Agenda Design First, Then The Room
Whether it’s running a board retreat, facilitating a community meeting, or leading collaborative meetings, we’ve got you covered. Our approach begins with cooperative agenda design. We use a wide variety of tools including brainstorming, creative visioning, storytelling, structured decision-making, active listening, participatory action planning, and chocolate (yes, candy helps!)
Most bad meetings went badly before anyone sat down. We build realistic agendas that help you learn, get to consensus, and make decisions together, while having fun.
Contact us today for a free initial consultation.
Book a facilitator
Board Retreat Facilitation
The most common reasons to hire an outside facilitator for retreats: it frees the staff to participate, brings neutrality to hard conversations, and puts someone experienced in the room who knows how to get from talk to decisions.
Before the day
We talk to the chair, the executive director, and often a few board members, so the agenda is built around key goals and connection.
On the day
We run the room, keep time, make sure quiet people are heard, and loud people share space. We make sure hard conversations are productive, and that people enjoy their time together.
After the day
All sessions come with a summary document of key discussions, decisions made, and next steps. A post-retreat meeting ensures that clients are prepared to act on retreat results.
Meeting Facilitation And Training
We also help you with important meetings and staff training.
Strategic planning sessions
The facilitated part of a planning process, whether or not we write the plan. See strategic planning for the full process.
Community meetings
For public and stakeholder meetings where the people in the room do not agree, and where being an outsider is the whole point of hiring one.
Collaborative meetings
Cross organization work, coalitions, and partnerships, where nobody is in charge and somebody still has to run the meeting.
Board development training
Choose from a list of Board Development topics, or tell us what you would like to learn. Common workshops include Board Roles and Responsibilities, Board Recruitment, Building an Effective Board of Directors, and The Board and Staff Relationship.
Fundraising training
Choose from a list of Fundraising topics, from asking with confidence to building a grant calendar your team can keep up with.
Training your team to facilitate
With a background in adult learning and instructional design, we can teach your staff to effectively run their own meetings.
What Working With A Facilitator Looks Like
- 01Tell us what the meeting is for
We do an onboarding call to understand the session’s purpose, what information we need to gather beforehand, and who will be in the room.
- 02We get the info and design the agenda with you
If the group needs more information to make good decisions, we help gather it through interviews, focus groups, best practice sharing, or your own data. And we work closely with you to design an agenda that meets your needs.
- 03We run it
You participate. We bring our background in instructional design, conflict management, and facilitation to make sure everyone in the room is working well together.
- 04You get what came out of it
We synthesize all decisions, actions, owners, and next steps in a report to continue to move you forward.
A City And A Community That Had Stopped Listening To Each Other
A local government was doing great work, but every community meeting they hosted left both the City and residents frustrated and without a way forward.
We worked with the City to understand its goals, and with the community to understand their perspectives. Then, we designed a series of events to help both sides express their needs and plan to work together.
One participant said of the process: “That was the first time I felt listened to in 5 years. Finally, I think we have a plan for what’s next.”
What Our Clients Say
Kerri and her team at Purpose Aligned Consulting supported us through a tricky planning stage, and I am so glad we chose to work with her! I am also particularly happy we chose to work with a team that understood the importance of language access and cultural competency. I would absolutely rehire and recommend Purpose Aligned Consulting for future projects.
Purpose Aligned has been a superior partner to the RiNo Art District over the years. They have helped the district in everything from Strategic Planning to Board Development and Organizational Structure. Kerri is thorough, direct, and fun to work with. Her work has helped the district grow and adapt in our ever-changing environment while helping us plan for our future. She works well with internal staff, board members, stakeholders, and the greater community.
Kerri’s professional, high-level support has allowed me to dedicate time, energy, and resources to creating a strong foundation for DAVA. From fine-tuning fundraising and events planning to board training, we have used this time to strengthen our internal systems and build the overall capacity of our organization. The improvements I have seen in our org leadership in just one year are impressive.
Facilitation, Answered
Do you facilitate in person or remotely?
Both. Some activities are better done in person, but we have lots of experience designing and facilitating participatory sessions online.
How far ahead do we need to book a retreat?
As early as you can, because the information gathering and design work take time and we want to do this right.
Our board does not agree about something important. Is that a problem?
This is a great reason to hire a facilitator rather than a reason not to. Kerri has an MA in conflict resolution and is a certified mediator. When disagreements get surfaced in a focused, facilitated manner, they are much easier to resolve.
Can you train our staff instead of facilitating for us?
Yes. We deliver board and staff training fit to your organization, and teach teams how to run great meetings on their own.
What topics can you train on?
Choose from a list of common nonprofit management topics, or let us know what you would like to learn. If it is outside what we do well, we will say so.
Explore Our Other Services
Grant Writing
Prospect research, writing, coaching, and submission. Showcase your good work and increase your budget.
Learn more →Strategic Planning
Realistic, adaptive plans you’ll actually use. Learn, grow, and have fun doing it!
Learn more →Program Development
Strengthen what works or create new programs.
Learn more →Meet the Team
The grant writers, facilitators, and strategists behind the work.
Learn more →