HYANNIS, MA – CCYP announced the launch of the Civic Engagement Field Guide, a comprehensive new resource mapping the nonprofits of Cape Cod and the Islands. The guide is designed for the next generation of leaders stepping into roles across the region’s business, nonprofit, and civic sectors, and arrives at a moment when Cape Cod’s civic infrastructure is undergoing a generational transfer.

Across the region, boards are searching for members, executive directors are retiring, and family foundations are passing to next-generation trustees. The people positioned to step into these roles — year-round residents in their 30s and 40s, seasonal professionals with deep ties, and new contributors ready to invest in what comes next — often have no working map of the civic terrain.

“There’s a widening gap between the leadership Cape Cod is losing and the leadership it has not yet prepared,” said Emily Wagner, CCYP Executive Director. “People want to engage. They just don’t know where to start, who’s doing what, or where they’re needed most. This field guide is that map.”

Unlike a traditional directory, the Civic Engagement Field Guide is organized around the work itself — the sectors, communities, and pressure points shaping the region — rather than an alphabetical list of organizations. The Guide is part of CCYP’s broader strategic commitment to preparing emerging leaders across Cape Cod and the Islands.

“You can’t pour yourself into a place you don’t understand,” said Casey Chatelain, president of CCYP’s Board of Directors. “This guide gives people the working knowledge they need to show up meaningfully — on a board, in a volunteer role, as a donor, or simply as an engaged neighbor.”

Beyond networking and professional development, CCYP is focused on civic orientation and helping the region’s institutions find the next generation of community leaders.

The Civic Engagement Field Guide is available now. Visitors access the map by answering a 1-minute survey on how the public perceives our local nonprofit sector. CCYP will present the results at this year’s Philanthropy Day, including data you won’t find anywhere else.

About Cape Cod Young Professionals

CCYP prepares the region’s workforce and emerging leaders by building the relationships, skills, and civic understanding that sustain the Cape across generations. CCYP creates belonging across sectors and generations, builds the capacity and civic understanding that leadership requires, and brokers the invitations to responsibility that help emerging leaders use the power they already have.

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