Tim Delaney is President & CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, the leading resource and advocate for America’s charitable nonprofits that also connects the largest nationwide and sector-wide network of nonprofits. He’s a seasoned attorney and policy advocate who has successfully argued in the U.S. Supreme Court, testified before Congress, and negotiated in the White House. Tim now applies his diverse leadership experiences to help charitable nonprofits across the country identify emerging trends, engage in critical policy issues, exchange proven practices, and advance their missions through advocacy.
Tim began his career in Arizona as a litigator at a large law firm, where he helped prosecute the impeachment of a Governor, protected and advanced civil rights, and led the firm’s government relations practice. He served as Arizona’s Solicitor General and later Chief Deputy Attorney General, leading the state to win four out of four cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and prosecuting the removal of elected officials for breaching the public trust. Tim also founded and led the Center for Leadership, Ethics & Public Service, championing ethical leadership and civic engagement across the country.
Since graduating from Yale and earning joint degrees in law and public affairs from the University of Texas, Tim has helped nonprofits from a variety of vantage points. He’s served as an adjunct faculty member at ASU teaching graduate courses on “Leadership and Ethics in the Nonprofit Sector,” author of a guidebook on nonprofit advocacy, board chair of Valley Leadership, co-founder and Interim CEO of the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, national Training Fellow for the nonprofit Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, member of the national Leadership Council of Nonprofit VOTE, and Steering Committee member for the international Affinity Group of National Associations.
Since 2008, Tim has drawn on those diverse experiences as he leads the National Council of Nonprofits, which is the only national, sector-wide group that integrates policy analysis and advocacy both vertically (local, state, federal) and horizontally (legislative, executive, judicial) on issues of concern to all subsectors of the 501(c)(3) community, such as charitable giving, nonpartisanship, regulatory oversight, property-tax exemptions, and much more. The Council of Nonprofits looks out for the common good of the entire sector – and focuses especially on the health and well-being of small and midsized charitable nonprofits (97 percent of nonprofits have budgets less than $5 million; 92 percent less than $1 million).
A sought-after speaker, Tim has delivered more than 250 keynote and other presentations for a diverse range of groups, domestic and international. He also writes extensively, publishing articles and reports about advocacy, current events, nonprofits, and public policy. Additionally, he’s been interviewed by ABC News, Chronicle of Philanthropy, CNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, NPR, The New York Times, Nonprofit Quarterly, NonProfit Times, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, Wall Street Journal, and many other news outlets.
Numerous organizations have formally recognized Tim’s community and professional contributions, including the National Association of Attorneys General (Marvin Award for leadership and service, and co-recipient of the Best Brief Award for legal writing in the U.S. Supreme Court), National Association of Community Leadership (Distinguished Leadership Award), LBJ School of Public Affairs (Distinguished Public Service Award – alumnus of the year), ASU School of Public Affairs (Faculty Associate Award for teaching excellence), ASU College of Extended Education (Outstanding Faculty Member Award for “excellence in teaching” at the Nonprofit Management Institute), the City of Phoenix (which dedicated the Delaney Family Playground in recognition of years of public service), and the NonProfit Times (named as Power & Influence Top 50 nonprofit leaders in the country ten times – most recently in 2022).