Who We Are:

Nonprofit Allies of Virginia (NAVA) is a coalition of nonprofits and nonprofit partners in Virginia that educates about the impact and needs of the nonprofit sector and advocates for policies that strengthen the sector while amplifying the voices of communities they serve.

Who We Represent:

Collectively, nonprofits in Virginia address vital needs in our communities, providing services to improve the health and wellbeing of all residents. Nonprofits are foundational to our civil society, bringing citizens together to advocate for change and create communities where everyone can thrive. Nonprofits also are a crucial part of Virginia’s economy. As of 2022, nonprofits generated $86.9 billion in revenue, and employed over 275,000 people in Virginia, representing one quarter of public service workers and close to 10% of the Virginia workforce. In fact, the nonprofit sector is the country’s third largest employer.

How We Formed:

Four nonprofit capacity builders who are champions, learning partners, and advisors for Virginia nonprofits came together during the COVID pandemic to advocate for the 50l(c)(3) nonprofit sector and to ensure that the needs of their communities were included in pandemic relief opportunities. Those four nonprofit organizations are the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (Charlottesville), Dan River Nonprofit Network (Danville), NetworkPeninsula (Newport News), and Council for Community Services (Roanoke).

That effort reinforced the critical importance of an organized 50l(c)(3) nonprofit sector to represent and advocate for the sector’s concerns, challenges, and needs in legislative and executive arenas. These four organizations, in partnership with other nonprofit capacity building partners across the Commonwealth, have formed a coalition to make sure 50l(c)(3) nonprofits are sharing community opportunities and challenges with legislators and executive branch officials so that we can all work together to strengthen the nonprofit sector and the critical community services nonprofits provide.

What is Nonprofit Capacity Building?

Capacity building is whatever is needed to bring a nonprofit to the next level of operational, programmatic, financial, or organizational maturity, so it may more effectively and efficiently advance its mission.

NAVA’s 2024 Survey on Policy Solutions to State Grant/Contract Challenges

The NAVA survey on state grants and contracts was launched on July 22nd, 2024. In the past year the capacity builders that currently make up NAVA have heard from nonprofits about challenges with government grants and contracts. NAVA wants to help identify the barriers, challenges, and solutions for nonprofits navigating government grants and contracts. This survey was developed with that goal in mind.

Participating Organizations