VERO BEACH — The county’s two largest philanthropic conveners are running it back. United Way of Indian River County and the Indian River Community Foundation have opened the second season of LEARN United, a professional development series built for the people who actually keep local charities running.
The program’s full name is Leadership Education and Resources for Nonprofits. The point is simpler than that: give executive directors, development staff and board-facing employees practical help they can use on Monday morning.
The first session of the new season was Aug. 24. Indian River Community Foundation President and CEO Jeff Pickering led “Nonprofit Sustainability” and walked through seven habits he said separate organizations that last from ones that live grant to grant: a clear case for support, a way to measure return on investment, a profitable annual fund, an operating reserve, an endowment, real donor stewardship, and taking time to mark the wins.
That last one is easy to skip. Pickering argued it shouldn’t be.
The timing is not accidental. The Community Foundation’s newly released 2026 Indian River County Nonprofit Market Report puts some size behind a sector that usually shows up in headlines only when a gala is coming, or a program is in trouble.
Indian River County is home to 898 nonprofit organizations. Those groups employ more than 4,100 people and pay about $128 million in wages. Of the 218 organizations that take in more than $50,000 a year and file an annual tax return, combined revenue reached $448 million.
“Philanthropy, earned income, and investment income account for 88 percent of the money local charities use for arts and culture, education, the environment, health, and services to vulnerable individuals and families in our community,” Pickering said. “Our nonprofit sector’s impact on the local quality of life as well as the local economy is significant but underestimated with respect to public dollars.”
He also spent time on a subject many agencies would rather not put on the agenda: what happens if public contracts tighten. Groups that lean on government money, he said, should assume more of the load will shift onto private donors and should build the reserves to absorb that before it happens.
United Way CEO Meredith Egan framed the series as an investment in people, not just programs.
“Investing in our community means investing in the people who are doing the work,” Egan said. “LEARN United is one way we can bring people together, share expertise, and make sure local professionals have the tools they need to keep moving their missions forward.”
The two organizations already write checks. LEARN United is the other half of that bet—putting staff from different agencies in the same room so a food pantry director and a museum development officer aren’t solving the same cash-flow problem in isolation.
What’s left on the calendar
- Sept. 24 — Grant Fundamentals
- Jan. 26 — From Burnout to Sustainable Leadership
- Feb. 9 — Strengthening Board Engagement and Shared Leadership
Sessions are open to nonprofit professionals across Indian River County.
The 2026 Nonprofit Market Report is posted at ircommunityfoundation.org/resources/nonprofits/. Details and registration for LEARN United are at UnitedWayIRC.org/LEARN-United.