Category One Consulting

What Category One Consulting does

Category One Consulting is a privately held organizational consulting firm headquartered in Blair, Nebraska, founded in 2016 by co-founders Amy McFeely and Sara Roberts. The firm delivers customized consulting services through three integrated practice areas: Research & Evaluation, Planning & Facilitation, and Organizational Effectiveness. It serves clients across four stated verticals—nonprofit, corporate, education, and government—predominantly in the U.S. Midwest, with a documented portfolio of 25+ named engagements spanning organizations such as Ardent Mills, Bellevue Public Schools, Collective for Youth, and Heartland Family Service. Service delivery centers on program evaluation, strategic planning facilitation, logic-model and Theory of Change development, capacity building, and organizational design.

The firm operates as a small boutique practice with 1–10 employees and no proprietary technology platform, app, or API surface; its only digital product is a thought leadership blog ("Insights") covering hiring, evaluation, facilitation, leadership, and organizational design. Revenue is generated entirely through professional services engagements delivered on a project-based or retainer basis under quote-based pricing that is not publicly disclosed. The firm uses a sales-led, relationship-based go-to-market motion with no resellers, distributors, or marketplace channels, and supports business development through content marketing, LinkedIn, Twitter, and direct email outreach.

Customer concentration skews toward the nonprofit sector in Nebraska and adjacent Midwest states, with selective forays into corporate (Ardent Mills HR program review) and government (Bellevue Public Schools federal grants evaluation). The firm has no disclosed external investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries, no funding history, and no merger, acquisition, or leadership transition activity beyond its founding. Category One Consulting also holds no disclosed patents, certifications, or regulatory licenses, and operates under the legal name Category One Consulting with the trade abbreviation C1C.

Name

Category One Consulting

Legal name

Category One Consulting

Website

https://category1consulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Category One Consulting is a Blair, Nebraska-based organizational consulting firm founded in 2016 that delivers research & evaluation, planning & facilitation, and organizational effectiveness services to nonprofits, corporations, schools, and government agencies in the U.S. Midwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Management Consulting Services (54161), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Organization Design & Change Management Consulting (BPAHACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organization Design & Operating Model Consulting (BPAHAGAB), Performance Management & Productivity Consulting (BPAHAGAL), People Analytics, Assessment & Psychometrics Consulting (BPAHAGAH)

Keywords

• Organizational consulting services
• Research and evaluation
• Strategic planning facilitation
• Organizational effectiveness consulting
• Nonprofit program evaluation

Headquarters

HQ city

Blair

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting services delivered through project-based engagements, retainer arrangements, and customized consulting packages across research & evaluation, planning & facilitation, and organizational effectiveness practice areas.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Category One Consulting is a professional services firm that provides customized consulting engagements across three integrated practice areas: Research & Evaluation, Planning & Facilitation, and Organizational Effectiveness. Services are delivered as project-based engagements and retainer arrangements to nonprofit, corporate, education, and government clients seeking evidence-based practices, data-driven program evaluation, strategic planning, and organizational improvement.

Product overview

Category One Consulting is a consulting firm offering three integrated service areas: Research & Evaluation, Planning & Facilitation, and Organizational Effectiveness. Their services are designed to help organizations maximize their impact through customized consulting engagements. They partner with clients across nonprofit, corporate, education, and government sectors. In addition to consulting services, they publish a thought leadership blog covering topics related to organizational development, hiring, evaluation, and leadership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research & Evaluation Sound research and evaluation consulting services that enable organizations to capitalize on strengths and make continuous improvements. Delivered through project-based engagements and customized consulting packages for nonprofit, corporate, education, and government clients.
• Planning & Facilitation
• Organizational Effectiveness

Quantifiable outcome

• Transformed HR program with over $3 million budget into success through evidence-based practices
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers26 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• La Piana Consulting: National nonprofit consulting firm providing strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, and capacity-building services to nonprofits and foundations — directly overlapping Category One's Planning & Facilitation and Organizational Effectiveness pillars for nonprofit clients.
• TCC Group: Consulting firm serving nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies with strategy, evaluation, and organizational development services — closely mirrors Category One's Research & Evaluation plus Organizational Effectiveness offering for mission-driven clients.
• FSG: Social-impact consulting firm advising nonprofits, foundations, and corporations on strategy and evaluation — overlaps with Category One's research, evaluation, and strategic-planning work for nonprofits and community-impact initiatives.
• Bridgespan Group: Nonprofit and philanthropic strategy consulting firm providing advisory, research, and organizational effectiveness services — comparable in nonprofit strategy and impact-evaluation focus, though operating at much larger scale.
• Tecker International: Strategy and organizational consulting firm serving nonprofits, associations, and foundations — directly comparable in planning, facilitation, and organizational development services for mission-driven organizations.
• Causey + West: Boutique consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, organizational development, and executive search for nonprofits — comparable boutique scale and service mix targeting similar nonprofit client segments.

Broad incumbents

• BDO USA: Global accounting and consulting network offering management consulting, HR advisory, and organizational effectiveness services — competes for the corporate and HR-program work Category One serves (e.g., Ardent Mills HR engagements), but as part of a much broader portfolio.
• Deloitte Consulting: Global professional services firm with large Human Capital and Strategy & Operations practices addressing organizational effectiveness, change management, and HR transformation — represents the large-incumbent competitive threat across Category One's service areas.
• Huron Consulting Group: Management consulting firm serving healthcare, education, and nonprofit clients with organizational and operational improvement services — overlaps Category One's education and human-services verticals at much larger scale.
• McKinsey & Company (Nonprofit/Social Sector Practice): Global management consulting firm with a dedicated Social Sector practice serving nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies on strategy and organizational effectiveness — competes for the largest, most sophisticated engagements in Category One's market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Category_ONE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/category-one-consulting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Category One Consulting