Hopa Mountain

"Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer and the staff and volunteers at Hopa Mountain are extremely passionate about supporting this region’s rural and tribal communities. Their work aims to strengthen the people and communities, guide them towards opportunities they might not be aware of, and assist with tools to achieve great things. We can’t express enough how great it has been to partner with Hopa Mountain."

- Renée Sippel-Baker, Chief Operating Officer, MYSTERY RANCH

Hopa Mountain invests in rural and tribal citizen leaders, adults and youth, who are improving education, ecological health, and economic development. Citizen leaders are those individuals who step forward when they recognize that their community needs help. By providing these leaders with training, mentoring, networking, and financial resources, Hopa Mountain works to create much-needed opportunities for advancing the well-being of rural and tribal communities.

In 2003, Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer co-founded Hopa Mountain, with a commitment to work in support of the hopes and dreams of local leaders in rural and tribal communities. "Hopa" is the Old English word for "hope," meaning what is desired is also possible. The mission of Hopa Mountain is rooted in the principle that the local people have within themselves the strength and wisdom to bring about community change. This mission was inspired by the broader philosophy of Myles Horton that has been implemented for over 80 years at Highlander Folk School. This philosophy challenges individuals and organizations to work toward creating a world as it "ought to be" rather than on how it is presently.

MYSTERY RANCH has partnered with Hopa Mountain for several years, they have supported us through donating backpacks and computers to rural and tribal leaders, and most recently, hundreds of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is a privilege for me to work every day at Hopa Mountain. In response to COVID-19, we have reorganized many of Hopa Mountain’s programs and refocused our work on food and medical supplies for rural and tribal communities." 

- Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Executive Director, Hopa Mountain 

By becoming a member of Hopa Mountain, you will invest in rural and tribal leaders that are fundamentally shifting what is possible in their hometowns. Your gift will help to provide parents with early reading resources, enable emerging leaders to attend college, support innovative citizen leader projects, and build stronger nonprofit organizations. Your generosity will ignite hope in others.

We are committed to supporting our rural and tribal nonprofit partners as they have reorganized too to meet the immediate needs of their communities. It has been a humbling response and, while challenging, has also brought out the best of humanity. There is a lot to do.

To learn more about Hopa Mountain, and how you can get involved visit Hopamountain.org.