The Fire Framework™

Organizational Narrative Synthesis for Mission-Driven Organizations

I combine narrative ethnography with 12 years of mission-driven marketing experience to uncover your organization's authentic narrative core through deep stakeholder research — then build the infrastructure your whole team uses.

Your Fire is Hidden Beneath Narrative Chaos

Your leadership tells one story. Your staff tells another. Your stakeholders describe something entirely different.

When a funder asks "What makes you different?" you don't have a clear, consistent answer.

This isn't a marketing problem. It's an organizational alignment problem.

Most organizations try to solve it with branding or marketing — like decorating a house without pouring the foundation first.

The result:

  • B Corps sound like every other certified company

  • Social enterprises can't articulate their profit + purpose model clearly

  • Nonprofits blend into a sea of similar missions competing for the same funding

This isn't about better marketing communications. It's about organizational-level narrative synthesis — so everyone operates from shared clarity.

The Problem

Clear the smoke. Reveal the fire.

Marketing strategies and brand consultants are valuable — but only if your narrative is clear first.

If your leadership, board, staff, and stakeholders describe your organization differently, external marketing and branding won't land.

You need organizational narrative synthesis first.

I work through deep organizational immersion to uncover the foundation:

I map how your organization understands itself and how you're actually experienced by external stakeholders. Then I synthesize both perspectives into coherent narrative architecture — revealing the authentic core that makes all communications work.

This isn't surface messaging. It's the underlying structure that powers internal alignment, stakeholder trust, and all external communications.

Once you have your narrative foundation, marketing strategies land better. Brand campaigns feel authentic. Communications resonate because they're rooted in truth.

The Fire Framework™ doesn't replace marketing, fundraising, or communications. It builds the organizational foundation they depend on.

The Solution

Field Notes

I write about the invisible narrative work that must happen before marketing and storytelling can succeed.

- The Hidden Labor of Authentic Storytelling

The Fire Framework™

This is original ethnographic research, not consulting advice. Investment is based on organizational complexity — the number of stakeholder voices (internal and external) I'm synthesizing into narrative infrastructure. Organizations typically invest $100-500K in marketing, capital campaigns, rebrands, and communications built on narrative chaos. This work ensures those investments actually land.

FOUNDATION: For organizations with concentrated leadership and clear decision-making.

6-10 stakeholders | 8 weeks | $48K
Founding rate: $38K

INTEGRATION: For organizations with multiple departments needing cross-functional alignment.

11-16 stakeholders | 10 weeks | $65K
Founding rate: $54K

TRANSFORMATION: For complex organizations navigating significant transitions.

17-25 stakeholders | 12 weeks | $85K
Founding rate: $68K

Founding client rates available for select organizations through March 2026. Final scope and investment determined during discovery call.

  • Each voice represents a distinct thread in your narrative ecosystem. More stakeholders = more synthesis complexity = higher-resolution mapping of your narrative core.

    This isn't "more interviews." It's exponentially more complex pattern recognition and narrative reconciliation work.

    I accept 4-5 organizations per year. Deep ethnographic research cannot be rushed. Each engagement receives 8-12 weeks of dedicated immersion and synthesis.

  • The Fire Framework™ is an 8-12 week focused rapid ethnographic engagement that transforms narrative chaos into durable infrastructure.

    Discovery & Immersion

    I immerse myself in your organization to understand who you actually are — not who you aspire to be. Through intensive stakeholder engagement, observation, and analysis, I gather perspectives from inside and outside the organization to see the full picture of your narrative reality.

    Synthesis & Architecture

    Using focused rapid ethnographic methodology, I map the landscape between your internal identity and how you're actually experienced by stakeholders. I don't impose frameworks from outside — I reveal the patterns that already exist, identify where misalignment creates chaos, and synthesize competing narratives into coherent architecture.

    Deliverable & Transfer

    You receive the Narrative Hearth™ — a comprehensive synthesis document that becomes your narrative foundation. This isn't brand guidelines or marketing messaging — it's the infrastructure that makes both possible.

  • The Narrative Hearth™ includes:

    • Your narrative core (the authentic foundation)

    • Messaging architecture (how to communicate across contexts)

    • Language guide (what resonates vs. what creates smoke)

    • Implementation toolkit (how your team uses this infrastructure)

    This is the work that comes before branding, marketing, and major organizational investments.

  • Training workshop for your team on applying the framework to real scenarios. 30 days post-delivery support as you implement.

    Goal: Your team becomes sovereign in your story — no dependency on consultants.

    You use The Narrative Hearth™ the way you'd use architectural blueprints: as ongoing reference and foundation for all communications work.

Who This Is For

Mission-driven organizations ($3M-$50M+ budget) who sense misalignment between what they say they do and how their work is actually experienced.

This work sits at the intersection of organizational anthropology and strategic communications — serving your whole organization, not just marketing.

    • Newly certified and need to articulate what B Corp status truly means for you (not generic B Corp language)

    • Approaching recertification and need to tell your evolution story with clarity

    • Competing with thousands of other B Corps and struggling to differentiate beyond certification

    • Balancing investor expectations with mission commitments

    • Balancing earned revenue + social mission, but stakeholders don't understand the model

    • Investors want to hear "scalable business," community wants to hear "social impact" — you're caught in the middle

    • Team can't consistently articulate what makes you different from traditional businesses OR traditional nonprofits

    • Explaining your hybrid model constantly, exhausting yourself and your team

    • Preparing for capital campaign, major grant, or strategic transition without clear narrative foundation

    • Struggling to articulate transformative work in grant proposals — using borrowed language that doesn't fit

    • Transitioning (merger, growth, leadership change) and need to realign around new identity

    • Competing for limited funding without clear differentiation

    • Board and staff tell different stories — development team trying to reconcile competing narratives in every proposal

    • Program participants describe your impact differently than you describe yourselves

How This Is Different

Most consultants offer clarity.
The Fire Framework™ does the depth work that clarity requires.

Most brand consultants

  • Bring templates and external frameworks

  • Prescribe positioning from the outside (without deep internal research)

  • Manufacture differentiation using brand strategy formulas

  • Deliver 8–12 page brand decks (beautiful but not grounded in reality)

  • Fast turnaround (2–3 weeks — not enough time for real discovery)

  • Focus on external marketing only

The Fire Framework™

  • Brings questions, not answers — I discover, not prescribe

  • Deep organizational immersion — I map how you understand yourselves and how you're actually experienced, then synthesize the gap

  • Reveals authentic differentiation already present in your culture

  • Delivers comprehensive Narrative Hearth™ (30-50 pages) — an organizational infrastructure used across your whole team

  • Deep, rigorous 8-12 week ethnographic immersion (cannot be rushed)

  • Combines organizational anthropology + 12 years mission-driven marketing + strategic synthesis

  • Serves your whole organization (marketing, development, programs, governance, leadership)

WHAT BECOMES POSSIBLE

When you have organizational narrative infrastructure:

B Corps answer "How are you different?" with confidence. Tell recertification story from coherent core.

Social Enterprises lead with double bottom line as differentiation. Articulate model clearly to customers and investors.

Nonprofits equip staff to explain work from shared narrative. Help funders recognize what makes you distinct. Build consistent grant language. Make strategic decisions from clear identity.

Let's synthesize the narrative that's been there all along and build the infrastructure your whole team needs to perform.

A 30-minute conversation to determine whether this depth of work is right for your organization.

Contact

FAQs

  • No. I focus on the foundation — narrative core. After our engagement, your team (or partners) creates content that reflects your authentic story.

  • My work uncovers your narrative core first, then creates architecture your copywriters use to craft messages that land.

  • That's the sweet spot. My immersion identifies patterns already present in your culture, then surfaces the narrative core.

  • I work best with mission-driven organizations — nonprofits, social enterprises, purpose-led businesses.

  • Yes. B Corps face unique challenges: differentiating from other certified companies, balancing profit and purpose, telling evolution story for recertification.

  • Brand strategists often use external templates. I discover your narrative from the inside — grounded in lived experience, not generic templates. Think of this as the foundation for any brand strategy that comes afterward.

  • You own everything. Your team uses it to create content, engage stakeholders, communicate mission — without ongoing consulting. I provide 30 days email support.

  • I can recommend skilled copywriters, brand designers, and marketing strategists who can execute from your narrative core — not guesswork or borrowed frameworks. Your team or partners implement the narrative authentically.

  • Frame it as foundation work that protects future investments and enables better organizational performance.

    "Before we invest $[X] in [capital campaign/website/rebrand/marketing], we need narrative foundation. Without it, that investment won't stick — just like our previous $X spend on [previous failed initiative].

    [Name] does organizational-level narrative synthesis—deep stakeholder research across our internal team and external ecosystem—to build the shared narrative infrastructure we're missing.

    Investment: $[38K-68K depending on tier]

    Potential ROI:

    • Clearer grant proposals (better funding success)

    • Aligned board advocacy (everyone tells same story)

    • Consistent communications (staff has coherent language)

    • Protected future investments (marketing/fundraising built on clarity, not chaos)

    • Foundation for strategic decision-making

  • Yes — if you're about to make a significant investment (capital campaign, website, rebrand, scaling, major grant application, leadership transition).

    Small organizations often need this work MOST because:

    • You can't afford to waste limited marketing/fundraising budgets

    • Staff turnover is expensive — narrative infrastructure prevents knowledge loss

    • You're competing for limited funding — differentiation is critical

    • Small teams need clear systems (can't afford everyone improvising narrative)

    Foundation tier (6-10 stakeholders, $38K founding rate) is designed for smaller organizations with concentrated leadership.

    One clear narrative foundation prevents years of wasted effort and protects the investments you're about to make.

    Think of it this way: Would you rather spend $38K on foundation + $50K on capital campaign materials that WORK? Or waste $50K on materials built on narrative chaos?

  • Stakeholders include both internal and external voices:

    Internal: Leadership team, staff across departments, board members
    External: Donors/funders, beneficiaries/customers, community partners, volunteers

    During our discovery call, we'll map your stakeholder ecosystem and determine the right mix of voices to interview. The goal is to capture the full narrative landscape — how your organization is understood internally AND experienced externally.