The ThrivingNonprofitLeader
Aligning Strategy, Culture, Story, and Fundraising for Impact
The ThrivingNonprofit Leader
Aligning Strategy, Culture, Story, and Fundraising for Impact
Are you ready to make a bigger impact and feel more confident as a leader? This course is designed for nonprofit professionals like you who want to align strategy, culture, storytelling, and fundraising to fuel both your mission and personal well-being.
Join nonprofit strategist Ellen Christine as she shares practical tools to build stronger donor relationships, create an inspiring culture, craft stories that move people to act, and tackle high-pressure moments with ease.
Ellen Christine Ruiters
Ellen is a nonprofit strategist and leadership coach with over 20 years of experience helping organizations raise more than $1 billion while transforming their missions into actionable impact. Known for her expertise, resilience, and empathy, Ellen empowers nonprofit leaders to align strategy, culture, storytelling, and fundraising for both organizational success and personal well-being.
As the founder of Ellen Christine Consulting, she has guided leaders around the world to create thriving organizations that drive meaningful change.
Course Guide
The Thriving Nonprofit Leader Course Guide is packed with practical tools, templates, and actionable insights, designed to help you implement the strategies covered in the course. From donor engagement scorecards to storytelling frameworks and culture alignment exercises, the guide provides step-by-step resources to support your journey as a nonprofit leader.
Lesson 1 Fundraising
Fundraising is more than just asking for money – it’s about creating partnerships that genuinely fulfill donors and fuel your mission. Here, Ellen will introduce a step-by-step process for major donor cultivation that moves beyond transactional giving.
Lesson 2 Mindset
Rewiring your mindset as a nonprofit leader may the secret to unlocking the joy you need to sustain your organization through challenges. Learn how to harness your mindset and train your brain to learn to love the difficulties, as well as the major victories.
Lesson 3 Story
A story well-told is a story that moves people to act. This session reveals a four-step storytelling model that goes beyond sharing statistics, helping you create memorable stories that connect with hearts and inspire commitment.
Lesson 4 Culture
Culture is the unseen force that fuels your organization, creating the conditions where both people and missions thrive. In this final module, I’ll introduce the CORE approach—a framework that translates core values into observable, celebrated actions.
Lesson 5 Making the Ask
Sitting down to ask a major donor for a large gift can be intimidating. Ellen will share some strategies for tackling this moment that will benefit not just nonprofit executive directors, but anyone dealing with those high pressure, and often taboo, moments.