How We Work

We provide training and capacity building to nonprofit organizations so they can increase their effectiveness and maximize impact. 

• We deliver the highest quality product. Our attention to detail in everything we do sets us apart and results in outputs our clients are proud to share. 

• We have decades of experience in conservation, animal welfare, and environmental advocacy. Our team started in the field and understands the passion, challenges, and daily realities of practitioners and field staff. 

• We are committed to accessible solutions.  This means cost is not a barrier to support, materials are clear and meaningful, and we create work spaces where all are empowered to participate. 

Our Story

Impact by Design began when we recognized that organizations are experiencing the same challenges over and over again.  This includes pressure to measure and report on impact, adapt to global social and economic conditions, maintain happy and healthy staff, and build effective operations.

With the majority of external support and resources being “pre-packaged”, expensive, or focused solely on defining solutions without guidance on implementing them, organizations need and deserve more. Too many organizations around the world cannot afford or access the critical support they need. 

Impact by Design is a nonprofit organization founded on a mission that focuses on building a deep understanding of teams’ needs and motivations, then designing tailored training and capacity building solutions that allow others to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. That was how we started and how we continue today - sharing a passion and commitment to mission-driven causes while finding innovative and lasting solutions to deliver impact for a better world. 

Our Leadership

Equity Statement

We believe in the power of people.

Diverse and inclusive teams allow us to better serve our clients and maximize our impact. Impact by Design is committed to fostering spaces, internally and externally, where all people feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued. When everyone can participate fully, especially those that have historically been underserved and underrepresented, we are more likely to achieve a better future for people, animals, and the environment.

Our Values

There are core values that underpin all of our efforts and allow us to build strong, productive partnerships and deliver the highest quality work. Our values are something that makes us truly unique as consulting partners.

Compassion: Caring is at the heart of our impact.

We care deeply for each other, our clients, and the work that we do for animals, people, and the environment. We are mindful of our impact on the planet and the toll that environmental work can take on us and our colleagues. To us, working with compassion means reducing our environmental footprint, providing our clients with the highest quality tools, actively listening to each other, and practicing self-care.

Balance: We are more than our work.

Our team and our work is strongest when we each have the space we need for our work and our personal lives. We commit to supporting each other through flexible policies, collaboration, encouraging wellness activities and boundary-setting for a productive work-life balance.

Trust: We work at the speed of trust.

Relationships drive our impact. With clients and each other we assume the best intentions, engage in open and honest dialogue, and hold ourselves accountable for our words, actions and work products. We value feedback as an opportunity for growth and stronger alignment because we know it makes our work stronger.

Joy: We bring joy to work.

We seek to build a workplace people love. We want clients to be excited to work with us. We anticipate new challenges and opportunities as avenues to have a meaningful impact on animals, the environment, and people. We share joy with each other and our clients through the sharing of stories, celebrations, laughter and gifs.

Learning: We evolve through learning.

The people, places and animals we seek to protect demand a transformative mindset. We believe that learning is at the heart of how we improve, innovate, and grow as individuals and as an organization. We foster curiosity, embrace experimentation and failure, seek out a variety of sources, and are committed to evolving our practices to help our clients achieve the impact our world needs.

Responsibility: We’re all in this together.

Work culture is a shared responsibility. Knowing that our individual decisions have ripple effects on other people, we own our role in living our values and shaping the experience of our organization for ourselves, our clients and our colleagues. We promote authenticity, openness, and honesty to help others understand our needs.