Ignite Louisvlle

Applications are now open for two Ignite Louisville classes, Nonprofits are invited to submit proposals for Yum! IGNITES Louisville Challenge


Louisville, Kentucky (January 13, 2014) – The Leadership Louisville Center invites high-potential professionals to apply for its Ignite Louisville program, which will launch a second class in 2014. The award-winning program, presented by Norton Healthcare, has graduated over 450 rising leaders and serves as a talent development program that builds the skills, problem-solving abilities and connections essential for expanded leadership responsibilities. Applications are now open through March 7, 2014 for the two 7-month classes beginning in 2014, one will run from May – November 2014 and the second will run from October 2014 – April 2015. Visit www.leadershiplouisville.org for complete program and application details, or contact Jennifer Stevens at (502) 561-5231 or jstevens@leadershiplouisville.org.


Potential Ignite Louisville participants can learn more about the program at the ninth annual Ignite the Night event on January 29, 2014 from 5-7 p.m. at Old 502 Winery, 120 S. 10th St. The Leadership Louisville Center, along with sponsors Brown-Forman Corporation and the University of Louisville College of Business, will host the annual event that celebrates Ignite Louisville alumni and offers potential participants the opportunity to learn more about the program in a fun, social atmosphere, complete with a special complimentary Brown-Forman cocktail. Attendance at Ignite the Night is free, but we ask all guests to RSVP by January 20 at http://ignitenight2014.eventbrite.com.

Nonprofit agencies interested in working with an Ignite Louisville team for the Yum! IGNITES Louisville Challenge are invited to submit proposals. Proposals are also due March 7, 2014. An informational meeting will be held at the Leadership Louisville Center, 732 W. Main St., on February 7, 2014 from 8:30-9:30 a.m. All are welcome to attend, but please RSVP to jnicholson@leadershiplouisville.org. To learn more about the Yum! IGNITES Louisville Challenge, visit www.leadershiplouisville.org, or contact Aaron Miller at (502) 561-5223 or amiller@leadershiplouisville.org.

Ignite Louisville recently earned a national award for “Excellence in Innovation” from the Association of Leadership Programs. Ignite Louisville is a seven-month program that is the region’s highest credential for emerging leaders. Participants enjoy exclusive access to leadership training from the region’s top corporations, including Norton Healthcare, Yum! Brands, Inc., Brown-Forman Corporation, Northwestern Mutual, GE and the U.S. Army. Another component of the program, the exclusive Northwestern Mutual Networking Series, connects the class with high profile community leaders, developing networking skills and beneficial professional connections. In addition to the program’s core curriculum, Ignite Louisville teams participate in the Yum! IGNITES Louisville Challenge and take on a project proposed by a local nonprofit, gaining hands-on experience performing on a team and serving the community.

Ignite Louisville was founded by the Leadership Louisville Center in 2003 in partnership with the Young Professionals Association of Louisville (YPAL) and the Louisville Urban League Young Professionals (LULYP).

The Yum! IGNITES Louisville Challenge is the service learning component of the Leadership Louisville Center’s Ignite Louisville program. It provides the class an opportunity to undertake a project for a local nonprofit, gaining experience in community leadership, board involvement and teamwork. Participating nonprofits benefit from the expertise and energy of the teams, who each invest hundreds of hours with their nonprofit agency as they compete for donations made possible by the Yum! Brands Foundation. Each year, projects submitted from nonprofit agencies are selected for an Ignite Louisville team. At the end of the program, a winning team (or teams) receives funds for their partner organization.

Since its inception in 2004, Ignite Louisville participants have worked with 62 area nonprofits to plan, execute and sustain new strategies for success. The 2013 Ignite Louisville teams invested over 4,000 hours in their partner organizations, averaging nearly 500 hours per team. In a recent survey, partner organizations stated that Ignite teams remarkably improved the productivity of operations, increased the organization’s outreach in the community and improved the strategic focus of the organization. The average value of each team’s work is over $35,000 in the most recent class and many Ignite Louisville graduates have joined the boards of directors of their adopted nonprofit, helping to accelerate a generational change in leadership. In 2013, Ignite Louisville’s challenge received a national award for “Excellence in Innovation” from the Association of Leadership Programs. In 2009, it was awarded the Center for Nonprofit Excellence’s Pyramid Award for the Art of Collaboration.


About the Leadership Louisville Center:
Created in 1979, the Leadership Louisville Center is the region’s most valuable resource for leadership development and civic engagement. Its mission is to grow and connect a diverse network of leaders who serve as catalysts for a world-class community through dynamic programming and strong community connections. Over 6,000 community leaders have graduated from the Center’s programs that include Leadership Louisville, Focus Louisville, Ignite Louisville and Bingham Fellows. In 2011, the Leadership Louisville Center was recognized as one of the top seven community leadership programs in the U.S. in a benchmark study by the Center for Creative Leadership, the “gold standard” global provider of executive leadership education and research.