How One Bold Story Reframed a Mission and Unlocked Millions

Leaders of a small nonprofit—preparing to launch a capital campaign and build a new campus—had spent hours debating how to position their story.

They wanted to be seen as 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 and 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴.
As scientists. As educators. As experts worth funding.

Then the founder stood, walked to the whiteboard, and wrote two words:

Walking Mountains.

And she sat back down.

When we began working with this organization—then called 𝘎𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭—they were at an inflection point: newly gifted land for a campus, preparing to raise millions, and unsure how to tell their story.

A Baseline Culture Audit, including a 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘖𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 survey, plus stakeholder interviews and focus groups, revealed their true Archetypes:

Sage— for the rigor and science behind their programs.
Explorer— for learning that happens outdoors, in motion.
Jester— for the joy and spontaneity that make people 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 to engage.

The board hesitated. “Jester” felt too light for a campaign asking donors for serious money.

But story validation—through parents, teachers, and students—made it undeniable: the laughter, curiosity, and playfulness of nature were what people loved most.

The founder’s words on the board reframed everything.
“Walking Mountains” had been the title of her graduate thesis—the belief that we are part of nature, and that even the mountains themselves are alive, moving, evolving.

A new Culture Code guided both the capital campaign and the design of the campus itself.
Science stayed central. But 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 and 𝘫𝘰𝘺 were invited in.

Since then, the growth has been extraordinary: