this episode of Learning for Good, I am joined by accessibility expert Dr. Nicole L'Etoile, and we're diving deep into how we can design learning strategies in our organizations that work for all learners.

You'll understand why accessibility isn't just a "nice-to-have", but a foundational part of L&D, discover barriers your learners might be facing, and learn how to start being more inclusive today.

▶️ Key Points:

01:20 What it feels like when accessibility and inclusion are missing

03:38 Meet Nicole L'Etoile and her path to accessibility work

07:30 Why accessibility is important for nonprofit L&D leaders

09:41 Two examples of barriers that learners might be facing

13:29 Steps for more inclusive and accessible design, individually or as a team

16:33 The most common accessibility shortcomings found in audits

18:25 The importance of truly committing to the policies for accessibility 

20:34 A sneak peek into our upcoming webinar: Roadmap to Accessibility

23:14 First steps you can take now on your journey to accessibility

Accessibility: More than Compliance

When you think about accessibility in training, what comes to mind? For many, it’s compliance—checking boxes to meet ADA or legal standards.

But as Nicole shared in episode 148 of Learning for Good, accessibility in learning is far more than that. It’s about ensuring every learner has a fair chance to grow, contribute, and thrive in your organization.

If we create a learning experience and it’s not accessible to everyone, they’re not going to get that learning.
— Dr. Nicole L’Etoile

The Importance of Accessibility

Nonprofits depend on people—staff, volunteers, and community partners. When training isn’t accessible, you’re unintentionally cutting people off from opportunities to build skills and confidence. That has ripple effects:

  • Missed potential. Talented staff may not develop the skills they need to lead.

  • Lower retention. Learners who feel excluded disengage more quickly.

  • Reduced impact. Programs don’t reach their full potential when not everyone can participate fully

For executives, this isn’t just an HR or compliance issue; it’s a mission issue.

How to Improve Accessibility in Your Learning Experiences

The good news? Improving accessibility doesn’t always require major overhauls. 

While you will want an overarching strategy and roadmap, there are also small, intentional changes you can make that will make a big difference:

  • Add alt text for images so screen reader users know what it is and why it’s there.

  • Provide captions and transcripts for video and audio.

  • Avoid autoplay features that create barriers for some learners.

  • Write content in clear, plain language to reduce cognitive load.

These shifts create a smoother experience not only for learners with different abilities and needs, but for everyone.

Leadership Commitment to Accessibility

Accessibility isn’t just the responsibility of L&D professionals. It’s a leadership commitment. Nonprofit executives who prioritize it are signaling that every staff member and volunteer matters. They’re also building more resilient, capable teams that can deliver on the mission.

When accessibility is woven into training design from the start, the result is stronger learning, more engaged people, and greater impact.

And that’s why Nicole and I are offering a webinar to help you think through that strategy and commitment.

Roadmap to Accessibility:
How to Shift Mindset, Culture, and Workflows

Accessibility isn’t a single event. It’s a journey. Get the roadmap on Sept 23, 2025.

Register here.


To learn more about accessibility in learning, tune into episode 148 of the Learning for Good podcast.


Ask a question or suggest a topic.

We love hearing from listeners!

Leave a review.

Reviews teach us what content resonates most and help us reach more people!

Next
Next

Three Capacity-Building Strategies for Times of Stress