Around Utah.

• Author: Whitesides, Hilary Ingoldsby

Chris Bray is the CEO of Utah Nonprofits Association (UNA) and also serves on many committees such as the United Way of Salt Lake board of directors, the Lt. Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteers, the Governor's Legislative Compensation Commission, the Utah Economic Council and the National Council of Nonprofits.

What first drew you to the nonprofit community?

I was raised by a family who was active at church and modeled the importance of service to others. When I graduated from college, I took a part-time job at Salt Lake Boys and Girls Club working with the pre-teens. I enjoyed working with disadvantaged youth and felt like I was making a positive difference every day. Early in my marriage, we had some tragic situations that impacted our family. I decided that if I needed to work, I wanted to spend my time making the world a better place. The nonprofit community is a perfect fit for me and I have loved serving in this field for over 23 years. In Utah, we have over 5,800 501(c) 3 nonprofits working to make the world a better place. It is an honor to work with these amazing organizations every day.

What do you see as your biggest challenge at the UNA?

Helping people understand the complexity of the nonprofit community. Although nonprofits do have many similarities to running a small business, we also need to involve people in the importance of mission, or "engage hearts." Nonprofits also need to raise funds to accomplish their mission. Many don't sell products or services, so we also need to involve volunteers and request funds, or "engage pocketbooks and time."

Part of the work to help people understand the impact nonprofits make in the community is providing a clearer picture of the work being accomplished by the...