Not-for-profit strategy, governance, and operational planning.
NFP Labs supports nonprofit organizations through moments of transition, complexity, and growth. We work with boards and executive leaders to clarify governance, strategy, and operating models—so decisions are grounded, aligned, and actionable.
What We Do
We design strategic planning processes that balance stakeholder insight, data, and practical realities. Our plans are participatory without being overwhelming, evidence-based, and designed for execution—not the shelf.
We support boards through governance reviews, board–executive alignment, decision-rights mapping, workshops, and tools for generative, strategic governance.
We design engagement processes that produce decision-ready insights, using: interviews and focus groups, community surveys, structured decision-making frameworks. We fund but serious tools like LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, SHIFT™ and The Future Is Coming.
For organizations facing expansion or transformation, we build: full operational scenarios, staffing and organizational design plans, earned/contributed revenue models, 3–5 year financial projections, sensitivity analysis and risk
assessment.
We help organizations strengthen leadership and culture through values alignment, difficult-conversations frameworks, leadership communication coaching, and change-readiness work.
About
NFP Labs draws on a network of trusted independent collaborators who join specific projects when their expertise is needed. This collaborative model brings together deep experience in governance, financial modelling, cultural facilities, and nonprofit operations—while keeping our work practical and fees proportionate.
We believe one of the biggest invisible factors holding back nonprofit effectiveness is how volunteer boards understand and practice governance.Governance is a defining feature of the nonprofit sector—its legitimacy, its accountability, and often its greatest constraint. We believe one of the strongest leverage points for organizational excellence lies in supporting boards and executive leaders to align around purpose, roles, and strategy.If you share this conviction, we’d be glad to explore how your board and leadership team can strengthen governance in ways that support better decision-making.
Ken Cameron, Managing Partner
Ken Cameron is a facilitator, writer, and cultural strategist whose work bridges the arts, leadership, and organizational change. With over 30 years of experience, he brings a distinctly creative lens to helping nonprofits, public institutions, and purpose-driven organizations navigate complexity, culture, and collaboration. In addition to NFP Labs, Ken is the co-founder of Corporate cultureSHIFT and Transform Leadership Communications, where he designs and leads participatory processes that support clarity, trust, and shared purpose.Ken’s roots are firmly in the arts. He is a former Artistic Director of Magnetic North, Canada’s National Theatre Festival, and former Executive Director of the Alberta Playwrights’ Network. His background as a playwright, director, and festival programmer informs his facilitation style—story-driven, human-centred, and deeply attentive to voice and power.He is the co-creator of the Forum Theatre for Business series, the SHIFT workshop series, the Future Is Coming Forecasting tool and a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator. Ken’s work on The Cultural Transformation Project for the City of Calgary received a Platinum Facilitation Impact Award from the International Association of Facilitators.
Karly Mortimer, Partner
Karly Mortimer is an arts and cultural strategist with over 15 years of leadership experience advancing equity-focused community, cultural, and infrastructure initiatives across Canada and internationally. With a background in psychology and training in change management, she supports organizations through complex transformation with both analytical rigour and human-centred insight.Karly brings a nuanced understanding of how arts and culture intersect with community needs. At the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, she expanded partnerships across municipalities, schools, and Indigenous communities, aligning programming with regional priorities such as affordability, social connection, and sustainability. Nationally, as a senior leader at the National accessArts Centre, she transformed the organization into a multidisciplinary hub for performance, music, film, and visual arts, leading inclusive frameworks that directed over $1 million to equity-seeking artists.Internationally, Karly has represented Canadian arts leadership through cultural diplomacy projects across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Her work consistently links creative practice to civic wellbeing, belonging, and sustainable growth.
Contact
If you’re considering engaging NFP Labs, we begin with a conversation to understand your organization’s context, needs, and constraints. From there, we work with you to determine whether there is alignment and, if so, to shape an approach that is appropriate, proportionate, and practical.Contact: Ken Cameron, Managing Partner
[email protected]