American Express Provides Leadership Help to Charity Executives

American Express recently held its first Nonprofit Leadership Academy, a weeklong event in which 24 nonprofit employees got managerial advice from company executives, reports BusinessWeek.

“You can learn a great deal about leadership if you take it as seriously as other disciplines,” Kenneth I. Chenault, chief executive at American Express, told participants. “Most people don’t.”

American Express is one of several companies offering nonprofit professionals this kind of training. Others include IBM, which has announced a venture with the Bridgespan Group to help its employees who are facing retirement make the transition to nonprofit work. Bank of America also has a training program for nonprofit executives, and the Gap Foundation has plans to start one, according to the newspaper.