NONPROFITS & ASSOCIATIONS
The mission matters. So do the people delivering it.
For mission-driven organizations that invest in their people as seriously as they invest in their mission.
Whether you are developing your staff, facilitating a board retreat, building conference programming for your members, or exploring a culture assessment — Austin brings the same honesty, energy, and care to every engagement.
Choose Your Program Type
SPEAKING PROGRAMS
Keynote Tailored to Your Industry
Every keynote is customized to reflect your organization, your people, and what you want them to walk away with — and built around clear outcomes so you can measure impact and build on the experience.
MOST REQUESTED
The Balancing Act: Nonprofit & Association Edition
Mission-driven work is some of the most meaningful work there is. It is also some of the most relentless.
Nonprofit and association professionals pour themselves into work that matters — often at real personal cost. The culture of giving more, doing more, and sacrificing more is worn as a badge of honor in mission-driven organizations. And it works, until it does not.
In The Balancing Act, Austin creates an honest, energizing conversation about what happens when the people most committed to the mission start running out of the energy it takes to deliver it — and what sustainable, mission-driven leadership actually looks like in practice. Through humor, personal storytelling, and grounded strategies, this program helps nonprofit and association professionals reconnect with why they started, reclaim the capacity to keep going, and build habits that protect both the person and the work they have given themselves to.
Here is what does not get said enough in this sector: the people you serve are often navigating many of the same pressures you are. Overcommitment. The inability to say no. The feeling that rest has to be earned. When the people delivering the mission are not sustainable, neither is the mission.
This is not just about taking care of yourself. It is about what your organization becomes possible of doing when you do.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Participants leave knowing how to
Recognize the patterns and habits that lead to burnout in mission-driven work — and understand why the culture of giving more makes them so difficult to see
Develop person-first practices that protect personal wellbeing while honoring genuine commitment to the organization's mission and the communities it serves
Reconnect with the purpose that brought them to this work in the first place
Build practical strategies for setting limits, asking for support, and modeling sustainable leadership across their team and organization
Leave with a concrete personal commitment for showing up more fully — for themselves, their colleagues, and the mission they serve
WORKS WELL FOR
Annual conference keynotes, staff development days, association professional development programs, executive director roundtables, and leadership retreats
CUSTOM PROGRAM
Need a different topic for your organization? No Problem!
We can brainstorm the best keynote program to best meet your staff and members where they are at. Building a program together can help drive deeper impact!
“Always let your conscience be your guide.”
Pinnochio
WORKSHOPS & RETREATS
Programs Built Around the Work Your Group is Already Doing
Every program is fully interactive and designed so participants leave with practical tools and shared language they can bring back to their team, board, or conference right away. Programs are available as standalone sessions, half-day experiences, or full-day formats.
WORKSHOP OR RETREAT → STRATEGIC PLANNING
Charting the Course
Mission-driven organizations are at their best when their board and staff are aligned around the same direction. This strategic planning workshop helps your team or board build a shared roadmap — grounded in your values, clear on your priorities, and realistic about what it takes to get there.
Charting the Course is a facilitated strategic planning workshop built for nonprofit and association staff teams, boards of directors, and leadership. Whether you are entering a new fiscal year, navigating an executive transition, working to align your board after a period of growth, or preparing for a strategic planning process — this workshop gives your team the structure and space to get on the same page together.
The outcome is not a plan that gets filed away. It is shared clarity around where you are going, why it matters, and what your team's role is in getting there.
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Pre-work intake to understand your team's current state, priorities, and goals
Facilitated team building, skill development programming, and planning sessions
Goal-setting and priority alignment across the team
Team culture and norms conversation
Strategic roadmap with clear ownership and decision-making structures
Post-session debrief and follow-up summary
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PARTICIPANTS LEAVE KNOWING HOW TO:
Clarify your organization's mission, shared values, and strategic priorities in language your whole team can use and act on
Identify your highest-impact goals and the specific commitments that will move you forward
Build alignment across your board, staff, or both around direction, roles, and shared accountability
Leave with a concrete roadmap your team helped build and is genuinely invested in following
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Audience: Nonprofit staff teams, association staff, board and staff combined sessions, conference workshop attendees
Works well for: Staff development days, board retreats, annual conferences, leadership institutes
WORKSHOP → TEAM DYNAMICS
Lead with Trust
High-performing teams — whether staff, board, or both — are built on trust.
In mission-driven organizations, the stakes of getting culture wrong are high. When people don't feel safe to speak up — or don't trust the people around them — the mission suffers alongside the team. Lead with Trust gives your staff or board a concrete framework for assessing where they are and building from there with honesty and intention.
Participants leave with a shared understanding of what trust requires, what erodes it, and a concrete action plan for building a stronger, more psychologically safe environment.
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PARTICIPANTS LEAVE KNOWING HOW TO:
Understand what psychological safety is — and what it isn't — and why it matters for organizational performance and mission delivery
Assess your team's current trust dynamics with honesty and specificity
Identify the specific behaviors that build — and quietly erode — trust within your team or board
Create a concrete action plan for strengthening your organizational culture
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Audience: Nonprofit staff teams, association staff, board and staff combined sessions, conference workshop attendees
Works well for: Staff development days, board retreats, annual conferences, leadership institutes
WORKSHOP → TEAM DYNAMICS
Say What You Mean
Communication is at the center of every nonprofit and association — across your staff team, your board, your members, and the communities you serve. This workshop helps people communicate with more clarity, intention, and care in every direction.
Great communication is more than choosing the right words — it's about knowing your style, reading the room, and making sure your message actually lands. This interactive workshop explores how communication styles shape team dynamics, board relationships, and organizational results.
Whether your team is navigating change, working to strengthen board-staff relationships, or building a culture where honest dialogue is the norm, Say What You Mean gives participants the shared language and practical tools to get there.
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PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
Identify your personal communication style and how it shapes your professional relationships across your organization
Recognize and adapt to the communication styles that show up across your staff, board, and member community
Navigate difficult conversations — with colleagues, board members, and stakeholders — with more confidence and less friction
Build shared communication practices that strengthen trust and effectiveness across your team
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Audience: Nonprofit staff teams, association staff, board and staff combined sessions, conference workshop attendees
Works well for: Staff development days, board retreats, annual conferences, leadership institutes
CUSTOM PROGRAMMING
Don’t See What You Need?
Every organization is different. If your team's goals call for a custom program, Austin builds workshops around your specific challenges, culture, and context. Below are the topic areas most commonly requested — or start a conversation about building something from scratch.
Below are just a handful of the topic areas most commonly requested — mix and match, or start a conversation about something new.
Personal Development: Understanding Yourself as a Leader, Defining Your Core Values, Developing Your Leadership Style, Navigating Conflict, Giving and Receiving Feedback, Emotional Intelligence at Work
Organizational & Culture Development: Mission, Vision & Values Alignment, Goal Setting & Strategic Planning, Change Management, Running Effective Meetings LGBTQ+ Inclusion & Belonging, Board & Staff Relationship Building, Reimagining Your Marketing and Recruitment Strategy
Conference & Member Programming: Communication & Collaboration Skill, Building Organizational or Chapter Culture, Strategic Thinking for Emerging Leaders. Belonging & Inclusion at Work, Custom Keynotes & Opening Sessions
“People will never be replaced by machines. In the end, life and business are about human connections.”
Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation
CONSULTING & ASSESSMENT
Diagnosing the Challenges and Creating Strategies for Change
Strong organizations are built with intention. This assessment gives you an honest, structured look at your culture, your team dynamics, and what's actually shaping how your people and board show up — so you can build from clarity rather than assumption.
TEAM ASSESSMENT
Organizational & Cultural Assessment
A structured assessment of your organization's culture, communication patterns, and team or board health. Designed for nonprofit leadership teams, executive directors, association staff, and boards of directors who want honest, actionable insights they can actually use.
Available at three levels based on your scope, timeline, and what you need to walk away with.
Tier 1: Foundation
Surveys, one team debrief session, and a written summary report
Tier 2: Comprehensive
Surveys, individual stakeholder interviews, full analysis, and a presentation of findings
Tier 3: Culture Deep Dive
Full assessment plus facilitated action planning and 90-day implementation support
Full offering details available upon request.
READY TO GET STARTED?
Let's talk about what your group needs.
Whether you are booking a workshop for your staff, planning a board retreat, developing programming for your annual conference, or exploring a culture assessment — it starts with a conversation.