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About LPI
Thank you for your interest in exploring the LeadershipPlenty Institute (LPI).
​With the close of Class 15 (2025-2026), Waco Foundation has decided to take the next year to review the impact of our work, better understand the leadership skills programming our community needs, and assess how we should lend support to area residents looking to take their service and support to the next level. Alumni Network programming will continue without interruption.
Please keep an eye out for future correspondence from Waco Foundation in the coming months. In the meantime, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions you would like to share, you may do so by contacting us at admin@wacofoundation.org (subject line: LPI).
The Program
The LeadershipPlenty Institute of Waco (LPI) is a civic leadership development program offered to residents of Central Texas through Waco Foundation. The program is held in-person in a classroom discussion format, and takes participants through ten modules of learning for a total of 40 hours of instruction.
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LPI blends traditional leadership development teachings with hands-on civic engagement training, preparing participants to lead with excellence in all areas of their lives. Designed to build and enhance leadership skills for effective community and organizational work, the program is for individuals who may not see themselves as leaders as well as those who already hold leadership positions.
Our certified facilitators bring experience from various industries, and teach from their knowledge base of those industries. Participants can expect to learn about transformational leadership through various lenses of gender, race, socioeconomic status, religion, age, and education level.​
After Graduation:
LPI Alumni Network
LPI graduates are encouraged to find tangible ways to contribute to their local community, and to seek out board service and other civic engagement opportunities in addition to the ones provided by the LPI network. Program alumni may choose to participate in the Alumni Network, which hosts events such as networking hours, lunch and learns, book clubs, and collaborative events with other organizations in Waco.
Alumni Network programming provides an environment to reconnect with cohort-mates and facilitators, continue leadership learning and development, and make connections across every industry in Waco.
The History of LPI
In 2005, the Waco Community Visioning Project launched the 'Today's Actions, Tomorrow's Leaders' (TATL) steering committee to address community needs. One crucial gap surfaced through their efforts: the lack of diverse, equitable, and accessible leadership.
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LeadershipPlenty® was created by Civic Change, Inc. in the early 2000's to identify and develop passionate leaders to improve communities. Realizing that 'broad-based community leadership is critical for long-term, positive community change,' TATL introduced LPI to Waco, TX in 2011.​
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For over a decade, LPI has annually empowered a new group of leaders in Waco, fostering collaboration to propel local progress. The program receives generous underwriting and support from the Waco Foundation, and was previously hosted and guided by Baylor University's Office of External Affairs.