Feature Article: A New Era for Peninsula Nonprofits

​For nearly 20 years, Network Peninsula was a steady hand for the Virginia Peninsula's nonprofit community, bringing leaders together, offering training and advocacy, and helping organizations thrive through connection.

So, when Network made the difficult decision to sunset operations in the fall of 2025, many of us felt two things at once: deep gratitude for what had been built, and real concern about what the moment required next. Because the truth is, this change didn’t happen during a calm season. The nonprofit landscape is shifting quickly, with funding pressures, rising community needs, staffing constraints, and growing compliance demands.

In the months leading up to Network’s closing, there were many conversations, some formal, some informal, about what would be lost and what could be carried forward. Leaders across the Peninsula asked the same question in different ways: How do we make sure nonprofits are still connected, informed, and supported? Those conversations made one thing clear: while no single organization could replace Network Peninsula, together we could build something practical, responsive, and grounded in the strengths already present across our community.

In recognition of Network’s legacy and the ongoing need for nonprofit support, four Peninsula-wide organizations came together to form the Peninsula Nonprofit Partnership, a shared commitment to make sure our nonprofit community continues to have connection, resources, and capacity-building support. The Partnership includes:

• The Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce (Bob McKenna, President & CEO)
• The Bernardine Franciscan Sisters Foundation (Sister David Ann Niski, Executive Director)
• The United Way of the Virginia Peninsula (Charvalla West, CEO)
• The Peninsula Community Foundation (Adelia Thompson, CEO).

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Bob McKenna—who served on Network Peninsula’s board when the decision was made—said it plainly as we began these conversations:​

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​“It was the right decision, but it happened right at the time when
the landscape surrounding nonprofits was shifting. Those
​organizations were going to need more reinforcement, not less.”

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So our four organizations rolled up our sleeves. We walked through Network’s service list and asked, How do we make sure these supports don’t disappear? What we found was encouraging. Across the four of us, versions of many services were already in play. With good coordination and communication, we realized we could “divide and conquer,” continuing what worked, hopefully strengthening it, and hopefully offer some new possibilities too.

Here’s how we are moving forward:

• One-stop connection with all four Peninsula Nonprofit Partners: We have created a unified email account ([email protected]). To contact the organizations working together as the "Peninsula Nonprofit Partnership," click the button below to send us an email.  Your email will reach us all simultaneously, and the appropriate team member will follow up with you promptly.
• Regular coffee gatherings for Executive Directors and Development leaders. These will continue, bi-monthly, rotating locations among our four organizations.
• A membership connection. Network members paid an annual fee.  All current Network memberships are now being honored by the Chamber until the month an organization’s dues would have come due.  At that point, each organization will be offered Chamber membership at special rates, negotiated based on organizational budget size. All members will be listed in the Chamber Directory, and Preferred Providers will be listed online – businesses that offer services to nonprofits at reduced rates. See button below for member benefits and more.
• Advocacy: The United Way and BFSF will coordinate the Annual Legislative Breakfast in partnership with the Chamber’s Legislative Roundtable Series; the Chamber will host its General Assembly Meet and Greet for all members of the Chamber and will join the National Council of Nonprofits – affording nonprofit members access to NCN advocacy tools.
• Communications: The Chamber will expand its Nonprofit Navigator newsletter to all former members of Network.  The newsletter features grant/funding, resource and event information, nonprofit news, volunteer needs and job openings.
• Meeting spaces: Our organizations offer meeting spaces of varying sizes.  United Way, PCF and BFSF will provide meeting space at no cost, and the Chamber at special rental rates for nonprofit members.
• In-Kind help: United Way will coordinate with the Chamber to make businesses aware of in-kind contributions they can make to nonprofits – and to lift up those needs as they arise among the nonprofits.
• Workshops and board development: BFSF will host workshops and seminars for board members and nonprofit professionals on a host of topics and provide information concerning relevant webinars.  For board development – the Chamber and the United Way are coordinating new opportunities, including the Chamber’s LEAD Peninsula program as a source of potential board members.
• Access to information about the nonprofit community: A comprehensive database of all nonprofits serving the Peninsula now lives at PCF. It contains data about each organization, is easy to navigate and sort, and will be regularly updated. It will be pushed out to all nonprofits, major funders across the area, and available through the Foundation’s website. It is intended to help nonprofits more easily connect with one another, coordinate projects and resources, and afford funders a ready reference of all the organizations in the area, the causes they serve and their business information. A link to the database can be found below.

We’ll adjust as we go. Our four organizations are called to serve this whole community, and right now, serving means figuring out how to answer that call, together. We won’t be perfect, but we hope this is a good place to start.

• To contact the organizations working together as the "Peninsula Nonprofit Partnership,” send us an email at [email protected].  Your email will reach us all simultaneously, and the appropriate team member will follow up with you promptly.
• To view and access PCF’s Nonprofit Database you can access it through our website HERE.
• If you are a nonprofit and would like to become a nonprofit member of the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, you can access a link HERE to the membership benefits.

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CLICK HERE FOR Nonprofit DATABASE

email the partnership

CLICK HERE FOR MEMBErsip benefits