Recent Facilitation clients include The New England Grassroots Fund, The Footprint Foundation, Cooperative Fund of New England, Food Co-op Initiative

Case Study

The client: CFNE, a community development loan fund, facilitates socially responsible investing in community-oriented nonprofits, cooperatives and worker-owned businesses.

The Work:

CFNE contracted with Darnell for two strategic planning processes in 2020 and 2023, and in 2025 Darnell was engaged as their first professional Board facilitator.

In this role, Darnell’s work included

• Actively helping shape the agenda for board meetings with an eye for maximum participation and clarity of outcomes
• Provided thought partnership in crafting effective meetings that reflect CFNE’s values as an organization.
• Running meetings smoothly, assuring community agreements (board norms) are upheld, time is monitored, and decisions are made via a consent model

In addition Darnell freed the Board Chair and Executive Director from the facilitator role during the meetings so they are more able to fully participate in discussions.

The outcome

Having professional facilitation at their meetings enabled a noticeable culture shift. By helping support the organization and increase the productivity of conversations, they were able to identify and transform into the culture they needed to meet their next iteration of being.