Nonprofit Organizations

Nonprofits are navigating so much right now. Staff is tired, boards are stretched, and the pressure to justify every dollar spent has become a real operational challenge.

At the same time, the work still needs to happen.

Collaborate Consulting works with nonprofits because this is exactly the kind of moment where outside support can make a real difference. We can help you think through what actually matters right now, build the internal movement to achieve it, and come out of the process with something you can use.

We understand the financial pressures. We build engagements that are scoped realistically. And we have worked with nonprofits across housing, health, legal services, philanthropy, arts, and advocacy long enough to know that one size doesn’t fit all!

Curiosity over judgment

· Meet your organization where it is

· Real conversations, real change

· Curiosity over judgment · Meet your organization where it is · Real conversations, real change ·

Core Services

Strategic Planning

A strategic plan is only useful if it tells you what to actually do when things get complicated. We design and lead planning processes that are inclusive, disciplined, and built to produce a document people can govern with. That means structured stakeholder engagement, honest synthesis, and a final plan that makes clear choices rather than listing everything at once. We have led full multi-phase planning processes for organizations navigating governance transitions, membership complexity, and uncertain funding environments, as well as focused retreats for organizations that need a reset without the full build-out.
Board Development and Governance

We work with boards that are in transition, newly constituted, or struggling to stay in their lane. That includes orientation and role clarification, structured exercises that help board members distinguish their organizational responsibilities from the interests of their home institutions, and facilitation that supports real decision-making rather than just discussion.
Identity-Specific Inclusion Training

Workshops on LGBTQ+ inclusion, transgender topics, allyship, neurodiversity, and intercultural communication. Sessions are built around real scenarios and participant practice, not lecture. Participants leave with specific tools they can use the following week. We design custom sessions for HR teams, managers, board members, frontline staff, and ERGs.
Leadership Training and Coaching

Individual coaching for executive directors and senior leaders, and facilitated leadership development for management teams. We focus on communication under pressure, conflict navigation, decision-making clarity, and the kind of self-awareness that makes leaders more effective when things get hard. The approach is direct and practical. We don't shame people into growth.
Events

Panels, workshops, and facilitated conversations tied to moments your community cares about: Pride Month, LGBTQ+ History Month, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Nonbinary Awareness Week, and more. These are designed to be substantive and specific, not ceremonial.
Conflict Resolution and Culture Work

Facilitated dialogue during moments of organizational tension. Listening sessions when staff trust has eroded. Communication training for teams working across difference in role, identity, or organizational culture. We can hold both the equity conversation and the interpersonal one at the same time.
Community Needs Assessments

Survey design, focus groups, stakeholder interviews, and written synthesis reports. We have led this work in rural, multilingual, and politically polarized communities. We designed and facilitated the Columbia Gorge Regional Community Health Needs Assessment, which engaged 1,279 residents and included eight listening sessions with medically underserved populations across seven counties. We led a youth needs assessment for YouthThink of Wasco County that included nine listening sessions with 174 middle and high school-aged youth, in a community where political polarization required careful, neutral facilitation throughout. The findings from both processes shaped real organizational decisions.

How We Work

We carry as much of the design and synthesis load as possible so your leadership time is focused where it matters most. We communicate transparently about what we're hearing, including the things that are uncomfortable. And we stay with the work until it's actually finished.

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Nonprofit Testimonials

“Trystan is one of the most skilled facilitators that I have ever met, in over 20+ years of doing social justice work. He comes to the work with not just knowledge and ability but also humor, passion and great integrity. He is a skilled story teller and extremely present as a facilitator. I would recommend him for trainings, coaching, strategic planning, organizational development, social media prowess - basically anything your organization needs.”

— Nancy Haque, Executive Director, Basic Rights Oregon
“Trystan worked with key stakeholders at SEIU 503 to customize a trans education training specifically for our union staff. He trained committee members on the content so they were able to facilitate the session as well. As a leader, facilitator, and project manager, Trystan excels. We loved working with him and would recommend him to any organization seeking to increase its trans competency!”

— Lisa Hubbard, SEIU 503
“I booked Trystan as a keynote speaker for the Out & Equal Workplace Summit. I could not more enthusiastically recommend him. He is a profoundly beautiful storyteller that inspired our attendees into action as authentic, inclusive leaders. The conference was a corporate one for F500 companies and Trystan navigated his time with us with professionalism and expertise. He was a joy to work with and is really one of the best speakers we ever booked.”

— Rachel Rubin, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
“Trystan is awesome to work with. Whether he's presenting to city employees or teenagers, he is engaging, funny, and warm. I can always count on him to be a great collaborator, a prompt and thorough colleague, and an entertaining facilitator. My clients are always happy when I send Trystan to train them!”

— Dominic Lopez, Basic Rights Oregon
“Trystan helped build our awareness and knowledge of gender in our workplace and in our communities. If your objective is to deepen your knowledge and understanding of gender and diversity, I highly recommend you connect with Trystan. You and your team will be all the better for it.”

– Eugene Bell, Account Manager at Seniorlink
“Trystan has a gift for sharing important topics and potentially challenging feedback in a collaborative, compassionate way, focusing on connecting with both the head and the heart.”

— Jennifer Griffith, One Community Health
“I would be hard-pressed to give a stronger recommendation to anyone, because Trystan is just terrific! We were able to work together when I was on staff at Basic Rights Oregon, and would regularly co-facilitate Fair Workplace Project trainings, which focused on trans inclusion in the workplace. We trained to a wide range of audiences, such as staff at a Portland agency serving people experiencing homelessness, attendees at an American Federation of Teachers conference, employees of several Oregon school districts, and even a tech startup in the heart of downtown Portland. Trystan is a gifted facilitator, able to introduce big concepts in ways that are accessible to any audience. He is a professional who puts great thought and care into knowing his content and refining what works and what needs changing. While there are many consultants who can be trained on a scripted presentation, Trystan stands apart in how he is comfortable sharing from his own experience, and how he can adapt on the spot to unplanned for needs of any audience. No one would leave a training where Trystan is facilitating feeling embarrassed for not knowing, because Trystan meets people where they are at. Again, I couldn't offer a stronger recommendation for Trystan as a trainer to literally any group of people, no matter their level of prior experience, who are in need of a little boost in their trans competency.”

- A.J. Mendoza, Portland Jobs With Justice