Transformational
partnerships

Clients include:

Genentech
The Big Lift
Gilead Foundation
Campaign to Free Afghans
Children’s Day School
Hebrew Free Loan
Amazon

Children Now 

Wealth Architects 

Cal Humanities
San Francisco Public Library
Audible
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
CuriOdyssey
Dell
College Futures Foundation
Juniper Networks
California Competes
San Francisco Zen Center
City CarShare
Adobe
Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco
Leadership Council San Mateo County

Genentech

Leadership, CSR strategy, collective impact

Reach for the Upside is a $2.7 million “design sprint” initiative funded by Genentech and the Genentech Foundation to help Northern California public school districts navigate the constraints of the COVID-19 era. We developed their action plan, identified the strongest applicants, engaged potential funders, and partnered with the Stanford d.school to apply their design thinking approach to finding the upside in times of crisis and rapid change. Learn more

The Big Lift

Leadership, strategic planning, branding, collective impact, CSR

Lift with us. The Big Lift is a bold social venture that galvanized San Mateo County to give low income kids the boosts they need to read and succeed. As the lead architects of the initiative, we developed their action plan, built their collaborative to 300+ organizations, and created a distinctive brand and story that helped us raise $35 million and lift 20,000 kids. Learn more

Gilead Foundation’s HEAL initiative

Healthcare Education, Access and Leadership (HEAL) Initiative was designed to develop a more diverse Bay Area healthcare workforce that will lower barriers to healthcare access in the most vulnerable communities. Research has shown that diversity in the healthcare workforce can play a crucial role in improving access to and quality of care for communities of color. Working with Gilead Foundation’s leadership, we identified the need, developed the strategy and the RFP, and evaluated the grant applications for the $5 million initiative. Learn more

Campaign to Free Afghans

Leadership, story-telling and brand creation, collective impact, fundraising

On the day the Americans pulled out of Afghanistan in August of 2021, Joe texted some Afghan human rights colleagues to ask, “Are you okay?’ The answer came back quickly: “No. Get us out of here.”  Joe didn’t hesitate, and began a four-year rescue mission that saved 650 LGBTQ and women Afghan leaders from persecution, torture and execution by the Taliban. The campaign helps provide the “missing link” to get refugees out of the country and into western countries offering resettlement, primarily Germany and Canada. 
Learn more

Children’s Day School

DNA: mission, beliefs and values

Who you become. Children’s Day School is a preK-8 independent school in San Francisco with a distinctive DNA that needed to be articulated and embraced by the community. We interviewed those who best manifested its DNA, engaged the community in the process, and developed a mission, beliefs, and values statement that helped the school steer a positive course through the pandemic. Learn more

The Pollak Community Student Loan Program

Hebrew Free Loan of San Francisco (HFL) has been making interest-free loans to the Jewish community for over 100 years. It is a proven way to help people in need and strengthen the community. HFL’s Pollak Community Loan program extends interest-free loans beyond the Jewish community by helping low-income students of other faiths and cultures pay for college.  HFL wants to help create a more just world by making higher education more accessible. Learn more

Leadership Council San Mateo County

Vision, fundraising, story-telling, team-building

LCSMC is a new county-wide program teaching leadership skills to established and emerging leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in San Mateo County. We engaged the board, staff, alumni, and county leaders in a vision exercise to help this successful start-up develop a North Star for its future development. The key insight: building trust among leaders from different sectors is essential to successful collaboration and action on the county’s biggest challenges. Based on this insight, we helped them tell their story, improve their pitch, and motivate their extended team. Learn more

Maisin Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund

Leadership, evaluation, collective impact

The Maisin Foundation grants $1+ million annually to San Francisco public school students from low income families to help them get to and through college. We helped the Maisin board and staff increase their impact by evaluating their program and recommending a partnership with 10,000 Degrees, a highly respected, data-driven organization providing near peer coaching and other supporting services to low income students, with an 80% success rate and 90% graduating without debt.

Wealth Architects

DNA, re-branding, website

Building wealthier lives. Wealth Architects helps clients navigate the financial and personal challenges that come with change and complexity, and also asks them the big questions about what they want from their lives. What begins with a challenge becomes a journey to a wealthier life. With a unique brand story, new branding, and website, we brought the oxymoron of a soulful money management firm to life. Learn more

Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Leadership, strategic planning, CSR strategy, storytelling

Strengthening the common good. Silicon Valley Community Foundation was the merger of two smaller foundations in Santa Clara and San Mateo County. We worked with a newly combined team in the dark days of the 2008 recession to develop a vision statement and an aspirational strategic plan. This work helped unite the team and led to the establishment of a Corporate Social Responsibility practice and a Center for Early Learning.