Inspired City Summit
It's a wrap!
The Inspired City Summit is the City of Kelowna’s annual full-day conference designed to strengthen the non-profit sector across sport, social development, arts, culture, and heritage. It brings together organizations from across BC for a day of connection, collaboration, and capacity-building.
This year's conference, IMPACT 2026 was held Saturday, April 11 at the Delta Grand Okanagan Hotel.
Impact welcomed over 260 participants including executive directors, board members, senior leadership, managers, staff, and volunteers from across the non-profit sector. This high-energy day included an inspiring keynote, expert-led breakout sessions, and networking opportunities designed to spark meaningful connections to last well beyond the event! View the infographic and check out the numbers!
We would like to extend a sincere thank you to our incredible presenters, generous sponsors, and especially the non-profit community who joined us for the conference. Your passion and dedication drive the important work that supports vibrant, resilient communities.
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Our Sponsors
Dante Group
Valley First, a Division of First West Credit Union
Central Okanagan Foundation
MNP
If you were at the conference, you can still access WHOVA on your phone for the next 3 months.
Through the app you can:
- find resources and slide decks from the sessions,
- connect with speakers,
- share your feedback about the session directly with the presenter by contributing to the poll or the session chat,
- connect with other attendees, and
- post your event day photos.
Collaboration starts with hello!
IMPACT 2026 keynote: Likky Lavji, Blindspot Navigator
Likky Lavji is a sought-after keynote speaker and transformational leader known for helping individuals and organizations break through invisible barriers and unlock their full human potential. Fittingly, his middle name Madat means “help”—a principle that shows up in every relationship he builds and every room he leads.
His work goes beyond strategy and systems, diving into the often-unseen emotional and relational dynamics that quietly shape culture, productivity, and growth.
Likky’s ability to create powerful mindset shifts around commitment, accountability, and performance has been recognized by organizations such as Telus Corporation, Lenovo Canada, and the Royal Bank of Canada.
As President and Lead Facilitator of Dante Group, Likky partners with growth-oriented, mid-sized companies to uncover and resolve the root issues that stall momentum and erode results. His approach strengthens leadership capacity, deepens employee engagement, and builds enduring customer loyalty.
Visit Likky's website and share the BS Assessment tool with your coworkers and navigate your team dynamics!
153 Organizations attended!
See who was there and check out their websites. Learn more
The session lineup - connect with the speakers!
- Stop Launching, Start Improving: Growing impact through continuous website improvement, Dennis Powers
- Sustainable Event Framework: How to transform your signature event into a strategic asset, Chantelle Froats
- The Dynamic Duo: Maximizing the relationship between the Board Chair and Executive, Laura Thurnheer, Kyleen Myrah, Trevor Moss, Shauna Harper, Likky Lavji
- Build Your Board Workbook: A Simple Governance System, Chelsea Travere
- 7 Questions every leader should ask when deploying or assessing the use of AI, Caroline Thompson
- Measuring What Matters: Choosing metrics that meaningfully reflect your impact, Segun Fatudimu
- From Mission to Metrics: Measuring Economic and Community Impact, Joy Pan
- Financial Governance Made Simple: A practical toolkit for Boards and Leadership Teams, Tamara Pals
- Fundraising in 2026 — What Matters Most, Richelle Leckey, Kelly Paley
- Non-Profit Essentials for a Changing Political Landscape, Jeanne Legua
- sylix Okanagan Indigenous Protocols, Anona Kampe
- Strengthen your organization’s ability to attract, inspire, and retain the people who power your mission, Shawnee Love
- Good Intentions Don't Cut It - our sectors role in advancing inclusion and equity, or extending marginalization, Julia Payson
- Ethical Storytelling – Unifying Stories in Polarizing Times, Heather Smith
- Stronger together: Building collaborations and partnerships to maximize community impact, Tannis Henderson
Be part of the action next year!
Are you interested in being a speaker or a sponsor at the 2027 Inspired City Summit? Let us know!
Speaker & Sponsor Interest
Organizational Lifecycle & Capacity Assessment Workshop, presented by Vantage Point
This interactive workshop will help nonprofit leaders diagnose and strengthen organizational capacity across four key areas:
- Governance
- Management
- Financial Resources
- Administrative Systems
By the end of the session, you'll be able to:
✔ Explain the 7 stages of organizational lifecycle and 5 areas of organizational capacity
✔ Apply a lifecycle lens and capacity framework to improve mission impact
✔ Use the Nonprofit Lifecycle Selfie tool to self-assess your current stage
✔ Identify concrete, realistic next steps to build capacity in your organization
Details
- Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2026
- Time: 4:00pm – 8:00pm
- Location: Kelowna Community Theatre, Lobby
- Facilitated by: Vantage Point
Light dinner provided.
REGISTER for Free
Investing in non-profits for community enrichment
In the wake of the pandemic’s disruption, the local non-profit sector found itself at a crossroads—regaining momentum and reimagining its role in a changed world. Rising to meet the moment, the City launched this bold initiative —not just to support, but to convene. To bring people together. What began as a response to a moment of upheaval soon grew into something more: the foundation for a gathering that would become an annual touchstone for learning, collaboration, and growth.
Past Events
About
The 2025 conference, EVOLVE - was held Saturday, April 5 at the Coast Capri Hotel.
The 2025 theme, "Evolve: engaging, collaborative, impactful", focused on the dynamic participation of attendees and the importance of working together to create lasting, meaningful change within the non-profit sector. Through a visionary keynote, practical workshops, and insightful panel discussions, attendees were given tools and inspiration to drive meaningful progress and amplify their impact in an evolving landscape.
Speakers
Keynote Speaker: Matteo Stewart
- Maximizing Your Mission: Essential Marketing Strategies for Non-Profits Peter Vigilante
- Smarter Growth: Scaling nonprofits with AI David Olsson
- Collaborative Impact: Redefining Community Relationships Alicia White, Tannis Henderson, Abbie Norrish, Meaghan Duckett, Erin Scott, Naomi Woodland
- Building the Future: A Practical Guide to Succession Planning Monisha Mothilal
- Stronger Together: How Workplace Well-being Unlocks the Full Potential of Social Purpose Organizations Mauricio Rojas and Amanda Sheehan
- Navigating Government Relations for Non-Profits: Jeanne Legua
- Demystifying impact measurement and harnessing its power: Segun Fatudimu andNatalia Hahn
- Successful Grant Stewardship: Allison Markin
- Evaluation: Secret Sauces for Success and Sustainability Gene Krupa and Kate Woodman
- The Empowered Empath: Prevent Emotional Overwhelm & Reclaim Your Weekends Anessa Collins
- N̓syilxcn̓ Language and Storytelling: A short story and lesson in the Okanagan language Lindsay Ravensong and Roz W
- Trails, Trials and Triumphs - A profitable pathway to Social Enterprise: Andrew Greer, Lumin McCutcheon, Patricia Henley, Vicki Gee
- Reframing BC's Diversity: Shiren Van Cooten
- Being Heard: Holding Difficult Community Conversations: Norah Bowman, Annika Kirk, Naomi Woodland
About
The 2024 conference, REIMAGINE - was held Saturday, April 6 at the Coast Capri Hotel.
Thank you to everyone who attended this amazing event for non-profits on April 6th, 2024. Over 230 people attended the conference and enjoyed a full day of learning and networking.
We would like to thank our amazing sponsors: Valley First, Central Okanagan Foundation, Do Gooders, EQ Development Group and City of Kelowna.
Impact:
- 135 organizations attended
- 238 people attended
- 16 educational sessions offered
- over 90% would like to attend next years conference!
- Highlights from the Conference!
Highlights from the conference
The 2023 conference, REBOUND - was held Saturday, March 11 at the Rotary Centre for the Arts.
The conference welcomed 138 non-profit board members, volunteers, and leaders for a dynamic day of learning and connection focused on non-profit governance. Attendees tailored their experience by selecting from a variety of micro-workshops designed to address their unique organizational needs. The sessions centered around four key themes: Communication and Connection, Systems and Structure, Finance and Assets, and People and Process.
Hosted by the City of Kelowna and proudly sponsored by Valley First (a division of First West Credit Union), the event was further supported by the Central Okanagan Foundation, Wilson M Beck Insurance Services Inc., and EQ Development Group.
With overwhelmingly positive feedback and excitement for the future, planning began almost immediately for the next event, REIMAGINE 2024.
