When Shannon Smock became the CEO of a small children’s dental museum in 2008, she quickly realized she had a lot to learn—and no roadmap. “I had never managed a person in my life,” she recalls. “I had no mentors, no guidance. I just started gathering everything I could—resources from my WashU classes, my professors, even my classmates. I didn’t know what I was going to do with it all, but I kept storing it in a folder.”

Today, that folder has evolved into something transformative.

In mid-April, Smock, an adjunct instructor and program coordinator for the Nonprofit Management Program at WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS), shared how winning the 2025 Marion Horstmann Online Teaching Innovation Grant helped her create the Nonprofit Virtual Resource Library. The resource is a robust, user-driven platform designed to bridge the gap between academic learning and the day-to-day realities of nonprofit work.

“This is a full-circle moment for me,” Smock said while presenting her project during the annual CAPS Faculty Show and Share. “Now that I’m stepping away from nonprofit leadership, I want to leave something behind to empower the next generation.”

The library—available to WashU nonprofit management students, alumni and faculty—is hosted on the university’s Extend(Ed) learning platform. It covers 25 essential nonprofit topics, with content ranging from tools and templates to case studies, video series and user-submitted resources.

“It’s meant to take what we learn in the classroom and help students apply it in the real world,” Smock explained.

During her presentation she highlighted several of the tools included in the library including a 990 analysis tool, developed by a WashU alumnus, which allows users to assess the financial health of any nonprofit based on publicly available tax data.

Smock also shared a strategic planning toolkit she had created in the library based on her previous experience in developing nonprofit strategic plans.

She said the cost of developing those plans could take up a significant portion of a nonprofit’s operating budget.

“That’s not sustainable for small nonprofits,” she said. “So I built a framework and a video series that walks leaders through the entire process—values, mission, vision, strategy, dashboard—all free of charge.”

What sets the resource library apart is its long-term vision. Smock wants the platform to grow with its users and reflect their lived experiences.

“We’re encouraging students and alumni to contribute their own tools and insights,” she said. “This isn’t just a static archive—it’s a community, and it will continue to evolve.”

That community-focused spirit is at the heart of the Marion Horstmann Grant, which supports CAPS instructors in developing innovative online learning experiences. Smock’s project exemplifies that mission: providing accessible, on-demand access to professional resources that empower students to grow and lead.

“Other associations offer topic-specific libraries like this, but they charge a fee,” Smock noted. “We’re offering it for free.”

Though the library was built with WashU CAPS students in mind, Smock sees potential for broader impact.

“This model could work in law, medicine, education—you name it,” she said. “Wherever there’s a need for practical tools and community-shared knowledge, there’s an opportunity.”

With a background that includes nonprofit fundraising and leadership roles across St. Louis, Smock brings both expertise and empathy to her work. Now, through the Nonprofit Virtual Resource Library, she’s making sure future leaders won’t have to start from scratch like she did.

“They’ll have a roadmap,” she said. “And a community to walk it with them.”