Charting a Course for Community Navigation
While most of Nonprofit Nav’s work consists of short-term engagements, in 2022, Principal Consultant Katie Appold, took a three-year contract to provide leadership to the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems. The timing was significant. Her tenure spanned the member-driven organization’s 50th anniversary, and the work reshaped both AIRS and the sector it serves. That engagement turned community navigation into a core area of expertise for Nonprofit Nav, and the engagements that followed have kept it there.
I have had the pleasure of working with Katie Appold for the past four years, and she consistently demonstrates the kind of leadership organizations need—strategic, thoughtful, and grounded in integrity. Katie has a unique ability to see the bigger picture while still executing the details that move projects forward. Through her work with Nonprofit Nav, Katie brings clarity, structure, and forward-thinking strategy to every initiative she touches. She is collaborative, solutions-oriented, and deeply committed to helping organizations strengthen their impact. If given the opportunity, Katie would be one of the first people I would turn to for future projects. I highly recommend both Katie and Nonprofit Nav to any organization looking for a trusted strategic partner.
Steve Rippe, Executive Director of Inform USA
The Roadmap
When Katie stepped into leadership at AIRS, three realities defined the challenge:
- The work of AIRS members was undervalued and largely invisible at the national level.
- The field’s own language, “information and referral,” meant nothing to the people actually seeking help.
- And the ground was shifting fast, as technology and for-profit competitors moved in, rewarding the organizations that led with strategy.
The Journey
Over three years, Katie worked with the AIRS team and board to raise the organization’s profile as the sector’s convener and to build recognition for the work its members do every day. Two moves anchored that effort.
The first was rebranding the organization from the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems to Inform USA. The new name is easier to remember, and it honors the organization’s long-standing partnership with Inform Canada.
The second was rebranding the sector itself, from “information and referral,” or “I&R,” to community navigation. The new term tells people what the work actually does.
The Destination
Since the contract with Inform USA closed, Nonprofit Nav has advised a growing roster of community navigation organizations and those who help ensure whole-person health in their communities on strategy, including Inform Florida, 211 Northeast Michigan, 211 Brevard County, Access Health, and Thumb Community Health Partnership. Every engagement does double duty. It strengthens the organization in front of us, and it builds recognition for a sector that communities across the country depend on.