Officials said the newly formed West Virginia Non Profit Association is making great progress in its formation in just a short 11 months. This month the association reached another milestone by welcoming its founding executive director.
Laura Lee Haddad started in the position on Sept. 4. Haddad joins the association after serving for several years as the executive director of the United Way of the Greenbrier Valley. .
"We are thrilled to have Laura Lee joining us. She brings an entire career of experience, knowledge, success, and skills from the non profit sector serving in the positions of Executive Director or Resource Development Director for state, national, and international organizations," John Ballengee, chair of the state Non Profit Association Advisory Board, said.
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Haddad
"Laura Lee's familiarity with the needs of non profit organizations in West Virginia and her natural skills in building partnerships will take the Association to the next level," Ballengee said.
Haddad is a seasoned veteran in non-profit management and volunteer development as she has worked for the March of Dimes, the American Cancer Society, the National Speakers Association - Ohio Chapter, and most recently, the United Way of the Greenbrier Valley.
"I'm excited to begin my work and grow this much needed organization to benefit West Virginia's nonprofit community," Haddad said. "I will work along with our advisory board to make the West Virginia Non Profit Association a beneficial support network that strengthens non profits of all sizes in the Mountain State."
Haddad has already jumped into the thick of things by putting together plans for the first round of regional trainings for nonprofit organizations to be hosted in different locations around the state this fall. The official membership drive will go public in the near future which is in follow up to the successful series of town hall forums hosted across the state in the spring and summer with over 300 non profit leaders attending.
"It is our commitment and drive to make the West Virginia Non Profit Association a success. After 30-plus years of the outcry for such an organization, the West Virginia Grantmakers is honored to serve as the fiscal sponsor and facilitator of this initiative in partnership with the WV Community Development Hub," Paul Daugherty, president and CEO of the WV Grantmakers, said.
The West Virginia Non Profit Association is a program of the West Virginia Grantmakers Association, the state network of private, family, corporate, and community foundations, along with support from the WV Community Development Hub. A generous investment from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation has helped launch the organization.
For more information, contact Haddad at lauralee@wvnpa.org or visit www.wvnpa.org.
