My local area has also broken away, but we have not set up an organisation to do so. We're just doing it as a Discord group. Add your issues to ours of being treated like we don't know how to write because we're not from the US. I am only doing NaNo to help support a friend, otherwise I'd just be in the Discord group.

Good on you and those involved in going on your own! An alternate is needed desperately, as NaNoWriMo is a great initiative... it's just thought of itself as above the writers who made it work in the first place.