Tim Delaney applies his diverse leadership experiences in law, government, and nonprofits as President & CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, a trusted resource and advocate for America’s charitable nonprofits that connects the nation’s largest network of nonprofits. His former roles as partner at a large law firm (where he focused on litigation, media law, and government relations), Solicitor General and later Chief Deputy Attorney General for the State of Arizona (where he guided the state to win several cases in the U.S. Supreme Court), and President of the nonprofit Center for Leadership, Ethics & Public Service (where he championed positive ethics and advanced civic engagement) inform his current work helping charitable nonprofits throughout the country achieve greater impact by identifying emerging trends, engaging in critical policy issues, exchanging proven practices, and advancing their missions through advocacy.
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, including as an attorney, author, board chair, CEO, consultant, founder, incubator, lobbyist, teacher, trainer, and volunteer. Tim currently serves on the Leadership Council of Nonprofit VOTE and as a leader of the collaborative “Stand For Your Mission” campaign. He previously served as, among other things, an adjunct faculty member 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 later board chair of Valley Citizens League, a Steering Committee member for the international Affinity Group of National Associations, and a national Training Fellow for the nonprofit Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, which the National Council of Nonprofits absorbed in 2012.
In the field of ethics and public trust, Tim has served as a prosecutor (helping to impeach a Governor and later remove four other elected officials from office), author, legislative drafter (developing Arizona’s Public Service Ethics Act and a comprehensive rewrite of Arizona’s Open Meeting Law), and consultant and trainer for businesses, governments, and nonprofits.
A sought-after speaker, Tim has made more than 100 keynote and other presentations for a diverse range of groups, such as ARNOVA, BoardSource, Conference of Western Attorneys General, Council of State Governments, Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, Girl Scouts, Imagine Canada, National Association of State Charity Officials, Philanthropy New York, The Wheel (Ireland), and YWCA, as well as state governments across the country and most of the state associations of nonprofits. Additionally, Tim has been interviewed by ABC News, Chronicle of Philanthropy, 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. He also writes extensively, publishing articles and reports about advocacy, current events, nonprofits, and public policy.
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 (Power & Influence Top 50 nonprofit leaders in the country in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015).
