We built this place for you

Thriving Non-Profits is a unique learning hub for nonprofit leaders that includes innovative online courses, expert coaching, and an online community. We've carefully designed all of our courses and resources to support every nonprofits, regardless of mission, impact, budget, or location. We welcome leaders from around the world, including those in large urban centers, rural communities, and diverse geographical regions.

  • Increase your organization's financial sustainability and grow your impact

  • Boost your organizational resilience and embrace an entrepreneurial mindset

  • Grow your network as you connect and learn with other nonprofit leaders and experts

  • Be part of the culture shift from scarcity to abundance in the nonprofit sector

Learning designed to support your success

Develop the mindset, culture, and strategies required to create financial resilience and transform your organization

  • ONLINE LEARNING

    Learn new strategies through video lessons, interactive exercises, webinars, group work, live events, and case studies.

  • EXPERT SUPPORT

    Our coaches are nonprofit experts who walk beside you, helping you implement the strategies you learn and achieve your goals.

  • THRIVING COMMUNITY

    Peer learning in a collaborative environment amongst a supportive community of like-minded nonprofit leaders.

The Thriving Non-Profits Team

Thriving Non-Profits is built by nonprofit leaders for nonprofit leaders. Our team understands the challenges and complexities of operating a nonprofit organization and is dedicated to providing the support, learning, and resources that your team needs to thrive.

Kristi Rivait

Kristi Rivait

Kristi (KR) is a Co-Founder of Thriving Non-Profits. She facilitates the program and provides expert coaching support to participating organizations.

Kristi Fairholm Mader

Kristi Fairholm Mader

Kristi (KFM) is a Co-Founder of Thriving Non-Profits and Managing Director of Thrive Impact Fund. She helps organizations thrive by providing access to flexible capital.

Lee Herrin

Lee Herrin

Lee is a Co-Founder of Thriving Non-Profits. He shares his deep knowledge with coaching and consulting support for organizations participating in the program.

Rob Fisher

Rob Fisher

Rob is the Program Manager for Thriving Non-Profits. He makes sure everything works behinds the scenes and supports other members of our team.

Stephanie Jacobs

Stephanie Jacobs

Stephanie is the Program Coordinator for Thriving Non-Profits. She supports the coordination and delivery of the program, helping organizations build capacity, and amplify their impact.

Fernanda Martinez

Fernanda Martinez

Fernanda is the Coaching and Engagement Coordinator for Thriving Non-Profits. She connects learners in the program with the right coaches to support their success.

Cecilia Luna

Cecilia Luna

Ceci is the Program Assistant for Thriving Non-Profits. She takes care of participants' needs and ensures they are supported throughout their learning journey.

Program coaches and facilitators

Thriving Non-Profits coaches and facilitators have a deep understanding of nonprofit fundraising and operations. Our dedicated subject matter experts provide tailored coaching and guidance to help you succeed in your learning journey and achieve your organization's goals.

Program Coach Alexia Riche

Alexia Riche is an accomplished nonprofit leader with a strong organizational leadership and social justice background. As the Executive Director of the Community Sector Network of PEI, she has led various initiatives to support and empower nonprofit organizations across the province. Her work focuses on building strategic partnerships, advocating for sustainable funding, and fostering collaboration to enhance the community sector's impact. Alexia is a member of the Board of Women’s Network PEI, the Comité Consultatif de la Communauté Acadienne et Francophone, among others.

Program Coach Amy Moroni

Amy Moroni is a seasoned social impact entrepreneur and coach, renowned as a 5-time founder with nearly 20 years of experience in entrepreneur-led community economic development in British Columbia. She is passionate about art, food, music, community, and entrepreneurship, and excels at fostering future possibilities. Amy believes in the power of people, community contribution, and adaptable systems that preserve humanity. As a coach, she helps clients explore ideas, streamline operations.

Program Coach Anastasia Gaisenok

Anastasia is a social impact leader with two decades of experience in the non-profit sector. She has taken on leadership roles, eventually becoming an Executive Director and serving as a board member of a national organization. Her work has focused on women’s rights, youth leadership, and social and environmental justice issues. Anastasia is the Director of Strategic Projects with the Pacific Immigrant Resources Society (BC) and the Impact Officer with Helen’s Daughters (St Lucia/Eastern Caribbean). She is passionate about resourcing transformative work and bringing things into coherence.

Program Coach Andy Telfer

Andy has studied the operations of hundreds of Canadian non-profit organizations in his roles as a consultant and as Co-Chair of the National Advisory Committee for Canada’s Volunteer Awards. He advises small and medium-sized non-profits & charities; leads VECTTR, a group of seven non-profit leaders; and coaches in the Thriving Non-Profits Program. Andy has started four social enterprises and is currently Executive Director of the WITS Programs Foundation, a national charity that promotes kindness and empowers children and youth.

Program Coach & Facilitator Farah Nazarali

Farah is a yoga teacher, trainer, and retreat leader and has worked in the non-profit sector for most of her life. Her experience spans both on-the-ground positions and leadership positions. She has worked for the YMCA, the Ismaili Arts Council of BC, the Vancouver Folk Festival Society, Vancouver Cooperative Radio, and, most recently, Yoga Outreach. Farah brings warmth to her live classes and has a knack for increasing engagement and participation. When she’s not working for Thriving Non-Profits, Farah leads transformational retreats in BC and in Costa Rica.

Program Coach Janice Iverson

Janice has worked in corporate communications and community economic development for most of her career. She has extensive experience in fundraising and social enterprise development. In 2020, Janice stepped down as an Executive Director to find a more flexible and active lifestyle. Her work includes community economic development, social innovation, business coaching, and corporate social responsibility. She is a Board member at the Sunshine Coast Foundation, Sunshine Coast Partners, and a strategic advisor at Coast Investment Coop.

Program Coach Josée Payant

Josée has over 30 years’ experience with the Canadian Red Cross where she currently supports the Board with strategic planning. She has managed various Red Cross services, including coordinating the development of emergency response capacity, overseeing the development of a national training program for volunteers, and coordinating major emergency operations In Quebec. Josée is a Certified Coach from Concordia University and has a master’s in education from University of Montreal. She teaches a course in civil security at l’Ecole Polytechnique.

Program Coach Julia Grady

Julia is Co-Founder of 10C Shared Space, Guelph’s change-making hub. With community connection as her core purpose, Julia has led 10C through 15 years of innovation, learning and action. She is committed to increasing the community’s role in social finance and has been working to develop Harvest Impact, an emerging social finance fund. A lifelong learner, Julia is passionate about systems change, design thinking, community building, placemaking and demonstrating the potential of social finance and social enterprise.

Program Coach & Facilitator Kristi Rivait

Kristi Rivait (KR) brings 20 years of leadership experience in the non-profit sector, including 10+ years as an Executive Director. Kristi is an expert at operational transformation, diversifying revenues, and partnerships that create systems-level change. Kristi co-founded Scale Collaborative to support the empowerment of the impact sector. She inspires and coaches leaders on how to find the right revenue for their missions, shifting their internal culture from a scarcity approach to abundance thinking.

Program Coach Kurt Archer

Kurt is a seasoned community builder, event organizer, and communicator with over 18 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He served as Executive Director at the Victoria Event Centre and founded Between Words Theatre Company. Kurt empowers nonprofits in crafting compelling narratives and has organized successful events with groups like TEDxYYC and F*ckup Nights. He is a Carleton University Political Science graduate and is driven by a passion for the convergence of technology, climate advocacy, social justice, and the arts.

Program Coach & Facilitator Lee Herrin

Lee is Co-Founder of the Thriving Non-Profits program. He over 20 years of experience in management and leadership roles in both the public and non-profit sector. He has served on many Boards, including more than 15 years chairing non-profits. Lee is keenly focused on identifying opportunities for growth and greater impact. He has deep experience with social enterprise development, social purpose conversion of community businesses, acquiring and developing social purpose real estate, and developing organizational strategies for impact.

Program Coach Lesley MacKinnon

Lesley MacKinnon is an impact strategist and consultant focused on system transformation with over a decade of innovation-oriented experience in social and environmental impact. Her career includes leadership roles, high net worth philanthropy, ecosystem mapping and engagement, and designing partnership-based initiatives. Lesley has worked with Boards, staff teams, and volunteers on revenue diversification and culture to increase impact using both traditional and innovative revenue strategies, supporting a variety of causes and organizations.

Program Coach Leslie Dunning

Leslie has served in executive management and governance roles with non-profits at the local, provincial, and national level. She has been a staff and volunteer leader with the Canadian Red Cross for decades and has also worked in the corporate and public sectors. Her responsibilities have spanned from hands-on engagement to executive leadership and governance roles. Leslie has lived and worked in every region of Canada and brings a logical approach to assisting leaders to focus and problem-solve, helping them to look ahead to “what’s next?”

Program Coach Lisa Caton

Lisa has over 25 years of senior non-profit leadership experience in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Her expertise includes strategy, program development, operations, human resources, evaluation, public policy, resource development, and governance. Lisa has first-hand experience of the opportunities for increasing impact, innovation and organizational health that come from a strong, sustained focus on financial management and revenue diversification and is excited to contribute to building financial resilience for organizations across Canada.

Program Coach Michelle Cho-Black

Michelle is a compassionate leader, social impact strategist, and communications specialist. She has over 20 years’ experience working with non-profit organizations. Combining her background in business and entrepreneurship, non-profit management, and intercultural relations, she has specifically focused on supporting socially innovative teams in growing and achieving beyond their goals. Michelle is a certified coach through the Coach Training Institute and is completing the Evaluation for Social Change program at Simon Fraser University.

Program Coach Susan Climie

After working for almost a decade in international investment banking, Susan listened to her heart and switched to the non-profit sector. She has held senior leadership roles with organizations including Family Services of Greater Vancouver, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, and Looking Glass Foundation. Her current focus is to help non-profits enhance their governance and operations to do their best work for the communities they serve. She is a graduate of Rotman’s Governance Essentials Program and has completed a GBA+ certification.

Program Coach Yash Mehta

Yash is a Manager at a Canadian venture philanthropy organization with experience in public and private sectors in India, the USA, and Canada. His mission is to enable non-profits to achieve their full potential to create the greatest impact. He has experience in global finance and is Co-Founder of a non-profit that provides access to quality education for children from marginalized communities. Yash holds a MA in business administration from Simon Fraser University and a BA in accounting & finance from H.R. College of Commerce & Economics.

Program partners

Thriving Non-Profits is developed by Scale Collaborative and our cohort program is delivered to specific regions through partnerships. Thank you to our partners, your contributions are helping build a resilient and thriving nonprofit sector.

Delivered byScale Collaborative logo

Presenting partner

Coast Capital Savings logo   

Community partners

Calgary Foundation logoCan
Canada Council for the Arts logo
Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador logo
Community Futures Central Island logo
Community Sector Council of Newfoundland and Labrador logo
First Credit Union logo
Nanaimo Foundation logo
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador logo
Law Foundation of Ontario logo
Vancity logo
Victoria Foundation logo
WES Mariam Assefa Fund logo
West Vancouver Foundation logo

We respectfully acknowledge that the offices of Scale Collaborative are located on the unceded, ancestral, and traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples, and the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations who have historical relationships with the land that continue to this day.