Nationwide Keynotes, Workshops & Presentations for Nonprofit Leaders and Supporters
Presentations That Move People to Action. Keynotes, workshops, and breakout sessions that inspire your audience, equip your team, and leave everyone with a plan they can put to use immediately.
Your Audience Deserves To Be Inspired
Your supporters give their time to show up. Board members, staff, volunteers, donors, and advocates are already stretched thin, and they've sat through plenty of talks that were forgotten by the drive home.
Every Beacon presentation is built to be different. Theresa brings lived experience, two decades of nonprofit leadership, and a highly interactive style that keeps people engaged from the first minute to the last. Your audience leaves inspired and with practical tools they can put to work right away.
Foster Kid Fierce Keynote Clip
Keynote & Breakout Sessions
Big energy, real takeaways, in about 90 minutes.
Give your attendees a session they'll talk about in the hallway afterward. Theresa's keynotes and breakout sessions combine personal story, practical strategy, and interactive learning, sized for a standard conference time slot.
Living #FosterKidFierce A transformational session on resilience and the power of caring adults. Attendees explore the strengths young people in care carry, and leave with practical ways to help youth recognize and use them. A favorite with Court Appointed Special Advocates, child welfare, juvenile justice organizations, and youth-serving audiences.
Strategic Advocacy Advocacy works best with a plan behind it. This session helps attendees connect their passion to a clear strategy, so their voice and their organization's work create lasting change for the people they serve.
Workshops & Training
Roll up your sleeves and build it together.
Our highly interactive, bootcamp-style workshops turn big goals into real plans. Each one is customized to your organization's needs, and your team walks out with work completed, not just notes to file away.
Shake Up Your Board: Recruit & Retain a Powerhouse Board of Directors. Re-energize your board of directors. Clarify roles, strengthen engagement, and build a board that leads, governs, and raises resources with confidence.
Plan for Strategic Planning Get ready before you dive in. Learn what a strong strategic planning process looks like, who should be at the table, fires to put out first, and how to set your organization up for a plan people actually use.
Capital Campaign Planning Thinking about a building, an expansion, or a major investment? Assess your readiness, map out the phases of a campaign, and identify the leaders and donors who will carry it forward.
Build Your Grants Team 101 Grant seeking is a team sport. Learn how to organize roles, build a grants calendar, and create a repeatable process for finding, writing, and managing grants.
Fundraiser Event Planning Plan an event that raises real money and builds lasting relationships. Cover timelines, budgets, sponsorships, volunteers, and donor follow-up.
Resource Development Planning Move beyond one-off fundraising. Build a diversified plan that brings together individual giving, grants, events, and partnerships.
Customized Presentations
Your theme, your audience, your goals.
Have a conference theme, a training need, or a message that doesn't fit a standard title? We'll design a presentation from the ground up. Theresa draws on two decades of experience in fundraising, governance, strategic planning, and youth services to create a talk or training that fits your event and speaks directly to your people.
Customized presentations work well for staff retreats, board orientations, association conferences, and community events.
Booking Steps
How Booking Works
Reach Out. Tell us about your event: the date, the audience, and what you hope people walk away with.
Plan Together. We'll meet to talk through your goals and choose the right format, whether that's a keynote, a workshop, a breakout, or something custom.
Tailor the Content. Theresa shapes the presentation around your audience, your theme, and your organization's needs.
Deliver and Follow Through. We show up ready to engage your audience, then share follow-up resources so the learning keeps going.
What’s Included
You can expect to receive…
A planning call to understand your audience and goals
Prompt and professional communication directly with the presenter
Content tailored to your organization, theme, and event
Interactive activities built on the SAVI and Accelerated Learning for Adults methods
Handouts, worksheets, or templates participants can use right away (for all but the Keynotes)
Opportunity for follow-up resources to keep the momentum going
Promotional bio and headshot for your event materials
Is a Beacon Presentation Right for Your Event?
We’re a strong fit if you are:
Located anywhere in the United States
A nonprofit organization planning a gala, luncheon, or volunteer event
A conference organizer looking for an engaging keynote or breakout speaker
A board or leadership team ready to plan, grow, or reset
A youth-serving, advocacy, or basic needs organization
An association or funder investing in the growth of nonprofit leaders
Where Theresa has Presented Recently
Trusted by nonprofit organizations and state associations across the country.
From fundraising luncheons to statewide conferences, Theresa has brought the #FosterKidFierce message and practical training to audiences of advocates, staff, and supporters. Recent engagements include:
Missouri Juvenile Justice Association 2026 Fall Conference, Lake of the Ozarks, MO: Breakout Session
Winnebago County CASA 2026 Fall Conference, Rockford, IL: Keynote
Montana CASA/GAL Association Annual Conference 2025: Keynote and Breakout Session
Missouri State CASA Conference 2025: Keynote and Breakout Session
Illinois CASA State Conference 2025: Keynote and Breakout Session
Iowa State CASA Conference: Breakout Session
CASA for Mesa County, CO, Pinwheels Luncheon Fundraiser: Keynote and Volunteer Training
Meet Your Speaker
Theresa Collins, MS, MOD
Theresa is the Founder and Principal Strategist of Beacon Organizational Consulting. She brings two decades of experience in the nonprofit and organizational development fields and holds a Master's in Management & Organizational Development with a Training emphasis. She has raised millions of dollars for community projects and services across the country.
After growing up in foster care from age 7 and aging out of the system, Theresa coined the term #FosterKidFierce. She served eight years as a CASA volunteer, became a foster and respite parent, and is the author of the memoir Foster Kid Fierce: Road Trip to Freedom.
FAQs
Do you present in person or virtually? Both. Theresa presents in person at events across the country and virtually for online conferences, seminars, workshops, and trainings.
How far in advance should we book? As early as you can. Popular dates fill up, especially during conference and gala season. At a minimum, we require one month’s notice. Do you have something coming up sooner? Reach out; you never know if your date might still be available.
Can you customize a workshop for our organization? Yes. Every workshop is tailored to your team's strategic needs, and we can combine topics or design something new.
What does it cost? Fees depend on the format, length, and travel. Contact us for current pricing. Fees typically range from $2,750 to $5,775 plus travel expenses, depending on your event.
Can we sell copies of the book at our event? Yes. Ask us about adding a book signing or bulk copies of Foster Kid Fierce: Road Trip to Freedom for your guests.
Inspire Your People. Equip Your Team.
Let’s create a presentation your audience will remember long after the event ends.