Community Heroes
Academy

Ready To Grow Your Organization?

We help nonprofits position their organizations for success through virtual coaching and training. Discovery Plus membership includes professional mentoring, unlimited access to on-demand webinars, discounts on private consultation, access to nonprofit forms and templates, archived newsletters, private online group, and our annual heroes award!

Discovery Plus

Membership Includes

Professional Mentoring

Receive professional small group mentoring from Cheryl Smith 2x per month during our "Community Cafe" meetings. These small group meetings are held on Zoom, typically on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month from 7:00pm to 8:30pm (EST). During Community Cafes, members, (comprised mostly of nonprofit founders of small or newly established nonprofit organizations) receive answers to their pressing nonprofit questions - including grant-writing support. Following Q&A, members receive coaching on numerous topics such as nonprofit compliance, fundraising, identifying grants, proposal writing, preparing for board meetings, budget development and more! In addition, members experience amazing synergy as they connect and network with other like-minded leaders.

Webinars

Members can unlock on-demand learning with unlimited access to pre-recorded webinars. Expand your knowledge across vital topics such as starting a nonprofit, building partnerships, budgeting, grant readiness, grant writing, mission and board development, volunteer engagement, internal controls, nonprofit resources, and more.

Discounts

As a member, you can request personalized 1-hour consultations with Cheryl Smith at half the regular rate. It's the support you need to advance your mission, at exceptional value. *Excludes Professional Mentoring Packages.

Forms & Templates

Navigate your nonprofit's administration with ease. Our vault provides a wide selection of downloadable forms and templates for establishing and/or amending your nonprofit, developing your standard or capital grant proposals, board meetings documents, example budget, and direct links to crucial IRS resources.

Newsletters

Dive into our comprehensive archive of newsletters, complete with management tips, tools, and a curated list of funding opportunities. Many resources are evergreen, offering timeless advice and open funding calls without deadlines.

Private Online Group

Discovery Plus members may access our online networking community to chat, learn, support, and collaborate with each other on nonprofit charitable matters.

Heroes Award

Discovery Plus members may apply for the Heroes Award. This is a cash award of up to $1,000 offered to one member each year for doing amazing charitable work in their community. This award is given in December!

Join Us!

Monthly Membership

Our monthly membership is $55 per month.

Although this is a monthly subscription, you may cancel at any time.

Annual Membership

Our annual membership is $660 per year. 

Use code Annual2024 to reduce your first annual membership from $660 to $499. This is a special limited-time offer and is subject to change.

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What our Members Say

"Did you know there is a Community Heroes Academy for nonprofits? They meet you where you are, i.e. start up and anywhere along the spectrum. They also award grants to nonprofits enrolled in the Academy!"

Margaret Edinburgh

Founder & CEO of Yellow Rose Strong Oak Society, Inc.

Thank you to the Community Heroes Team! I had so many unanswered questions and had no real means of support until I learned about your program. Now, I feel supported and I'm finally getting my organization prepared for funding. You've been a real blessing!

Queala Fitzgerald

Founder and CEO of From Seeds to Harvest

Every so often, a company comes along and shifts an entire industry. That's exactly what Community Heroes is doing for the US Small Nonprofits. The only thing wrong with the membership is that it is priced much too low!

Mercedes Peguero

Founder and CEO of Guardian Angel Social Service Agency, Inc.

We are so proud to be a positive resource for this program! Cheryl Smith is a trusted and very talented grant-writer and coach! This organization is the only one that we trust with grant-writing and funding guidance!

Jeannine Hayden

Executive Director, CASA Paulding

My first grant and many grants after that was because of this company and the work and ethics that Cheryl Smith brings to the nonprofit sector - specially the small nonprofits. Many blessings to this organization and its leadership!

V. Stevenson

Founder and Executive Director for the House of Globalization, Inc.

I was hesitate to join at first. I wasn't sure if I had time. I am so glad that I did it away! I engage when I have time. And, EVERY TIME I have a coaching session or view a webinar, I learn something new! I used their LOI template and also received a grant!

Alecia Washington

Founder and Executive Director for City of Hope Safe Haven, Inc.

Meet Our CEO!

“Supporting the nonprofit community is my purpose. Community Heroes is my path. I plan to spend my life with you, creating a better world.”

Cheryl Smith

Frequently Asked Questions

Membership frequent questions and answers

The Heroes Award is a cash sponsorship of up to $1.000 offered to one of our Discovery or Discovery Plus Members for doing amazing charitable work in their community.  This award is given in November on Giving Tuesday!

Memberships do not include free private consultation.  Many times, private consultation involves helping you to identify a plan of action for solving the issue or accomplishing your charitable goal(s).  

  • Discovery Plus members can join us during our Community Café sessions which are held on two Thursdays every month.  During these sessions, Cheryl and/or one of our expert partners deliver coaching and answer member questions concerning nonprofit matters.
  • For private one-on-one consultation, Discovery members receive a 50% discount off of our current consultation rates. 

Community Heroes Pathways are connected e-learning webinars and learning materials that allow Discovery Plus members to build knowledge progressively for a particular goal. Pathways take the guesswork out of which webinars are best for your goal, and in what order you should view them in.  Best of all, pathways include weekly live coaching and opportunities to network with others as you develop new skills along the way!

  1. NEO (New and Emerging Organizations): This Pathway is recommended for anyone considering starting a nonprofit or for newly formed nonprofits that are under a year old.
  2. P2P (Path to Profit): This Pathway is recommended for nonprofit leaders that are centrally focused on positioning their small to mid-sized organization for funding.
  3. “BEST” (Business Enhancement through Support and Training). This Pathway combines the best of the NEO and P2P Pathways, with a focus on starting, sustaining, and funding a nonprofit.

Yes! As a Discovery Plus member, you’ll have access to ALL of our On-Demand e-learning webinars and materials. You can access On-Demand webinars anytime, day or night!

The Pathways are just an added benefit that will help you to stay focused on your goal.

*Discovery Members have access to all On-Demand webinars listed on our public website!

Yes, definitely!  When you join the Discovery Plus program, we’ll show you how – step by step! 🙂  Once you are “ready” to apply for funding, you’ll submit applications to mission-aligned funders.  Each funder has their own deadlines and schedules for review.  While there are funders that will review your grant application within 30 days, most funders only review grant applications 2 to 4 times each year.  

Yes! We send monthly grant alerts covering 9 program areas: Animals, Arts and Culture, Community, Education, Environment, Faith-based, Health, Human Services, and Social Justice. 

  • We do not research grants for a specific organization unless we are engaged in proposal writing.
  • Discovery Plus members are coached on how to specifically identify mission-aligned funders.

Discovery Plus Members have access to forms templates which will save hours of research and writing or paying for these forms online.  The templates are fully customizable. Available templates include:

  • Grant – Proposal Templates
  • Board Documents and Policies
  • Risk Management Policies
  • Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
  • Volunteer Agreement
  • And sooooo much more!

Yes, of course! 🙂

  • Discovery and Discovery Plus members have 24/7 access to all On-Demand webinars offered on our public pages during the term of their membership.
  • Lite members have access to complimentary On-Demand webinars listed on our public pages.
  • Discovery Plus members may access Master-Classes at a discounted rate during their membership with us.

We include grant-writing tips, training alerts, and grant alerts. Community Heroes Newsletters are emailed monthly.  For each grant opportunity, we include the following details (when provided by the funder):

  • The Funder’s name
  • Opportunity deadline
  • Opportunity Amount
  • Funder’s mission or priority causes
  • Where to learn more and apply

Not at all!  We’ve designed Pathways to help you stay focused. Our lessons range from 30 minutes to just under 2 hours, and there’s 12 lessons. So, that’s just 1 lesson per week!  Now, if you are an over-achiever, you can literally finish every lesson in 1 to 4 weeks!  

IMPORTANT: Community Heroes memberships are not a magic elixir.  You (or someone on your team) will have to do the work in order to reap the rewards of funding and sustainability. 🙂

Yes, though we’re not sure why you would!  You can cancel your membership at any time by contacting support@dewlyn.com.  

IMPORTANT: Because we provide Discovery and Discovery Plus members with upfront benefits, there are no refunds issued for these membership cancellations – regardless of the date of upgrade or cancellation. You’ll have access to benefits until your paid term is scheduled to end. 

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