Forty Under 40: Alden Napier

Camp War Eagle led Alden Napier to move to Northwest Arkansas in 2006, giving him and his wife, Heather, an opportunity to start their marriage working together and the ability to work with children as a vocation. The Memphis, Tenn., native started as assistant director before becoming associate director in 2010.

He established an after-school program and summer day camp that has served more than 800 youth annually. Over five years, youth attendance at the camp rose 300%. Napier also led development teams to raise more than $8 million, leading to the establishment of the after-school program in 2014 and summer day camp in 2015.

He left Camp War Eagle in December 2016 and started at Credit Counseling of Arkansas (CCOA) the following month. As executive director, he oversees operations, development work, finances and security enhancements to technology. He oversees 13 staff across three offices in Northwest Arkansas. CCOA has more than 2,500 clients.

“We’re really grateful to have a lot of community trust,” Napier said. “We’re able to see over 8,000 people this past year.”

Nonprofits often do not have a fee for service, but CCOA does to cover costs and to help people manage their debt, such as student loans. “We give away 64% of our business each year,” said Napier, adding that it doesn’t charge for the majority of services it provides.

Over the next three to five years, he hopes to leverage technology to reach more people. Napier is chairman of the Bank On Arkansas+ Steering Committee, and CCOA has been connected to the initiative, focused on increasing the number of Arkansans with mainstream financial services.

He is a volunteer at Camp War Eagle and New Heights Church in Fayetteville and enjoys running and reading.