Experience based solutions for challenges that face all organizations
Bring it all together.
What I do
What do you hope to achieve in the next week, next year, 20 years from now? Let’s move together, wherever you are on your organization’s journey.
Start up: Vision & Strategy
Get clear with where you are going and how you will get there.
Growth: Planning & Empowerment
Ensure everyone knows what to do, and is challenged
and supported when they do it.
Results: Execute & Recalibrate
Make sure you are delivering impact against your vision.
A message to nonprofit organizations
Cufflink supports non-profits to accelerate their impact – and brings added value by connecting with savvy donors who share a passion for justice. To meet a non-profit’s challenge, I may bring in a donor to invest in the collaboration between an organization’s vision and my experience. By partnering with me, non-profits will receive skilled services, all while developing a relationship with a new engaged donor. Donors will connect deeply to the mission by seeing their gift put to good use.
A message to businesses
When you hire Cufflink you will not only receive skilled services, ⅓ of all profits will be donated back into the nonprofit sector. Your support will allow nonprofits to access the services they need to accelerate their impact all while meeting your organization's goals.
A win- win for all organizations.
Better yet the perfect Cufflink!
Ellen Walthour - Cufflink Founder
Who I am
I drive impact against a vision and do it with laughter and love.
Dreaming with others and making it happen gives me energy. I have deep empathy for how much organizations need to do in support of their purpose. I know first hand the pressure to get to it all at once. And I can see the big picture as well as the tactical approaches so others can take the first or last step toward realizing their vision.
My work and life has been a blend of teacher, leader, coach, mom, listener, and activator. I have lived in three countries and have had three children. I have worked as a line cook, middle school teacher, program director, executive director, and — in my last role — as the chief executive of a multi-state organization.
After 20 years embedded in organizations, I launched Cufflink, my consulting practice. The majority of my professional life was spent growing The BrandLab, a workforce development program focused on racial equity, from a start up to a multi-market organization. Prior to working for The BrandLab, I worked in schools locally and internationally where I held various leadership roles inside and outside the classroom.
I boldly set strategic direction, developed the board of directors, designed programs, wrote the budget, and made sure my team had the clarity they needed to get the job done. I was also the one who ran to the bank to deposit checks, picked up the food for the meeting, and took the time to get to know our donors and most dear to my heart, the youth I served.
Testimonials
“I've worked with Ellen for several years, both when she led The BrandLab and in other consulting work. She is the rare individual who knows both what to do and how to get it done. She is considerate and determined, intuitive and smart, and most of all effective. I was thrilled that she was starting a consulting business, because now many can benefit from her talent.
I've made a significant contribution to two of her projects, with the balance of the fee coming from the organization. This is done through a dedicated and tax-deductible gift to the organization to be applied to her fee. Here are the benefits:
Ability to support an organization, with the confidence that I'm supporting work that has been vetted and executed by a seasoned professional and is focused on work that will be transformational.
The organization invests as well, so there is commitment.
The nonprofit can do work that they otherwise could not afford, so I feel I am making a difference.”
— John Watson, Cufflink Donor
“Ellen is just—wonderful. She is an absolute natural at this genre of work given her vast experience as a leader. And I just can't explain how deeply we all benefited from our work with her.
We partnered with Cufflink to get clear about our team's roles and goals. She did more than that. She inspired and empowered all of us to dream, decide, and then most importantly go. She not only mentored our graduates but she mentored me. I know this is just the first of many projects with Ellen. She is a gift and her guidance at this juncture of the life of All Square is pivotal.”
— Emily Turner, CEO of All Square