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The sound of conversation filled the atrium as community members walked around colorful balloons and company displays at the Impact Tyler event on Tuesday.

Nonprofit organizations and guests gathered at the very first Impact Tyler event hosted by Leadership Tyler at the Plaza Tower in downtown, where community members connected to local nonprofits that shared information, opportunities and created business partnerships.

“Impact Tyler is about opening doors,” said Jackie Cannon, director of alumni for Leadership Tyler. “Whether you’re curious about serving on a board, looking for ways to volunteer or wanting to learn how your business can give back, this event makes it easy to take the next step.”

The event ran from 4 to 7 p.m. with 31 participating nonprofit organizations that encouraged guests to come look at the booths decorated with company swag, showcasing diverse missions available across East Texas. All of the nonprofits that signed up attended the event, organizers said.

“Oftentimes community members don’t know what nonprofits are available, so this is giving all of us a chance to meet and greet and see the mission of different nonprofits,” Cannon said. “We go around and talk with each booth, then somebody can find a connection that a need or a passion that they have can help other people.”

Leadership Tyler, a nonprofit organization itself, provides training opportunities and community events, like Impact Tyler, for the city’s business leaders at any stage and companies to help skill building and connection. The three programs the organization instructs are the Core Program, Executive Orientation Program and the Catalyst 100.

The Core Program encourages participates’ critical business skills, the Executive Orientation Program assists incoming senior executives on Tyler’s resources and business routines and the Catalyst 100 provides networking and leadership mentoring opportunities through a forum in conjunction with the City of Tyler, Smith County, the Tyler Area of Commerce and the Tyler Economic Development Council to invited attendees only.

After completing any program, the participants join a network of Leadership Tyler alumni that continue to encourage skill development.

“This event is community building, serving and giving a chance for community people to serve where their passion is,” Cannon said.

The event also featured an orientation table, where guests could partake in casual conversations on nonprofit partnering, as well as five rotating speakers that discussed and answered questions on Leadership Tyler, giving, volunteering, board services and the East Texas Communities Foundation.

Sara Long, leader, and Daniel Anderson, scout executive and CEO of the East Texas Area Council Boy Scouts of America, both agreed the event exposed their organization to new people.

“I really like getting to know the different nonprofits that are kind of in the same boat we are,” Long said. “Funding is a big issue right now for a lot of us, so it’s nice to know that we’re not alone out here and we have each other to kind of rely on and help each other out.”

Many nonprofits face financial and volunteer difficulties, where events like Impact Tyler try to combat these challenges.

“During COVID, volunteers quit helping as much and so now, four or five years later, we’re having to build that volunteer back up,” Cannon said. “We have lots of needs in our community that can only be helped with financial donations and many of the nonprofits are in need of funding, not just money, but grants that might come their way and donated services, like photography.”

Some of the organizations target very specific audiences, such as Next Step Community Solutions, which supports youth mental health and suicide prevention and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays East Texas, that supports the LGBTQ+ community, gain introspective communication from visitors in other booths.

“I’m actually spending more time visiting with my fellow nonprofits than I am with any potential board members or donors, so I’m loving it just as a get-together of our neighborhood,” Anderson said. “I love working with the other nonprofits and any opportunity for collaboration, I’m going to take it.”

Cannon said Impact Tyler came from several community members asking for it, resulting in the creation of the committee of five diverse leaders from different Tyler nonprofits that made it happen, and she hopes for continued growth next year.

“We had it filled in about two days and had a waiting list because we just didn’t have the space for more,” Cannon said. “It’ll grow every year with more local people coming because the nonprofits aren’t being pushy, they’re just sharing their passion with people who want to either volunteer or give so they’ll make that connection.”

Cannon said Impact Tyler is not a competition but rather a strong collaboration among nonprofits that support each other.

“This is about coming to support the organizations that are shaping our community’s future,” said Mary Jo Burgess, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocate for Kids of East Texas and fellow organizer. “We want people to walk away inspired and connected to a cause that matters to them.”

Cannon hopes the Impact Tyler event will continue to make a significant impact on nonprofit connections for years to come.

“My greatest excitement is to see people walk through that door and the passion they all share,” Cannon said.

For more information on Leadership Tyler and upcoming events, visit https://leadership-tyler.org/.