CONSULTATION

Our team of consultants can provide a wide range of services and support to groups and organizations looking to make a change and grow, including but not limited to the following:
 

• Nonprofit start-ups and family foundations

• Strategic planning

• Board development, orientation, and training + other capacity-building services

• Operational development/governance

• Program design, sustainability, and evaluation

• Policies and procedural design

• Growth and expansion planning

• Designing and generating capital campaigns

• Philanthropy, fundraising, and funding diversification

• Grant writing, management, and reporting

• Storytelling and public speaking strategies

• Communications and marketing planning

• Staff and leadership conflict resolution

• Hiring, retaining and managing staff with lived experiences

• Volunteer coordination programs

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COACHING

Leadership coaching is becoming an essential component of maintaining and growing strong, sustainable organizations and more effective activists. When we take care of our aspiring and established leaders, studies show better overall organizational culture, staff retention, and increased productivity. 

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Our founder, Chelsea Laliberte Barnes, started her career as an activist who, at 23 years old, experienced the loss of her brother at a young age to an accidental drug overdose. As she launched and built her nonprofit organization into a movement, she became a community leader without even knowing it. She credits her mentors for developing her into a compassion-focused, mission-driven, impact-producing leader. Now, as a Licensed Social Worker specializing in trauma-informed, strengths-focused approaches, she serves as a mentor to other activists working to accomplish their unique goals. 

COORDINATION

Community Coalition Coordination

Advocacy coalitions are crucial to addressing community issues with data-driven solutions and executing successful local initiatives and public policy campaigns. 

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The CLB team is seasoned in designing, launching, managing, and growing community coalitions that make a difference. No matter what stage of a coalition's evolution you are in, we can help with the following:

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• Membership recruitment, retainment, and communication

• Coordinating coalition meetings

• Implementing programs and initiatives

• Designing sustainability plans

• Managing data collection and reporting for funders

• Administering a comprehensive marketing, communications, and public relations program

• Managing day-to-day marketing strategies, i.e., social media, email marketing, and appeal letters

• Training, event, and conference organization and management 

• Developing membership programs

• Identifying and developing leaders 

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Public Policy Advocacy Coordination

Our team has helped write, pass, and implement over 25 state and federal laws focused on crucial public health and safety issues. Combined, these efforts have resulted in death and hardship prevention and improved quality of life for millions across Illinois and the United States. Through our nonprofit advocacy partner SAFE Illinois (Safe Access For Everyone), we specialize in the following:

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• Compiling and utilizing data effectively

• Drafting legislation and regulations

• Identifying optimal legislative champions and sponsors

• Formulating a campaign action plan

• Public education and awareness campaigns, talking points, and advocacy toolkits

• Lobbying and negotiation

• Capacity building

• Relationship building and partnership building

• Network development

• Recruiting, training, and mobilizing advocates to take action

• Monitoring and progress evaluation

COURSES

In a world where knowledge is at our fingertips, it often can feel overwhelming to determine what information and skills you'll need on your journey.

When our founder launched Live4Lali in 2009 with her parents, they were clueless and learned on the fly. Folks launching programs or segueing into leadership roles often do not have business backgrounds but are loaded with unique strengths to be harnessed and developed. You don't need an MBA or Ph.D. to achieve your goals!

There are many resources for you, including online and in-person training we can offer. Here's a sampling of our most popular courses:

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Leadership & Advocacy 101

• Social Change Through Community Organizing and Coalition Building

• Multi-Level Advocacy and Strategies for Impact

• Selling Your Story: Media and Communications Strategies for Leaders & Staff

• Nonprofit & Board Development 

• Self-Care is Community Care 

• Building an Effective Community-Based Mental Health Service Organization

• Best Practices for Addressing Health and Social Challenges in the Workplace

• Finding, Developing, and Retaining Staff with Lived Experiences

• Creating a People-First Culture through Vulnerability and Authenticity

• Peer Support & Clinical Skills for Leaders (No Social Work Degree Required!)

• Human Behavioral Challenges in the Workplace

• So You Want To Start a Nonprofit - NPO Training for Families and Advocates 

• Public Policy Advocacy: From Passion to Action
   

Mental Health, Substance Use, and Opioid Overdose Crisis 

• Harm Reduction Strategy, Practice, Policy, and Clinical Skills

• Overdose Prevention and Naloxone Distribution 

• Compassionate Interactions with Staff Using Substances or Struggling with Mental Health Issues

• The Continuum of Recovery: Evidence-Based Treatment and Recovery Strategies 

• Rapport Building and Motivational Interviewing (Great for Leaders and Managers of Teams!)

• Peer Support for Individuals and Families 

• Navigating Families Through Mental Health Challenges

• Grief Support for Mental Health and Substance-Related Deaths

• Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care - “Any Positive Change”

• Co-Occurring Challenges and Trends

• America's Opioid Overdose Crisis: What Went Wrong & How We Fix It