Cray Cube Consulting
Helping mission-driven organizations develop and sustain the building blocks needed to grow, adapt, and navigate whatever “cray” comes their way.
Book a chatAbout
You don’t have to build it from scratch.
Most nonprofit leaders know this problem intimately. Infrastructure doesn’t get built because there’s always something more urgent. Staff reinvent the wheel, data lives in someone’s head, and teams get consumed by operational noise instead of focusing on what matters most - the mission.
When the gap becomes impossible to ignore, the default solution is often another hire. However, bringing on the right person takes time, onboarding takes more, and often, for operational work, it’s a larger investment than what is actually required.
With more than 20 years of experience helping organizations strengthen operations and navigate complexity, Elizabeth (Liz) Adams founded Cray Cube Consulting to help organizations develop and sustain the building blocks needed for long-term growth, adaptability, and operational clarity. Her work spans grassroots nonprofits, educational institutions, and large bureaucratic organizations, giving her a deep understanding of both the challenges caused by missing systems and the barriers created by overly rigid ones.
Cray Cube Consulting exists to help organizations create strong operational foundations without adding unnecessary burden, internal strain, or disconnected systems that people struggle to use.
Our approach
Designed for people. Built for change.
Cray Cube Consulting partners with organizations to create practical systems built around how your organization actually works.
People-centered
Created with the end user in mind, not just organizational hierarchy.
Mission-centered
Streamlined to reduce friction and keep teams focused on impact.
Flexible by design
Structured to evolve with changing needs, priorities, and growth.
Community-connected
Connected to a broader network of organizations committed to shared learning, collaboration, and mutual support.
Good operations should break down barriers, not add to them.
Services
Supporting the infrastructure behind your impact.
Cray Cube Consulting provides nonprofit systems and support to drive sustainable growth and day-to-day operations, making it easy for you to focus on your mission.
Operational Infrastructure
Workflow development and process design
Implementation guides, operational checklists, and training materials
Database management and organizational systems
Reporting systems and documentation
AI integration to improve workflow efficiency and reduce administrative burden
People & Organizational Support
Staff, board, donor, and volunteer recruitment systems
Onboarding materials and orientation processes
Stewardship plans and engagement tools
Strategic planning facilitation
Fundraising & Events
Grant writing and grant support
Fundraising event planning
Retreat planning and facilitation
Don’t see exactly what you need?
If you are trying to solve a problem, improve coordination, or create more organizational clarity, let’s talk.
Concerned about budget?
Capacity-building funding may be available to support this work. Cray Cube Consulting can help identify and apply for relevant grant opportunities, and you only pay if funding is secured.
Book a Chat
Contact
Ready to learn more?
Book a chat, so we can explore working together.
If Calendly isn’t working, email Liz@craycubeconsulting.com, or text 218-731-9557.
Bio
Meet Liz Adams
Cray Cube Consulting's founder and principal consultant, Elizabeth (Liz) Adams, is a strategic, systems-oriented leader with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations strengthen operations and navigate complexity. Her work spans grassroots nonprofits, educational institutions, and large bureaucratic organizations, giving her a deep understanding of both the challenges caused by missing systems and the barriers created by overly rigid ones.
Throughout her career, Liz has led and supported initiatives focused on homelessness response, housing stability, youth services, systems coordination, and community wellbeing. She has built and facilitated collaborative partnerships among local government agencies, nonprofits, healthcare systems, education leaders, law enforcement, service providers, and community stakeholders to strengthen service delivery, improve communication across systems, and align diverse partners around shared goals.
Her expertise includes stakeholder facilitation, operational improvement, strategic planning, systems implementation, donor and development operations, process and program design, training development, and community-centered problem solving. Liz is especially skilled at helping organizations move from reactive problem-solving toward intentional, sustainable infrastructure by developing systems and strategies that improve accountability, coordination, and long-term capacity.
Liz’s leadership is grounded in both professional expertise and lived experience. Having personally navigated foster care, probation, and homelessness as a young person, she brings a deep understanding of the importance of coordinated systems, responsive support structures, and authentic community connection. Her work is rooted in collaboration, adaptability, equity, and the belief that strong relationships and strong systems create stronger communities.
The name Cray Cube Consulting was inspired by a tradition rooted in resilience, humor, and connection. Every summer, Liz would gather with her siblings, Gus and Bob, around a bonfire during family visits. As they shared stories about the chaos, challenges, and unexpected moments happening in their lives, the common response was often, “That’s cray.” One by one, the stories would circle the fire — “Dang, that’s cray cray.” “OMG, that’s cray cubed.”
Through those conversations, they realized something important: no matter how overwhelming life felt individually, things became more manageable when faced together. They supported one another through every challenge, setback, and unexpected turn life threw at them. Over time, they jokingly dubbed themselves the “Cray Cubed Crew” — a reminder that resilience is built through connection, collaboration, adaptability, and showing up for one another through whatever “cray” comes your way.
That spirit became the foundation for Cray Cube Consulting. Today, the firm helps organizations navigate complexity, strengthen systems, and build sustainable solutions through strategic planning, operational development, collaboration, and community-centered problem solving — because even the most overwhelming challenges become more manageable with the right support systems and trusted partners beside you.