It Takes a Village. Amy Faugas, CNP Is Strengthening the One We Have.

Written by: Miles Bilka, CNP, Marketing Manager, Nonprofit Leadership Alliance

When families talk about diapers, they’re often talking about something much larger. Stability, health, or just the daily math of trying to keep a household afloat. For Certified Nonprofit Professional, Amy Faugas, CNP, these conversations are the core of her new role as Chief of National Member Services at the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN), a position she stepped into at a moment when families across the country are facing mounting financial pressures.

“All the resources, connections, and relationships that help families thrive… that social fabric… is fraying,” she told us. “I’m committed to helping weave it back together.“

Amy joined the organization in May, and almost immediately began planning NDBN’s 14th annual U.S. Conference on Poverty and Basic Needs held in Las Vegas, Nevada this past October. The gathering brought together leaders of National Diaper Bank Network and Alliance for Period Supplies’ member basic needs banks, volunteers, and community partners who are working every day to support families facing rising needs. It was the national village Amy speaks about so often, gathered in one place with a shared purpose.

A New Role

Amy stepped into her role as Chief of National Member Services during a period of growing economic instability in the U.S. Families are facing rising costs, a strained SNAP system, and difficult decisions about childcare, healthcare, food, and work. Diapers and period products are essential items, yet for many families they have become a recurring crisis.

According to The Diaper Check 2024: Diaper Insecurity among U.S. Children and Families:

• Forty-six percent of families with children under the age of three struggle to afford diapers.
• Sixty percent of low income families cannot consistently purchase enough diapers to keep their children clean and healthy.
• One in four parents report skipping meals in order to pay for diapers.
• Parents who face diaper insecurity are twice as likely to feel depressed nearly every day.
• One in four parents who do not have enough diapers miss work or school because they cannot leave their child at childcare.
• Thirty-five percent of families who experience diaper insecurity also struggle to afford period products.

In partnership with the Urban Institute, NDBN recently launched the first-ever diaper insecurity dashboard which allows advocates, communities, and elected officials to visualize the need in their own counties. The analysis shows that families with low to moderate incomes require nearly 4.8 billion diapers each year to close the national gap. The dashboard helps local leaders understand the scale of the challenge and identify opportunities to better support the families they serve. For example, it would take 3,757,800 diapers to ensure all families with young children and low-to-moderate incomes in Midland County, TX have enough diapers to keep their young children healthy.

In her new role, Amy works alongside more than 240 diaper banks and more than 140 period supply programs across the country. Many of these organizations distribute both diapers and period products. Together, they provide more than 240 million diapers, and 50 million period supplies each year.

These programs also rely on more than 2,005,000 volunteers whose combined service totals more than one million hours annually. “In a network like ours, the magic is not me,” Amy said. “The members make the impact. Our responsibility is to help them take their next step.”

Strengthening the Social Fabric

Amy’s understanding of community was formed by the small, ordinary moments that shaped her childhood. Neighbors who babysat without hesitation. Parents organizing shared rides to school and summer camps. Potlucks that fed entire groups. Thrift stores helping to meet practical needs. Faith communities offering meals, childcare, and a sense of belonging. These everyday moments shaped her belief that families thrive when the people and programs around them show up.

“I was raised by a really strong community,” she said. “Those touchpoints were the small pieces of the social fabric that held everything together.”

Years later, when she became a parent herself, that understanding of community deepened. Even with insurance, a flexible job, and stable housing, she still found the system challenging to navigate. Managing the ongoing cost of diapers and period products revealed just how quickly routine expenses can become a source of stress for families who are already stretched thin.

Her decade at Prevent Child Abuse America, where she worked prior to joining National Diaper Bank Network, cemented her understanding of what families need. She supported more than 600 home visiting programs across the country and saw the same pattern everywhere. Families do not fail. Systems do. Strong programs and strong leaders make the difference.

That belief continues to follow her into her work today at NDBN! In her new role as Chief of National Member Services, she is frequently invited to represent the network, amplify community voices, and help local programs strengthen their impact. At the Lane County Diaper Bank’s annual casino night fundraiser in Oregon this past September, she joined Executive Director, Teresa Baur to speak about what Lane County Families are facing and how local leaders can respond.

Experiences like this reinforce the idea that the social fabric is repaired not only through national strategies, but through local leaders, volunteers, and community members who continue to step in.

Throughout her day-to-day work, Amy often returns to one central truth: Strong systems depend on strong leaders. This is why she continues to lean on the foundation she built during her Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) training. The CNP credential prepared her to lead programs that withstand change, build community trust, and respond to growing needs with skill and compassion.

“The knowledge really matters,” she said. “Everything changes quickly, but the CNP gave me the grounding to grow.”

These skills prepare programs to withstand change and to support families with consistency and care. It is the same preparation thousands of CNPs carry into the sector each year. The village is still here. It continues to evolve. And leaders like Amy Faugas, CNP are helping it hold together, connection by connection!

Inspired by Amy’s story? Join the national movement of purpose-driven professionals with the Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential!

---

Did you enjoy this story?

Nonprofits are changing the world but who’s preparing their leaders? Since 1948, the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance has equipped Certified Nonprofit Professionals (CNPs) to lead with purpose and impact!