Learning for Good Summit
Influence to Action
How to move people, priorities, and ideas forward in your nonprofit
October 28, 2026 | 11 a.m.–3 p.m. CT | Live Virtual Summit
You have ideas that could improve performance, strengthen teams, and move your nonprofit’s mission forward. But having the right idea isn’t always enough. You also need the influence to help others see its value, support it, and take action.
Join nonprofit learning and talent development professionals for four practical conversations about using your voice, navigating resistance, communicating with stakeholders, and creating movement—even when you don’t hold the final decision-making authority.
Four live sessions designed specifically for nonprofit L&D pros
A good idea can’t create impact if it never moves forward.
You may know that training alone won’t solve the problem, but the stakeholder has already decided what they want.
You may have a thoughtful recommendation but struggle to explain it in a way that gets leadership’s attention.
You may see an important issue but wonder whether you have the authority, credibility, or organizational support to name it.
Influence is what helps you move from knowing what could work to getting people behind it.
It requires more than having the right answer.
At the Learning for Good Summit: Influence to Action, we’ll explore the human dynamics that determine whether an idea gets ignored, resisted, supported, or implemented.
You’ll learn how to:
Understand what may be driving stakeholder resistance.
Communicate recommendations in ways that connect with what others value.
Speak up when you don’t hold the most power in the room.
Respond thoughtfully when people disagree or push back.
Build support for ideas across roles and departments.
Turn one important idea into a practical next step.
You’ll leave with strategies you can use in your very next stakeholder conversation.
Four conversations. One goal: move the work forward.
Facilitated by Heather Burright
Having the right answer doesn’t guarantee that people will listen or act. Discover what influence really is, why it matters at every stage of the L&D process, and how you can begin moving people, priorities, and ideas forward—regardless of your title or authority.
Why Great Ideas Get Ignored…and How Influence Changes Everything
Panel discussion featuring Jessica Wright and Sarah Rogers
When stakeholders push back, disengage, or insist on a different solution, there is usually more happening beneath the surface. This panel will explore the beliefs, motivations, priorities, and organizational dynamics that create resistance—and how L&D professionals can respond without becoming defensive or giving up.
What’s Really Behind Resistance?
Panel discussion featuring Kelly Charles-Collins, Yogi Mueller, and Jenelle Williams
Learn how to communicate L&D recommendations in ways that connect with what your stakeholders care about. You’ll explore how to move beyond explaining learning activities and make a clear, persuasive case for the performance and mission results your ideas can create.
How to Talk So Your Stakeholders Listen
Fireside chat with Elaine Lin Hering
What do you do when you see what needs to change but aren’t the person making the final decision? This conversation will explore how to speak up, challenge ideas thoughtfully, and contribute your expertise with confidence—even when power dynamics make it difficult.
How to Use Your Voice When You Don’t Hold the Power
Additional speakers and session contributors will be announced as they are confirmed.
This Summit is for you if…
You work in nonprofit learning and development, talent development, organizational development, HR, leadership development, or staff development—and you need other people’s support to make your work successful.
You’ll find this Summit especially useful if you:
Regularly work across departments without formal authority.
Receive requests for training before the real need is understood.
Need managers or leaders to reinforce learning.
Have recommendations that aren’t getting traction.
Struggle to make the case for a more effective solution.
Want to contribute your expertise more confidently.
Need to build support while navigating competing priorities and limited resources.
You don’t need a bigger title to benefit. You need an idea, recommendation, or challenge you are ready to move forward.
Built for the realities of nonprofit L&D
Practical
You’ll hear language, questions, and approaches you can apply to real stakeholder challenges—not abstract advice about being more influential.
Nonprofit-specific
Every session is grounded in the priorities, constraints, relationships, and power dynamics nonprofit professionals navigate.
Designed for action
The goal isn’t simply to help you understand influence. It’s to help you use it to move meaningful work forward.
Your expertise can only create impact when people hear it, support it, and act on it.
Join us for the Learning for Good Summit: Influence to Action and leave better prepared to navigate resistance, communicate your recommendations, use your voice, and move an important idea forward.
October 28, 2026
11 a.m.–3 p.m. CT
Live virtual event
Registration: $47
Registration is completed securely through the Nonprofit L&D Collective community platform, Heartbeat.
Already a Catalyst member?
Your Summit registration is included with your membership.
Log into the Collective for member registration information.
Learning for Good is where nonprofit L&D professionals become more strategic and influential—so they can shape decisions, gain support for better solutions, and make a greater contribution to their organization’s mission.
The Learning for Good Summit is brought to you by Heather Burright, founder of Skill Masters Market and the Nonprofit L&D Collective.
Heather helps nonprofits build learning and talent-development strategies that strengthen performance and advance the mission. Through consulting, coaching, community, and the Learning for Good podcast, she helps nonprofit L&D professionals move beyond delivering training and become more confident, credible, and influential leaders.
This Summit brings together Heather’s practical approach with the experience and expertise of leaders who understand what it takes to move people and ideas forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
The Summit is designed for nonprofit learning and development, talent development, organizational development, HR, leadership development, and staff-development professionals. It will be especially useful for professionals who need to influence decisions or implementation without holding final authority.
-
Yes. The Learning for Good Summit is a live virtual event on October 28, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Central Time.
-
We encourage you to attend the full Summit so you can experience how the sessions build on one another. However, you may join the sessions that are most relevant to your work.
-
Yes. Registered attendees will receive access to the recording for 30 days after the Summit.
-
No. Influence matters at every level. The Summit is designed for nonprofit professionals who have ideas, recommendations, or expertise they need others to understand and support—regardless of title.
-
After registering through Heartbeat, you’ll receive information about accessing the Summit through the Nonprofit L&D Collective. Additional event reminders and participation details will be sent before October 28.