Contact Name: Kate Van Waes, Ph.D.
Email: info@vanwaesconsulting.com
Phone: 406-794-3624
Address: Billings, MT USA
Van Waes Consulting specializes in fortifying nonprofit leadership and diagnosing and remediating nonprofit leadership challenges.
We do things a little differently because we’ve been on the other side of working with a consultant, coach, or trainer. We know what it means to feel like your money was spent on generic advice or training that doesn’t apply to your specific organization and situation (or, worse, was actively harmful advice). We also know how hard it can be to convince yourself as an organization that investing in outside help will be worth it when your budget is tight already.
And we know what it’s like to get dated or off-putting advice or training from a consultant who has completely bought into the work and philosophy of a single person or book, only to find out they can’t adapt to the current moment, have never been in your shoes, or just feel like a franchise that doesn’t specifically have your back.
When we work together, we are in-it-to-win-it with you. You, your team, and your organization are treated like the unique, nuanced, real people that you are. We’re a thought partner and your biggest cheerleader, and you are not an ATM.
Our clients stick with us for a reason.
See more about our approach and pricing here.
Follow Kate Van Waes on LinkedIN and Substack.
Services Specifically for Small Nonprofits
We believe that professional support should be accessible for small nonprofits too. (And we actually know what “small” means.)
coaching + training + consulting all-in-one: The (Not So) Lonely Leader Substack
With your paid subscription ($15/mo), each month you’ll get one article that covers a real-life challenge in nonprofit leadership with concrete, actionable advice.
You also get resources that wrap around that article and provide further capacity-building:
- Easily digestible 10-25 min recorded video micro-training on the topic of the month.
- When relevant, templates and other downloads relevant to the topic of the month and adaptable for your organization.
- Exclusive access to (Not So) Lonely Leader Subscriber Office Hours:
- two 30 min. sessions per month
- come ask me your burning questions about the topic of the month, and connect with fellow nonprofit leaders who can become an extension of your support system
- Access to archived articles and downloads.
- 6 – 10 chances per year to win a free 1:1 coaching session.
strategic planning
Packages start at $595.
Every package includes a 37-page comprehensive Strategic Planning Guide: Walks you through the same process we use when we provide full-suite external facilitation and research.
- Includes definitions, examples, tips and suggestions, important considerations, guidance for tailoring it all to your specific organization and circumstances,
- Think of it like a workbook/textbook for strategic planning.
- Includes Google Forms templates for board+staff and external stakeholder surveys (can easily be imported into Survey Monkey).
- Saves you the time and guess work it takes to comb through (often conflicting) articles and examples online.
- Gets your whole team (board + staff) on same page about the purpose, process, and end product of strategic planning.
- Helpful for newbies and experts alike
executive transition
Packages start at $340.
Every package includes a concise but comprehensive Executive Transition Guide:
- Walks you through the process, with suggested timelines, processes, and action item checklists, best practice in interviewing, etc.
- Delineates what is the outgoing Executive’s responsibility and what is the Board’s responsibility.
- You can reach out any time with questions for clarification if anything in the guide isn’t clear to you.
- You choose how you use your consultation hours.
Executive Coaching and Advising
Nonprofit leadership is hard, but it doesn’t have to be lonely. Let us carry some of that weight. Our coaching is a little different. We get down in the weeds with you where you need it. It’s not just coaching, it’s strategic advising from a trusted thought partner. Unique to every client. No generic playbook. Think of us like your invisible co-pilot.
- Annual Intensive: $12,650 ($12,015 for MNN members)
- 6 Months Intensive: $6,955 ($6605 for MNA members)
- Monthly Intensive: $1265/mo
-
-
- intensive model for full, well-rounded support
- four 1 hr sessions/mo + quick check-ins or going over time when needed
- collaboration between sessions via email, text, shared docs, etc.
- light project work included
- action notes after each session
-
- By the Session: $320/hr
-
-
- scheduled ad-hoc for when you don’t need more intensive support
- action item notes after each session
-
- Joint Intensive (Board Chair + Exec or Exec + Senior Leader): $425/hr or $1680/mo
- Group Session: $110/person/hr (3 person minimum, 10 person maximum)
- Open Office Hours: two 30 min sessions/mo with your $15/mo The (Not So) Lonely Leader Substack subscription
Nonprofit Leadership Training
Training that works in the real world, at your unique organization. For boards and staff. Workshop style, with group, pair, and individual activities. SMART commitments to carry learning forward. Virtual or in-person.
- 1 hr training + 15 min informal Q&A: $ 800
- 2hr training + 15 min informal Q&A: $ 1280
- half-day training + 30 min informal Q&A: $ 2240 ($2015 for MNA members)
- full day training + 30 min informal Q&A: $ 3920 ($3530 for MNA members)
topics covered
for the executive and senior staff
- building a healthy relationship with your board
- crisis, change, and conflict management
- delivering and receiving constructive feedback
- building a healthy team culture
- growing your team (and firing)
- work-life balance and preventing burnout
- time management habits for healthy teams
- serving as the first paid executive
- inheriting an organization that needs a lot of re-working
- balancing staff leadership & management, board collaboration, and public-facing duties & priorities
- (inquire about other or custom topics)
for the board
- maximizing the board-staff relationship
- board roles and responsibilities (refresher or onboarding)
- improving board engagement
- better board member onboarding
- board participation in fundraising
- strategic planning and budgeting
- strategic board recruitment and development
- best practices of effective boards for orgs similar to yours
- fixing toxic team culture
- better board meetings
- making use of committees
- hiring, firing, and managing the executive
- succession planning
- (inquire about other or custom topics)
for entry to mid-level staff
- growing toward promotion
- managing up
- receiving constructive feedback
- leadership at all levels
- your role in setting workplace culture
- (inquire about other or custom topics)
Strategic Planning
We help your organization to be its best and don’t just tell you what you want to hear. We don’t just facilitate – we guide and support, drawing on decades of experience. We believe that your team *must* be in the driver’s seat for your strategic plan to take root. (We offer 5-10% pro bono for MNA members, depending on project scope.)
- We provide full-service strategic planning, tailored to your needs and budget.
- There’s no boxed product when it comes to our full-service strategic planning.
- Our work can include everything from contextual market research and stakeholder interviews to guiding multi-day retreats where we workshop the Strategic Plan with your whole team.
- The goal is always a light and user-friendly 3-5 year Strategic Plan with 2-5 outcome-oriented strategic goals, one that remains nimble when unexpected losses (or wins) hit and has the buy-in of the whole staff and board.
See our website for more information.
Diagnosis and Remediation
When something is broken and you’re not sure why or how to fix it, we’re here to help you figure it out. You’re not alone, and we’ve seen it all — don’t be afraid to reach out for help. We’re honest about our expertise — if we’re not right for the job, we’ll let you know before you ever sign a contract. Pricing is unique to the project and is calculated by the total amount of time it will take us. We’ll work with you to determine a project scope that fits within your budget. (We offer 5-10% pro bono for MNA members, depending on project scope.)
challenge(s) you might be facing:
- high executive turnover
- mis-managed budget or sudden drastic budget cuts
- unexpected large gift for which you’re not prepared
- low staff morale
- low board engagement
- team culture issues (staff, board, or both)
- muddled or weak board governance
- transitioning from all volunteer to having paid staff
- lack of coherent strategy in board recruitment
- (any other nonprofit management, leadership, or governance issue)
what we do
(examples, only — scope of work is customized for your needs and budget)
- survey and/or interview staff, board, and other relevant stakeholders
- review and analyze ByLaws, Strategic Plan, Employee Handbook, and other documents
- diagnose the problem
- recommend, design, and facilitate a group discussion, retreat, training, coaching, or other first step in remediation
- provide clear recommendations for continued next steps that you can do with us, with other experts (where relevant), or on your own (we provide guidance for how to do it on your own)
- provide follow-up open office hours to talk through progress and roadblocks
Executive Transition
Plan for it now so that you’re ready when it’s time. With thoughtful collaboration between the executive and the board, it doesn’t have to be awkward. We’re there when engaging a recruiting firm isn’t financially feasible, or their wrap-around services are limited.
Our full service executive transition support is right for you if:
- Hiring a recruiting firm isn’t financially feasible (they usually charge 20-33% of the first year salary for the new ED + travel expenses + advertising fees).
- Your board and staff are too-short on time to manage the whole process internally, but you have the budget for external assistance, and you have enough internal capacity to manage some of the pieces that a recruiting firm would normally do.
full-service executive transition support: $15,285 ($13755 for MNA members)
- comprehensive Executive Transition Guide
- input from board, staff, and key stakeholders gathered and analyzed
- facilitated group discussion to go over results
- expert recommendations (and challenging assumptions — we tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear, which separates us from many recruiting firms)
- draft and finalize with you the position description, first 90 day plan, and first year plan
- design application and review process (the process, not the digital infrastructure)
- (you advertise the position, accept applications, and narrow candidate pool to 10-15)
- prep hiring committee for 1st round interviews
- (you conduct and record interviews)
- review interviews and recommend narrowed pool of 5-7
- prep hiring committee for 2nd round interview
- (you conduct and record interviews)
- review interviews and recommend narrowed pool of 2-3
- (you conduct and record interviews)
- review final round interviews and make recommendations
- prep hiring committee for board vote
- design and facilitate 90 minute board meeting to vote on final candidate
- (you make the hire)
- 1 mo joint executive-board chair coaching
- 2 mos executive coaching