For changemakers at every stage · Beta program, late 2026 or 2027

The academy for people who make civil society work.

Two tracks, one cohort, with the Action Network Worldwide network behind you.

Foundation buildingNew to the space? Build the foundations: your story, your community and your first funding.Junior track
Digital empowermentAlready established? Get more out of every hour, with AI and digital tools.Senior track

Find your way in How it works

Virtual, global and in English. Cohorts are planned for 20 people over 4 weeks.

A workshop: a facilitator speaks while a group listens around tables in the background.

4 weeks, virtual, in English

Community and network

A year of NGOstack and NGOradar

Climate
Sustainability
Civic change
Democracy
Movements
Informal groups
Local initiatives
Civil society

Less time in the office, more time in the field

You learn to hand the repetitive work to AI and good tools, on a live stack that keeps running after the cohort, so your hours go to the people and places you work for.

Two ways in

Both start from the same feeling: too much. New to the space, it is too many possibilities. Established, it is too many to-dos. Pick the one that sounds like you; if you are not sure, the form lets you say so.

Junior track · Foundation building

New to the space, and not sure where to start?

So much to figure out at the beginning: how to start, who to work with, where the money could come from, how to get seen and trusted, and which tools to rely on without running up costs.

You leave with: A story you can tell, a first funding application under way, and people to do it with.

Your trainers

Kajo Stelter
Host
Action Network Worldwide Ambassador
To be announced
Junior track trainer

What's inside: 9 modules

Where to start
Sort the many possibilities into what matters now, what can wait, and what to let go.
Organise yourself
One place for your documents, tasks and conversations, instead of a head full of loose ends.
The right tools, at a cost you can carry
Choose what fits your work, and learn what is worth paying for and what is not.
AI, without the hype
What AI helpers can and cannot do for you, how to ask them well, and how to use them safely with other people's information.
Stay resilient
Routines and boundaries that make your pace one you can keep, and tools that take the repetitive work off your shoulders.
Allies, networks, partners
Find the people and organisations to work with, build a network that helps you, and start a first partnership.
Your pitch and your story, in the age of AI
Say who you are and why your work matters in a minute, then tell the longer story, with AI as a writing partner rather than a ghostwriter.
Your first funding
Find calls you can actually apply for, read what they ask, and turn your story into a first application.
Proof Day
Show the one thing you built for your own work, now in use.

Already in the field, and buried in to-dos?

Projects, people, reports, monitoring, follow-ups, funding, conversations and channels, all at once.

You leave with: Time back for the field, and a team that works digitally.

Your trainers

Frank Mueller
Host
Action Network Worldwide CTO
To be announced
Senior track trainer

What's inside: 8 modules

Where your time goes
See all your to-dos in one view, and pick what to hand to AI and tools first.
Complex projects, under control
Plans, milestones and who does what in one place, instead of scattered across your inbox.
People and conversations
Meetings, talks and team coordination with AI notes, summaries and follow-ups, under simple rules for what AI may see.
Reports and monitoring
Collect what you need once, keep it current as you go, and stop building every report from scratch.
Funding and follow-up
Keep funders, deadlines and promises in view, and let reminders and drafts do the chasing.
Engagement and channels
Plan and schedule your social channels, and keep up with your community in less time.
Story and reach, in the age of AI
Make stories of your work that people want to pass on, and let AI help one story travel further, while you keep the voice and the facts.
Proof Day
Show the change you made to how your work runs, and what it frees up.

How it works

Register your interest, pick a track and tell us roughly when you could join.
We plan cohorts around the interest we receive and get in touch.
Join the virtual cohort, planned for 20 people over 4 weeks, and build one thing for your own work.
Show it on Proof Day, and stay on with the network and monthly check-ins.

Psst: registering interest commits you to nothing.

The finish line

Every cohort ends on Proof Day

Proof Day is not a contest, and there is nothing to win. During the cohort everyone builds one thing for their own work, and on the last day shows it working.

Real.: In use, not a plan.
Yours.: Built for your own work, so it keeps saving you time.

Junior track: a proof could be

Your work, organised in one place

Your pitch and story, out there

A first partner, approached

A first funding application, sent

Senior track: a proof could be

A routine that now runs by itself

Follow-ups that no longer slip

Your channels, planned ahead

You show something you finished, not a result that takes years to arrive.

What you take with you

When the cohort ends, this is what stays with you.

The community and network
Your cohort, and the Action Network Worldwide network of people and organisations doing this work, during the four weeks and after them.
One year of our tools
NGOstack and NGOradar, our two products, included for a year, to keep running what you built.
Monthly cohort check-ins
Your cohort keeps meeting once a month after the four weeks, to keep each other going.
Playbooks and shared resources
The academy's playbooks and resources, to keep using in your own work.
More to come
Further perks are to be announced.

A year with our tools

Two products we build and run on the Action Network Worldwide platform. You learn on them during the cohort, and your access is included for one year. After that year, you decide whether to continue.

Under the hood today

members: 1,560
organisations: 56
countries: 62

Run your organisation in one place

One platform for the whole organisation: projects, people, knowledge and funding work side by side.

Workspaces and project management, with deliverables and milestones
Wiki spaces for your knowledge and how-tos
Funding opportunities, proposals and funder research
Public pages for your organisation and its projects
A global network of organisations, funders and experts

Visit ngostack.org

Find the opportunities small organisations miss

Open funding calls, events, courses and collaborations across all 17 Global Goals, updated daily.

open opportunities right now: 1,709
funding calls: 1,137
courses and events: 496

Filters that combine, including the country you apply from
Matches scored against your focus areas, with the reasons shown
Deadlines tracked, and recurring calls shown when they reopen
Collaborations, volunteering and mentorship beside the funding

Visit ngoradar.org

Questions

Who is it for?

Changemakers in civil society, climate and sustainability, at every stage: the Junior track if you are new to the space, the Senior track if you are established. That includes movements, informal groups and local initiatives, not only registered organisations.

What does it cost?

That is not set yet. We are looking for partners, sponsors and public funding to cover the seats, so that cost does not decide who can take part. Every registration of interest helps us make that case. Before anything is fixed you hear what taking part involves, and registering commits you to nothing.

When does it start?

The academy starts as a beta program, with the first cohorts planned for late 2026 or 2027. There is no fixed date yet: it runs once it is funded, and cohorts are planned around the interest we receive, including the time frames people give us.

What do I get?

The Action Network Worldwide network, a year of NGOstack and NGOradar included with the cohort, monthly check-ins with your cohort, and the academy's playbooks and shared resources. Further perks are to be announced.

How much time does it take?

Cohorts are planned as 4 virtual weeks. The weekly time is confirmed before a cohort starts, and the form asks how much you could give.

What happens to my data?

The form is a Google Form. Your answers are used only to plan the academy and to contact you about it, and you can withdraw them at any time. The details are in our Privacy Policy.

The academy starts as a beta, with the first cohorts planned for late 2026 or 2027. There is no fixed date yet. Register your interest, pick a track and tell us roughly when you could join. We plan cohorts around the interest we receive and get in touch when yours takes shape.