What We Do

How We Started

In 2024, a small group of community leaders — Ben Mattheisen, Peggy West, Firiel Severns, Trisha Van Eck, and Michelle Knight — came together with a shared vision to support local nonprofits. They hosted the first summit event in Lebanon, Oregon, which was a strong success and confirmed the need for a regional nonprofit network. That momentum led to the formal founding of WVNPA in the winter of 2025.

Since then, the organization has hosted three successful summit events, and this past year Holly Bollman launched monthly Zoom training sessions to keep learning, leadership development, and networking active all year long.

WVNPA was created to fill an important need: many nonprofit organizations face increasing challenges such as fundraising pressures, volunteer shortages, leadership transitions, technology changes, and rising community demands. Our goal is to help local nonprofits navigate those challenges with practical tools, strong connections, and shared learning.

Evidence of Growth & Momentum

Using attendee feedback and event data from the past two years, WVNPA is clearly building momentum and increasing its impact.

Stronger Event Satisfaction

Feedback from 2026 showed more positive overall responses, stronger appreciation for session value, and fewer concerns about event structure or speaker quality.

Building Community

Networking continues to be one of the highest-rated parts of the Summit. More importantly, attendees increasingly describe the value of collaboration, shared learning, and feeling supported by peers facing similar challenges.

This shows WVNPA is becoming more than an annual event—it is becoming a regional nonprofit community.