Good intentions have never been good enough.
Connecting the Cause helps organizations, volunteers, and leaders build community partnerships rooted in respect, not pity. Workshops and keynotes challenge tightly held assumptions and equip leaders in the field to do this work with fierce care.
We are convinced that in order to produce real change in the nonprofit sector, everyone must be willing to check their mindsets, language, attitudes, and perceptions of partnership.
Volunteers are trained and oriented. They serve. They take the group photo. They leave. They left with no sustainable heart or action change.
Organizations design a direct service program, and during implementation, there's no representative of the community included in the process. Not one.
A volunteer group partners with a grassroots organization, which spends its valuable time and energy hosting them. The group leaves feeling good but leaves no real impact behind. They have harmed the community they thought they were helping.
These situations happen every single day in the nonprofit sector.
Connecting the Cause helps organizations create lasting impact by harnessing the power of Co-Dreaming to build effective volunteer and community engagement practices.
How can we Co-Dream together?
Co-Dreaming is the practice of imagining and building the work alongside community, not for them, by trading pity and power for trust, shared power, and care.
We help align organizations to walk alongside community and lead with respect and dignity, rather than pity and power, and to galvanize volunteers into engaged, informed advocates for the communities they partner with.
If your work touches community, this work is for you.
These sessions are built for the people who hold the relationship between an organization and the community it serves.
Volunteer associations & state chapters
Bringing a workshop to your professionals at a conference, summit, or annual convening.
Nonprofit staff & volunteer managers
Rebuilding orientation, recognition, and partnership practices so they hold up to scrutiny.
Corporate social impact teams
Turning a day of service into something the community actually asked for.
Funders & intermediaries
Examining how grantmaking and reporting shape who holds power in a partnership.
Inspire action. Spark change.
Our speaking engagements and workshops ignite deep conversations, inspire collective action, and equip leaders with the tools to build community care now and into the future. Whether in-person or virtual, every session is customized by group and intention, and meets your team, staff, volunteers, or community where they are — without holding back truth, honesty, and accountability.
Here are our signature workshops, and we're always open to dreaming up a new one for your desired outcomes.
Our newest signature workshop
When the Community Says No: Engagement Past the Yes
Reimagining Volunteerism Through Co-Dreaming
Unpacking Power, Privilege, and Paternalism in Service Spaces
How to Recognize Volunteers Without Centering Them as the Hero
From Service to Solidarity: Co-Dreaming with Communities MLK Day of Service Workshop
"We ended with both necessary reflection and concise clarity. She gave meaning and words to something I had been feeling in this work for years, but couldn't articulate, or have the courage to, until now. "
“She was authentic, responsive, flexible, professional, and an engaging speaker that brought bold insights and perspectives that are necessary to meet the moment we are in in society. I would recommend her to any team looking to push boundaries and equip volunteers and social impact leaders to take their efforts to the next level.”
Kelly France · LinkedIn
“She has a powerful way of framing community partnership and inviting you to unpack complex and sometimes sensitive topics in a way that opens up conversation, thinking, and hearts. I learn something new every time I hear Breauna speak.”
Erin Spink · Cystic Fibrosis Canada
“She reimagined volunteerism as a partnership grounded in equity, dignity, and mutual respect, empowering us to more fully center families as the experts in their own lives. We are incredibly grateful for her guidance and highly recommend her to any organization looking to turn their vision into meaningful, impactful action.”
Shanea Turner-Smith, MSW, LGSW · DEI Manager, Wilder Foundation
Investment
Volunteer Associations
$500+
This price is specific for volunteer associations who wish to bring a workshop to their state professionals
Signature Workshop
From $1,500+
For the workshops that already exist in our catalog, delivered as-is to your team.
NEWLY CO-DESIGNED WEBINAR OR TRAINING SESSION(S)
$3,400+
Can include 2 sessions per topic, up to 3 hours total.
Keynote
$4,000–$7,000
Depending on time limit and audience.
We'd love to talk through any budget limitations — we understand the constraints of this sector. If you have a real desire to bring this work in front of people who need to hear it, reach out anyway.
Let's talk about a speaking engagement or trainingOnline courses & on-demand resources
Practical frameworks that center the voices and experiences of the communities you serve — built for volunteer leaders, community organizers, and nonprofit equity champions who want lasting change on their own schedule.
Browse digital resources