Nonprofits Create Community is NIA’s theme for 2026, as we celebrate the ways that nonprofits come through for their communities in spite of all the challenges facing them. In this series, meet some NIA-insured nonprofits who share their stories of creating community in their own words.
Meet Friends of the Central Cascades Wilderness of Bend, OR
Jenn Masse, Board Vice President of Friends of the Central Cascades Wilderness, explains:
“Friends of the Central Cascades Wilderness protects and restores Oregon’s wilderness through volunteer stewardship, trail maintenance, and community education, keeping wild places wild for people and nature alike.”
How does your nonprofit and your mission create community for the people and places you serve?
Protecting and preserving the shared places that bring people together.
“Friends of the Central Cascades Wilderness creates community by protecting the wild places that bring people together.
Our volunteer crews steward the trails, campsites, and wilderness corridors that hikers, backpackers, and outdoor lovers depend on across the Mount Washington, Mount Jefferson, Diamond Peak, and Three Sisters Wilderness areas.
When we clear a downed tree, replace or repair trail signage, pick up trash, or maintain a backcountry trail, we are preserving the shared spaces where people connect with nature and with each other.
Our mission drives us to keep these places wild so that the communities who recreate in them can continue to do so for generations to come.”
What are your nonprofit’s biggest challenges or obstacles to creating community?
Standing out in a crowded field and finding volunteers for strenuous work.
“Our biggest obstacles are name recognition and recruitment. There are many trail organizations in the Central Oregon area, and we can get lost in the crowd.
As a wilderness crew, we follow “leave no trace” principles in everything we do, which sometimes feels like it applies to our visibility, too!
Beyond that, our work is physically demanding and time-intensive, which naturally narrows the pool of volunteers who are able to participate.
Finding people with both the capacity and the commitment to do backcountry stewardship work is an ongoing challenge.”
