People leading place-based collaboratives play a critical role, known as the backbone, in sustaining the long-term work required to strengthen communities and transform systems.This role is distinct and requires specific relational, strategic, and systems-level capacities, and the demands on backbone leaders have continued to grow as conditions shift, and the work becomes more complex. As these demands increase, they often exceed the leadership support and investment currently available to ensure leaders thrive.
The Collective Leadership Advancing Racial Equity (CLARE) program was designed to address this gap, based on what we heard directly from backbone leaders in the field, particularly those in regions that tend to receive less philanthropic investment. The pilot surfaced clear and actionable insights into what leaders need to stay grounded, sustained and effective in the role.
Join the Collective Impact Forum online January 23 at 1pm EST for the free webinar Cultivating the Leader Within that will highlight insights from the CLARE pilot, including the types of support participants found most impactful and how CLARE has shaped how leaders view themselves, their role within their collaborative, and their approach to advancing systems change.
We will also discuss what funders and intermediaries can do to better support these leaders.
During the webinar, we will explore:
- What backbone leaders need to thrive in this work
- How design principles can center leaders’ lived experiences and realities
- The role of coaching, peer learning, and individualized support
- How funders and intermediaries can invest more effectively in leadership development
If you are leading, funding, or supporting place-based efforts, this webinar is for you!
Can’t make the time, but interested in this topic? Registering below means we’ll send you a copy of the recording, normally within 1-2 days after the live event.
Cultivating the Leader Within: Insights from the Collective Leadership Advancing Racial Equity Program
Date: Friday, January 23, 2026
Time: 1pm – 2:30pm ET
