(upbeat music) - Utah Nonprofits Association is bringing voices together for two key events, the Legislative Kickoff, and Nonprofit Day on the Hill, connecting nonprofit leaders with policy makers and community voices.

Jill Bennett, CEO, joins us to share why these gatherings matter.

Jill, thank you so much for being here.

- I'm delighted to be here.

Thank you for the invitation.

- Well, yes, I, we here at PBS Utah have a special place in our heart for nonprofits, we being a nonprofit ourself.

And I want you to talk a little bit about why nonprofits are so important to the community.

- If you believe in a strong, vibrant Utah, where people are happy and healthy, you believe in the work of nonprofits, because they're the folks that are on the ground answering the immediate problems.

And whether that's food shortages, as we're seeing now, whether that's the opportunity for people to receive mental health care when they need it, it's a nonprofit that's stepping up to be there.

And they don't just step up.

They're there throughout it until there's a solution.

- And the Nonprofit Association, what is your purpose?

- Our purpose is to make nonprofits shine, because we believe in their work, and nonprofits need a place where they can get the training, resources, and advocacy that they need to be successful.

So we're sort of like the Chamber of Commerce for nonprofits only we think we have much more, much more of a heartfelt relationship with our members.

Not to criticize them, but we think we're special.

- And hence, these events, where you have-- - Yeah.

- the Legislative Kickoff.

Tell us why these are important.

- These are really important because we believe that good policy reflects the voices and the experience of people who are on the ground trying to solve the problems.

So this is an opportunity for legislators to meet with nonprofits that are tackling some of these really, really sticky problems and learn what solutions are working and where they can be of assistance.

- And the community is invited to come up as well.

- They are, absolutely.

We would strongly welcome them with open arms.

- That's wonderful.

Well, thank you so much for being here to tell us about it.

- It's my pleasure, thanks for having me.

- If you would like to learn more about the Utah Nonprofit Association and these two events coming up, January 20th is Utah Nonprofits, the 2026 Legislative Kickoff, and then January 22nd, Nonprofit Day on the Hill.

These are all at the Utah State Capitol, and you can learn more about them and how you can show up and what time at utahnonprofits.org.

That's utahnonprofits.org.

I'm Laura Durham, and thank you for watching "Contact".

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Here on Contact, we introduce you to local events and organizations that serve your neighborhood.

If you work for a nonprofit and would like to appear on our show, please visit pbsutah.org/contact.