Mentorship Is Not a Program — It’s Infrastructure

Many effective nonprofit leaders have no shortage of volunteers or supporters.

They’ve built calendars, hosted events, sent newsletters, launched initiatives - all with the right intentions.

But over time, something quiet sets in:
- Burnout.
- Engagement that needs to be chased.
- A growing sense that everyone’s tired of being “activated.”

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲? 𝗪𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 - 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭, 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥.

But community isn’t about reminders - it’s about relationships. And relationships need structure.

Not more programming, but a certain rhythm that makes participation feel meaningful, not obligatory.

I saw this shift firsthand with Advisory5, a small group we launched to test this idea.

What began as disconnected professionals became a collaborative force - supporting a Ukrainian immigrant’s expansion from salon services to cosmetics manufacturing, connecting a West Coast startup to healthcare pilots, and more.

The momentum didn’t come from reminders. It came from mutual investment.

And this isn’t an isolated experiment. Since early 2025, I’ve been gathering community leaders who run team-based mentorship programs - from Iceland to Israel, Atlanta to Egypt. What we’ve learned is this:

𝙈𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮. 𝙄𝙩 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩. 𝙄𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚.

What if mentorship wasn’t something we “launched” occasionally, but something woven into the everyday rhythm of how a community sustains itself?

What if it wasn’t a vertical model - one person giving advice - but a horizontal engine?

A pattern of high-trust micro-teams, where people support a shared purpose, share accountability, and grow together?

When you stop trying to manage engagement and instead design for it to emerge:
1. 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲.
2. 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼-𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀.
3. 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲.
4. 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆—𝗻𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱.
5. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴.

This model isn’t for every organization.

If you’re curious where your community stands, I’ve created a simple self-assessment to help you explore your readiness.

Because community shouldn’t be managed. It should be alive.