21st Century Leaders, Inc.
Inspiring Youth to Lead
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In 1989, a group of executives saw two growing trends within their companies, 1) the need to prepare more managers and workers for increased leadership responsibility, and 2) the need for employees ready and able to cross class and racial barriers to work together. They believed the key to meeting these needs was building the next generation of leaders by providing young people with the training, guidance and encouragement necessary to enter college and the workforce with a highly developed set of leadership skills, and thus 21st Century Leaders, formerly The Georgia Business Forum, was established.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Year-round Programs and Training
Annually, 21st Century Leaders provides over 167 days of live training opportuntiies, including but not limited to summer residential programs (a one-week series of interactive workshops, corporate tours, and roundtable sessions with business leaders), one day leadership summits retreat centers, school and community based clubs, service projects, and in-person and/or virtual workshops; - 21st Century Leaders also provides a robust and gamified online learning platform with over 130 modules on leadership development, SEI, diversity and inclusion training, and life ready skills; - Multiple opportunities for students to put their new skills to work as they plan school-wide service projects and organize seminars and programs for other students at their schools; - Promotion of career exploration and community development experiences through meetings with professionals; - Encouragement at an early age to network with other young diverse leaders across the state.
Leadership Connect
A three-year online career and leadership exploratory program designed to prepare students for college and the workforce
21CLubs
School and community - based youth-led clubs that encourage peer mentoring, online career and academic exploration, and community service projects that serve the specific needs of students' communities. Our 21CLubs engages more than 525 students through regular interaction and connection through community service and leadership forms each academic year.
Summer Leadership Institutes
21CL offers four exclusive one-week residential summer leadership institutes, expanding students leadership skills and exposing them to various businesses and industries throughout the state of Georgia. Students also meet a diverse group of their peers from all across the state. Each leadership institute engages students through interactive workshops, corporate tours, round-tables with business leaders, and team-building exercises. Plus, students are exposed to post-secondary education as the residential program is held on college-campuses.
Leadership Summits
21CL offers live leadership training during the school year for students with a one-day to two-day summit in the Fall and Spring semester. The summits continue to develop those leadership skills while also exploring a career industry and the opportunities students may not have been exposed to.
Where we work
Awards
MLK Community Service Award 2019
Emory University's Goizueta Business School & Rollins School of Public Health
External reviews
Videos
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
To ensure high school students across the state of Georgia are prepared to assume leadership roles in their schools, communities and beyond.
To connect high school students to a diverse group of peers, professionals, ideas and organizations.
To transform students' skill sets, ideas, and attitudes.
To inspire youth to lead.
To foster developmental programming that supports and improves school performance, social relationships, responsibility, and life skills.
To increase high school students' self-efficacy, self-esteem, and confidence in their ability to lead.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We provide students with robust and stimulating experiential learning designed to increase their teamwork skills, critical thinking, and knowledge. 21CL also provides student with the training, guidance and encouragement to enter college and the workforce with a highly developed set of skills and qualities. Students leave our program embodying five core values: passionate, resourceful, service-oriented, ability to leverage diversity, and forward thinking. Our programs include: year-round in school training, four (4) week-long summer residential institutes, multiple weekend summits and workshops throughout the school year, and an online learning platform, Leadership Connect.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
21st Century Leaders’ strength and distinction lie in the engagement of business leaders and professionals as volunteers, the retooling of high-level corporate leadership training programs for our program delivery model, and an unyielding commitment to the power of diversity. Throughout our history, 21st Century Leaders has connected thousands of Georgia youth and business and professional volunteers for one purpose – to inspire the next generation of leaders to lead our businesses and our communities. 21CL engages more than 500 volunteers from the business, educational, and non-profit sectors to provide hands-on opportunities, workshops and training to students.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Together with our donors and partners, 21st Century Leaders (21CL) has served more than 16,000 high school students from over 250 Georgia high schools since programs began in 1991 by providing students with training, guidance, and encouragement necessary to enter college and the workforce with highly developed set of leadership skills and qualities. 2019 marked the 30th Anniversary of the organization so we are looking towards the future and where we can take our programs. We are investing back in our alumni while continuing to provide excellent high-impact programs to our high school students.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
21st Century Leaders, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 02/23/2022
Mr. Matt Johnson
KPMG
Term: 2019 - 2022
Patrick Solomon
Unravel, LLC
Okema Jackson
WarnerMedia
Chris Caldwell
Georgia Power
Katelyn Fredericks
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP
Martin Fleischmann
Response Media
Steven Staes
K&G Fashion Superstore
Steve Cave
AGL Resources, Retired
Arjun Chowdri
PGA of America
Hector Gallardo
The Coca-Cola Company
Carla Chandler
Emory Healthcare
Shelton Guinn
MarketSource
Maria Flores Blackburn
Southern Company
Michael White
Cox Communications
Bridges Holmes
The Adecco Group
Katerina Taylor
Nelson Mullins
Jon Neff
Hire Dynamics
DeRetta Cole Rhodes
Atlanta Braves
JP James
Libreum International
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/23/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.