Black and white photo of a smiling woman with long, straight hair wearing a black turtleneck, outdoors with trees in the background.

For over two decades, I have had the distinct pleasure to work with extraordinary people to make meaningful things happen for our communities.

I bring creativity, organization, strategy, and solutions to help clarify vision and accomplish goals.

Services & Solutions

  • I guide organizations, public agencies, and civic leaders through comprehensive strategic planning processes to develop and translate ambitious collective visions into funded, sustainable realities.

    This service focuses on designing initiatives that drive profound social, economic, and cultural revitalization with measurable, equitable, and lasting outcomes.

  • I provide expert leadership for complex capital initiatives, overseeing every phase from early exploration and feasibility to securing multi-million dollar investments and managing implementation.

    This includes identifying, acquiring, and permanently protecting vital community resources to ensure long-term affordability and community control.

  • I design and implement smart, sustainable fundraising strategies, including major donor cultivation, grant writing, and multi-million-dollar campaigns.

    My approach is informed by a unique perspective as both a grantmaker and grantee, fostering trust-based relationships and leveraging philanthropic investment to achieve equitable and values-driven outcomes.

  • I design inclusive, grassroots engagement processes that empower diverse voices and perspectives within communities to co-create shared visions.

    I specialize in building broad, community-led coalitions and forging meaningful public-private partnerships that align stakeholders around shared purpose and deliver profound, positive impact.

  • I provide experienced, calm, and steady guidance to mission-driven organizations navigating periods of significant growth, complex transitions, or unexpected challenges.

    This includes supporting executive leadership and teams in maintaining focus, strengthening internal capacities, and ensuring continued alignment with organizational ethos, core mission, and community goals during critical junctures.

  • Green clover plants and white flowers growing in a stone crevice with rusty metal bars behind.

    "a remarkable person, a brilliant collaborator, and an achiever with a proven track record"

    “When Kate served as Executive Director for Telluride Arts, we worked together on the Telluride Transfer Warehouse – an iconic structure with historical significance located in the core of town.  The building lay dormant for over forty years with a collapsed roof.  The vision was to see the structure rehabilitated and transformed into a cultural hub, requiring years of planning, the collaboration of many, and a strong foundational partnership.  Kate led that process … she saw that vision turn into action.  A remarkable person, a brilliant collaborator, and an achiever with a proven track record.”

    Greg Clifton, Former Town Manager, Telluride, CO.

  • Street scene in a mountain town with snow-capped peaks in the background and pink clouds in the sky at sunset

    "a rare combination of visionary leadership and grounded execution to every project she takes on"

    ”Kate Jones brings a rare combination of visionary leadership and grounded execution to every project she takes on. Her work on the Telluride Transfer Warehouse stands out as a model for how community-driven, culturally significant projects can align with statewide goals. Through thoughtful planning, inclusive engagement, and strategic partnerships, Kate has helped elevate Colorado’s creative economy in meaningful, lasting ways. She’s a trusted collaborator and a powerful advocate for the role of arts and culture in community development.

    Margaret Hunt, Director, Colorado Creative Industries, Governor’s Office of Economic Development  2013-2022

  • Two musicians performing on an outdoor stage in a mountain town with audience watching, mountains visible in the background.

    "she led both large and small initiatives that really had a profound and positive impact on our mountain community which will last for years to come"

    “As the Town Manager of Telluride, Colorado, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Kate regularly, and her passion for arts, culture and community-building were infectious. Her leadership and vision greatly advanced the Arts in Telluride and she led both large and small initiatives that really had a profound and positive impact on our mountain community which will last for years to come.”

    Scott Robson, Former Town Manager, Telluride, CO. Executive Director, Crested Butte Film Festival

  • Flowers by Emily Ballou for Fundraising Dinner

    "I am immensely grateful for Kate, her warmth, her knowledge, and her love for supporting artists like myself"

    “Anytime I am asked about my experience with Telluride Arts, I immediately start raving about Kate Jones.  My career as an artist would not exist without Kate, her support, and all she did during her time as the Executive Director of Telluride Arts.  I am immensely grateful for Kate, her warmth, her knowledge, and her love for supporting artists like myself. Kate Jones is one of a kind and has made such an impact on the art community in Telluride.”

    Emily Ballou, Artist

  • An outdoor evening concert with a small band playing on a stage under a white canopy, audience seated on chairs and couches, lit by string lights against a rustic brick wall.

    "a reliable thought partner and a visionary leader"

    “I had the pleasure of working with Kate Jones during her tenure as ED of Telluride Arts District. In the four years we worked together, I found Kate to be both a reliable thought partner and a visionary leader. We were able to accomplish a lot in that time and I attribute much of our success to Kate’s ability to balance her big picture thinking with her ability to manage and support all its myriad pixels. Her leadership always felt fair and considered, which was no small feat considering how many hats she was forced to wear. More than any of her particular professional attributes, I just found Kate to be a kind, present, and authentic person.”

    Alex Paul, Musician, Augment Music Project

  • Group of people at a model display in a studio with architecture floor plans and landscape images, one woman pointing upward, dressed warmly with a hat and scarf, others examining plans.

    "equally and uniquely gifted in vision and execution"

    “Birthed in 1971 when Telluride was still tie-dyed town, Telluride Arts was the region’s first nonprofit. Its mission: cultivate and  enhance the cultural economy. By the new decade, Telluride’s art scene was indeed buzzing, but the foundational nonprofit itself, not so much – until Kate Jones showed up in town. Equally and uniquely gifted in vision and execution, over the next 14 years, I watched Kate rebrand and otherwise revive Telluride Arts, transforming the nonprofit into the beating heart of the region’s cultural life. In short, during her tenure, a Dodo became a Phoenix.”

    Susan Viebrock, Publisher and Journalist

  • Gallery storefront with large framed black and white photographs displayed in the window, an indoor art exhibit visible inside, and a black circular sign overhead that reads "Teloside Arts District".

    "working with her would be working with the proven professional best"

    “Kate Jones did one helluva job as arts council director in Telluride: making us a state arts district, providing a critical arts venue for events large and small, and working on plans and fundraising for a major arts center in the middle of town. She provided gallery space on the town's main street, increased outreach and communication and upped the arts ante for artists and organizations in countless ways. As a former arts council director myself, I was in awe of the great work Kate did for our arts community. Consulting with her would be working with the proven professional best.”

    Art Goodtimes, poet, former newspaper editor and five-term San Miguel County, CO commissioner

  • A rainbow over an outdoor gathering in a courtyard with stone walls, decorated with colorful banners, people holding umbrellas, and a singer performing at a microphone.

    "skilled at moving a community need from vision to fruition"

    “Kate is skilled at moving a community need from vision to fruition. Her successes are many: from creating long-running festivals to raising tens of millions of dollars to resurrecting historic buildings for public use. Through her leadership, supporting the arts and an arts-based economy has become a core value in Telluride.”

    Ann Hurley Barker, Former Development Director and Event Manager, Telluride Arts

  • Yellow wildflowers growing in a dry, rocky soil in a natural outdoor setting.

    More Coming Soon!

    Have something to say about our work together? I’d love to hear from you!

Bio

I have over two decades of nonprofit executive leadership, and have served as a board member, grant maker, consultant, and strategic advisor.

I’ve led organizations through transformational growth, spearheaded multi-million-dollar capital projects, and have prioritized programming and projects that empower individuals and connect communities across demographics. An artist in my heart and by education, I approach opportunities with an impulse for creativity, a sensitivity to nuance, an embrace of multitudes, and an appreciation for process. 

In every step, I work to uplift individuals, empower diverse perspectives, and assemble coalitions around shared purpose. My role is to help clarify community vision, align people and resources around it, and execute thoughtful, strategic actions towards making the vision a reality. 

I believe that philanthropy must be driven by true collaboration, and that real change requires questioning the status quo, bridging divides, and investing deeply in people and place.

I’m excited to offer my expertise to help facilitate a more creative, joyful, just, and equitable future for the Intermountain West and beyond.

kate@katejonesconsulting.com

call or text: 970.708.8845

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