Strategic Alliances
We believe the most meaningful change happens in relationship. The C. Charles Jackson Foundation advances its mission through a carefully cultivated network of strategic alliances — organizations that share our commitment to developing leaders who transform institutions, communities, and the world. Each of our partners plays a distinct role in our work: some we have helped bring into being, some sustain us, and some extend our reach in ways we could not achieve alone. Together, we are stronger.
Our Initiative
Charlie Life & Leadership Academy
Affiliated Nonprofit | Innovation Engine
Founded in 2017 by Dr. Bruce H. Jackson, Charlie Life & Leadership Academy (Charlie Academy) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing quality online career-preparation and leadership skill content for the next generation. Through Charlie Academy, we translate research into accessible programs, digital learning experiences, and leadership technologies that expand equitable access to high-quality leadership development.
Charlie Academy's mission is to provide emerging adults with the career preparation, leadership, and life skills to thrive as individuals and in relationships, teams, organizations, and communities. Its online course catalog spans personal, interpersonal, and team dimensions of leadership — practical, self-paced, and designed to meet learners where they are.
Charlie Academy is the Foundation's primary innovation engine — the vehicle through which our research and values reach learners directly.
Mission Allies
Partners in Leadership Development
Concordia University, St. Paul (CSP)
Academic Partner
Concordia University, St. Paul has partnered with the C. Charles Jackson Foundation and Charlie Life & Leadership Academy to provide CSP with a growing library of online leadership and life skill courses used throughout the campus and online community. Charlie Academy is available to all CSP students, faculty, and staff — deployable in club meetings, as a skill assessment tool in curriculum, on retreats, for employee training, to generate class discussion, and to help students build a compelling portfolio of leadership credentials. Concordia's partnership brings Charlie Academy directly into the lives of undergraduate students on a real campus, making it a living laboratory for what leadership development looks like when it's woven into the fabric of higher education.
Omicron Delta Kappa (OΔK)
Grantee & Promotional Partner
Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, recognizes and encourages superior leadership and exemplary character. Founded in 1914 at Washington and Lee University, OΔK honors and develops leaders through scholarships, workshops, career development, leadership resources, and a lifelong connection to other members. The C. Charles Jackson Foundation is proud to support OΔK's work — and OΔK in turn actively champions Charlie Academy among its nationwide network of collegiate leaders. In a recent example of this partnership in action, OΔK encouraged its circle officers across the country to explore Charlie Academy's Ignite Grant Program, a funding opportunity that helps institutions address critical challenges in student leadership learning.
Funding partnerships
Building Philanthropic Capacity
The Minneapolis Foundation
Funding Partner
The C. Charles Jackson Foundation is proud to partner with the Minneapolis Foundation, one of the nation's oldest and most respected community foundations. Their deep philanthropic expertise and broad network of civic relationships make them an invaluable partner as we work to grow our impact. Looking ahead, we see this relationship expanding — working together to identify aligned funders and co-investment partners who share our commitment to leadership development, human potential, and lasting community change.
Association of Leadership Educators (ALE)
Grantee & Collaborative Partner
The Association of Leadership Educators is a professional organization dedicated to the exchange and development of quality ideas, scholarship, and practice that advances the field of leadership education. The C. Charles Jackson Foundation is proud to support ALE's annual Mini-Grant program, which provides seed funding to ALE members launching new initiatives in leadership education. ALE's Mini-Grant awards are presented as sponsored in part by the C. Charles Jackson Foundation — and ALE in turn helps connect its membership with the Foundation's broader grant opportunities, including Charlie Academy's Ignite and Impact Grant programs.
Research Partners
National Leadership Education Research Agenda
(NLERA) 2027–2031 Funded Research Initiative
The C. Charles Jackson Foundation is proud to support the National Leadership Education Research Agenda (NLERA) 2027–2031. A multi-phase, peer-reviewed initiative designed to identify emerging research priorities and shape the future of leadership education globally. Administered through Charlie Life & Leadership Academy, the NLERA brings together a global network of scholars, practitioners, and institutions to advance leadership education as a rigorous and evolving discipline.
The project is led by two nationally recognized leadership education scholars: Dr. Anthony Andenoro, Director of Community Engagement & Leadership at Florida Atlantic University, and Dr. Kathy Guthrie, Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Leadership Learning Research Center at Florida State University. Their combined body of work — spanning hundreds of publications, international presentations, and decades of field leadership — ensures the NLERA carries both scholarly credibility and practical reach.
Through literature review, open calls for submissions, collaborative workgroups, and peer-reviewed publication, the NLERA will produce a research agenda that guides leadership learning, informs program design, and advances the field across academic and applied settings. Findings will be published in leading journals, presented at major conferences, and made freely accessible through an open-access monograph hosted on the Charlie Academy website.
The C. Charles Jackson Foundation is acknowledged as the primary funding partner across all NLERA publications, presentations, and dissemination materials.
Partnership Philosophy
Why We Partner
The C. Charles Jackson Foundation does not pursue alliances transactionally. We seek partners who share a belief that leadership can be taught, that its development should be accessible to everyone, and that institutions — universities, honor societies, community foundations, and nonprofits alike — are among the most powerful levers we have for changing the world.
Our alliances are designed to be bidirectional: we bring resources, research, and programming; our partners bring reach, community, and credibility. Together, we create the conditions for leaders to emerge at every stage of life and in every sphere of influence.
Become a Strategic Ally
Interested in Partnering With Us?
We are always seeking mission-aligned organizations to join our growing alliance network. Whether you are an institution working directly with emerging leaders, a funder looking to maximize your philanthropic impact, or an organization seeking to collaborate on large-scale leadership development initiatives — we want to hear from you.
Our ideal partners include:
- Academic and nonprofit organizations that work directly with emerging leaders in educational, community, or organizational settings
- Co-funders and philanthropic partners interested in pooling resources to support and scale high-impact leadership development projects
- Research and practitioner organizations committed to evidence-based, innovative approaches to leadership development
- Institutions and networks seeking to expand the reach and effectiveness of their leadership programming through collaboration
If your work aligns with our mission to elevate humanity through leadership and learning, we'd love to explore what's possible together.