$7.5 million gift to UAFS to create Center for Nonprofits

One of the largest gifts in the history of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS) will help support the region’s nonprofit sector. UAFS officials have announced a $7.5 million gift which will endow a Center for Nonprofits (CNP) at the university.

The anonymous gift was unveiled Wednesday (April 2) during the public kickoff of the university’s $85 million comprehensive campaign, Intrepid Ambition.

“This gift is a profound statement of belief in Fort Smith and the people who are doing some of the most difficult and most meaningful work in our region,” said Blake Rickman, vice chancellor for university advancement and executive director of the UAFS Foundation. “The nonprofits of the River Valley are helping families in crisis, walking alongside individuals who feel forgotten, and fighting every day for those who have nowhere else to turn. This gift will transform their capacity to do that work, and it’s an honor to be a part of it.”

UAFS Chancellor Dr. Terisa Riley said the CED and all the other areas of the university impacted by the Intrepid Ambition campaign will have a broad impact on the campus and the region as a whole. She said the campaign reflects UAFS’s identity as a community-serving institution.

The Center for Nonprofits (CNP) will be added to the other services at the UAFS Center for Economic Development (CED) at the Bakery District in downtown Fort Smith. It will offer dedicated training and community-building offerings for nonprofit organizations across the River Valley.

“Centers like this exist across the country, but very few will be resourced like this one,” Rickman said.

The center will support nonprofits through two focus areas: Providing direct training and support to nonprofit staff at the UAFS Center for Economic Development and integrating academic expertise through a strategic partnership with the university’s Department of Social Work.

Kendall Ross, associate vice chancellor for economic and workforce development and head of the CED, said the program is a natural extension of the ongoing CED program.

“This gift allows us to apply that same expertise to the nonprofit sector, where the impact is deeply human and profoundly local. We’re honored to hit the ground running,” he said, noting the university will post the for the director position for the program Thursday (April 3).

Along with the $7.5 million outright gift for the program, the donor is giving an additional $125,000 immediately that can be used to hire a director and a grant writer in order to start the program as soon as possible, university officials said. The university can apply for that funding annually as needed.

Administration is looking for someone who has experience in nonprofits for the director position, Ross said, adding that the candidate would preferably have a master’s degree in organizational leadership, business administration, public administration or a related field. The goal would be to try to have someone in the position by June, he said.

“We really want to hit the ground running with this,” Ross said.

The CNP will offer professional development, capacity building and operational support tailored to the needs of nonprofit organizations in the River Valley. The offerings will deliver continuing education credits and provide hands-on instruction in areas such as fundraising, financial management, board governance, and strategic communications.

“We are going to help nonprofits in all the areas where they already struggle – helping them with bylaws creation, leadership training (and more.) From the logistical side of things, we’re going to try to help shore up and strengthen the nonprofits,” Ross said.

In addition to training, endowed funds will allow the center to award annual mini-grants to regional nonprofits and provide access to operational resources and advanced technology platforms that support service delivery, client management, impact measurement, fundraising, and data analysis.

“There are gifts and then there are transformational gifts. This is going to be a transformational gift. This is going to be not only a significant change for River Valley but ultimately for the state,” Ross said.

As services are built, the center will expand on the work of River Valley Nonprofits, a local network that began in 2020 to help the more than 1,000 nonprofits in the region navigate challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially formed through informal meetings among nonprofit leaders, the group became a registered 501(c)(3) in 2024 and is working with UAFS to lay the groundwork for the new center, university officials said.

River Valley Nonprofits will continue to meet through the rest of this year, Ross said, with the CNP assuming that role in 2026.

“We will begin to develop programs and educations later in the year,” he said.

A partnership with the UAFS Department of Social Work will expand the center’s reach into academic research and workforce development. An endowed nonprofit faculty position in the social work department, applied research initiatives, and paid student internships will allow the center to link university expertise to community needs, university administration said.

“Our social work faculty and students are at the forefront of this effort, dedicating their time and expertise to supporting more than a dozen local nonprofits through internships and volunteer work. This generous gift will allow us to amplify that impact, extending our capacity to serve and strengthen nonprofits throughout the region,” said UAFS Provost said Dr. Shadow Robinson.