Non-profit leaders do it all—and so do we.

Our team is passionate about education. We work hard to provide inclusive, accessible, and exciting non-profit training opportunities, developed with reference to the following guiding principles: 

• Learning and teaching are collaborative. We know we have expertise to offer, but we’re not the only experts in the room. 

• Challenging learners is helpful. Teaching learners to challenge themselves is necessary. 

• Training materials are consistent, but each facilitator brings a unique perspective informed by their lived experience. Not every facilitator will be a fit for every group.

This may look like:

• Facilitating the existing suite of Ivy + Dean Consulting training sessions. 

• Developing new Ivy + Dean Consulting training sessions based on your skills and experience, backed by research. 

  • This includes developing facilitation guides, engagement activities, slide content, and resource lists. 

• Developing custom training sessions that meet the unique needs of a diversity of clients.

We’re not DEI Consultants. Instead, we weave equity and anti-oppression into all aspects of our work. As a white-owned firm, we take this commitment seriously, aiming to recognize the ways in which non-profit practices can be harmful and exploitative. We work with our clients to incorporate anti-racist, anti-colonial, queer-informed, and feminist approaches into each of our projects. Additionally, when we’re confident we’re the right fit, we take on targeted equity work, often focused on the needs of the 2SLGBTQ+, disability, and neurodiverse communities.

This may look like:  

• Integrating anti-oppression and equity into each of our service areas by, for example, developing equitable governance policies, encouraging the adoption of consensus-based decision making models, or prioritizing perspectives that are often undervalued during community consultation. 

• Helping non-profit organizations integrate equity or anti-oppression into their programs.

• Identifying or addressing inequities within organizations by providing equity audits.

• Offering targeted training sessions that focus on anti-oppression and equity.

Evaluation and sustainability are at the heart of our work in supporting strong non-profit organizations. We support clients in:

• Determining robust evaluative strategies to support team accountability and understand when they’ve met their goals, and have comprehensive data available to inform ongoing decisions.

• Focusing on long-term sustainability by resisting the reactive nature of non-profit organizations in favour of thoughtful, proactive approaches to planning for a stable future. 

This may look like:

• Performing a third-party evaluation of an organization’s programs or projects, including:

  • reviewing client-identified anticipated program/project outcomes and/or deliverables;

  • developing evaluation frameworks or plans;

  • creating evaluation tools (when necessary);

  • collecting evaluative data (when necessary);

  • analyzing both client-provided and collected data against outcomes or deliverables;

  • identifying recommendations, promising practices, and lessons learned 

  • writing and presenting evaluative reports.

• Developing evaluative tools or approaches for clients to use internally.

• Training clients on how to properly do evaluation work.

Creating program or project sustainability plans based on an organization’s capacity and resources.

We love bringing people together! Our team is skilled at facilitating meetings and gatherings, and speaking to groups (big and small). We develop custom approaches that ensure audiences are captivated and contributing. We’re adept at engaging communities through targeted and/or public activities that ensure our clients understand the important perspectives of those they serve.  

This may look like:

• Facilitating meetings and gatherings, including:

  • developing an understanding of client goals in meetings or gatherings;

  • identifying appropriate activities to accomplish goals;

  • preparing facilitation material, including client-facing or participant-facing materials;

  • supporting with logistics of meetings and gatherings;

  • facilitating or co-facilitating groups of all sizes (from two to three people to hundreds);

  • providing summary report(s) on the outcomes from meetings and gatherings.

• Public speaking, including:

  • creating engaging content for diverse audiences, including developing facilitation guides and slide content, etc.; 

  • communicating ideas with clarity and in a manner appropriate for the topic and client.

• Undertaking community or public engagement activities related to project or client needs, such as: 

  • attending events and talking with participants/stakeholders;

  • tabling or networking with clients to promote project aims or objectives.

We’re HUGE governance nerds—have you heard our CEO collects vintage copies of Robert’s Rules of Order? We support clients in all things governance and infrastructure development. This may look like supporting your Board of Directors in determining approaches to governance or assisting with all aspects of board meetings, undertaking our values-based policy development process, or working with leadership to translate your practices into documents for ongoing reference. 

This may look like:

• Advising on and/or creating appropriate governance structures or approaches for clients based on their needs. 

  • This can include developing unique rules of order for custom governance processes.

• Developing or amending organizational bylaws or articles.

• Undertaking our values-informed policy development process, including:

  • preparing for and hosting policy visioning sessions with clients and/or organizational stakeholders;

  • creating policy frameworks;

  • writing new or adapting existing policy that considers all aspects of an organization and adherence to relevant legislation;

    • this includes collaborating with clients while remaining steadfast in recommending wise policy practices.

• Developing procedures and/or supporting clients in writing procedures, aligned with client policies or existing (but undocumented) practices.

• Understanding and applying equity-informed approaches to governance.

• Providing broad support to boards, such as coordinating and chairing meetings using appropriate rules of order (e.g. Robert’s Rules, Consensus-based Rules, Bourinot’s Rules, Martha’s Rules, etc.), evaluating board practices, establishing committees, minute-taking, etc.

• Offering targeted training sessions that focus on governance and policy development.

Working in the non-profit sector doesn’t have to suck! We support clients in developing intentional human resource practices from building appropriate organizational structures (or restructuring) to adopting progressive supervision methods to knowing when and why to terminate employees and more. And, we ensure organizational leadership is confident in having candid conversations with employees and knowing that healthy conflict is necessary for team growth. 

This may look like:

• Completing workplace culture audits to understand how employees experience their colleagues, supervisors, and the workplace-at-large. 

• Making informed recommendations related to organizational structure and supporting restructuring, including providing guidance on approaches to change management.

• Providing third party hiring and/or supervision support, including:

  • Building hiring and supervisory processes. 

  • Developing hiring and supervision materials. 

  • Supporting candidate interviews and providing hiring recommendations. 

  • Hosting employee check-ins. 

  • Completing employee probationary and/or annual reviews. 

  • Making termination recommendations (with the support of a lawyer). 

• Offering targeted training sessions that focus on non-profit human resources.

Note: Ivy + Dean Consulting does not offer recruitment (or “headhunting”) services. Instead, we provide support for the administration of hiring processes, which may include hands-on work in facilitating interviews and negotiations with candidates.

Thinking strategically may not be second nature. We’re here to help! Our strategic planning process includes assessment, priority and goal setting, and ongoing guidance to help your team think strategically. We don’t want your strategic plan to sit on a shelf—that’s why we’ll make sure you have legacy materials that outline all aspects of the strategic planning process and provide workplanning support so that you’re confident in taking action. We’d also love to help you develop new or revised guiding materials (vision, mission, mandate, and values), help your board understand their strategic role, or even provide fractional leadership support for organizations managing unexpected transitions. 

This may look like:

• Supporting clients in developing their guiding materials (vision, mission, mandate, and values).

• Conduct organizational assessments, such as SWOT or PESTLE analysis.

• Supporting clients through change management processes.

• Facilitating our strategic planning process, including:

  • reviewing client materials to develop an understanding of the organization;

  • leading, if applicable, a strategic planning working group that may comprise of client stakeholders;

  • developing strategic planning facilitation material;

  • facilitating a strategic planning process with a client’s board and staff;

  • ensuring an understanding of the organization’s guiding materials;

  • supporting clients in bridging findings from organizational assessments to establishing strategy;

  • establishing strategic priorities and SMART goals;

  • writing a strategic planning process report;

  • developing a public-facing strategic plan for the client.

• Supporting clients with the implementation of strategic plans, including:

  • assisting with work planning and execution;

  • identifying metrics and key performance indicators associated with strategic goals;

  • creating operational plans.

• Providing fractional Executive Director support.

• Offering targeted training sessions that focus on leadership and strategy.

Non-profit leadership can be lonely. We’ve been there! We offer mentorship and coaching to Executive Directors, board members, and any other senior personnel in need of one-on-one or group support. What’s the difference between mentorship and coaching?

• Mentorship allows a member of our team to bring their wisdom and guidance to sessions, sharing what they’ve learned and supporting clients in actively determining solutions to complex problems. 

• Coaching allows clients to bring their knowledge and expertise to sessions, trusting that they’re best positioned to solve their unique challenges. A member of our team is there to guide coaching clients in finding their own solutions. 

This may look like:

• Hosting intake sessions to understand the client’s needs and mentorship or coaching goals. 

• Developing clear mentorship and coaching plans. 

• Hosting ongoing mentorship and coaching sessions, and developing complementary homework and resources to support clients. 

• Supporting clients in being accountable to achieving their established goals. 

• Providing on-call support to clients who prefer to have a casual connection to tap whenever challenges arise.

You’ve got questions? We’ve got answers! Whether through formal or community-based research, or consultation with your community, let us get you the information you need to make informed decisions about your work. Our team is experienced in multiple research and consultation methodologies, with a special focus on ethical practices that prioritize informed consent.

This may look like:

• Creating a research or community consultation plan.

• Developing research or exploratory questions to guide research or consultation projects.

• Identifying appropriate research methodologies or community outreach approaches that will contribute to answers to research or exploratory questions.

• Developing research instruments and/or consultation tools, such as surveys, focus group guides, interview guides, or observational guides.

• Conducting primary research or consultation activities.

• Reviewing secondary (data collected from someone else) and tertiary (summaries or findings from someone else) research, including conducting literature or material reviews.

• Analyzing or reviewing all kinds of data (primary, secondary, tertiary), either by identifying common trends or ideas, or conducting thematic analysis.

• Preparing recommendations or strategic options based on research or consultation outcomes.

• Writing or presenting reports about key findings, insights from research or consultations, and resulting recommendations.