“Stronger Together,” the second Irvine Nonprofit Leadership Conference, took place on October 1–2, 2026, at Irvine City Hall. Anne Olin, President and CEO of Charitable Ventures, a regional nonprofit incubator and capacity builder, was the keynote speaker. Her address, “Navigating Uncertainty Together: Nonprofit Leadership in an Evolutionary Moment,” argued that nonprofit organizations need to collaborate with each other and that people working in nonprofits need to “be kind to themselves” in order to get through this uncertain time. During her speech, Olin pointed to Kindness Network as an example of building a network to support each other.

About 250 nonprofit leaders participated in this event, including Kindness Network and its partners serving the Chinese American community. The event offered eight presentations across four sessions on Fundraising in Turbulent Times, Cross-Sector Partnerships, Outcome Measurement, Public Policy Advocacy, Working with the Orange County Community Foundation, Leading When Capacity Changes, Future-Proof Fundraising, and Partnering Across Systems. During the event, organization leaders not only learned from the workshops but also networked with each other. It paved the way for future collaborations among organizations.

The event was well received by the participants.

For community members, Kindness Network now has an app! It makes it easy to find local events, add them to a calendar or wallet, and share them with friends and family. It is available on the App Store, and more information is available at meetkindness.org.

The Kindness Network is fiscally sponsored by Charitable Ventures, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.