Blue Garnet

What Blue Garnet does

Blue Garnet is a Los Angeles-based social impact consulting firm founded in 2002 by Jennifer Li Shen and Way-Ting Chen, college friends from Swarthmore who previously worked at Booz & Company and the Boston Consulting Group respectively. The firm delivers fee-for-service strategy and management consulting to three primary client segments: philanthropy and foundations, nonprofit organizations, and corporations with social impact mandates. Service offerings include strategic vision definition, impact measurement and articulation, organizational capacity building, board consulting, and DEI/racial equity strategy. Blue Garnet's methodology is anchored in proprietary intellectual property, most notably the Impact Formula™ framework (created in 2011) for defining theory of change and measuring outcomes, and the High Performing Organization (HPO) Framework covering organizational clarity, shared leadership, healthy economics, and accountability for results. The firm also adopted a strengths-based, positive-psychology approach in 2007–2008.

The business operates on a custom, quote-based professional services model. Fees are described in the firm's Code of Ethical Conduct as 'reasonable and commensurate with the services to be delivered,' with each engagement scoped individually based on client needs. Blue Garnet reports serving 100 organizations through direct consulting engagements and an additional 186 organizations through capacity-building initiatives and trainings, reaching over 1,101 leaders. A particularly long-running engagement is the HALO Award technical assistance partnership with The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation, active across 10+ cohorts since 2010. The firm has been a Certified B Corporation since 2012/2013, earning 'Best for the World' honors for six consecutive years by scoring in the top 10% of B Corps globally, and is recognized as a Benefit Corporation under California law. The firm maintains a core team of approximately 10 members including 3 partners, plus an extended alumni and affiliate network, with no disclosed outside funding, parent company, or subsidiaries.

Name

Blue Garnet

Legal name

Blue Garnet

Website

https://bluegarnet.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Blue Garnet is a Los Angeles-based social impact consulting firm founded in 2002 that provides strategy, evaluation, and capacity-building services to foundations, nonprofits, and corporations using proprietary frameworks including the Impact Formula™ and High Performing Organization model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Impact Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG, Sustainability & Impact Research (BPAHALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Social impact consulting
• Strategy and management consulting
• Nonprofit capacity building
• Philanthropy advisory services
• Corporate social responsibility consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Fee-for-service consulting engagements with foundations, nonprofits, and corporations. Engagements include strategic planning, evaluation and learning frameworks, organizational capacity building, and board consulting. Fees are described as 'reasonable and commensurate with the services to be delivered.'

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Blue Garnet is a Los Angeles-based social impact strategy and management consulting firm that helps funders, nonprofits, and corporations define their vision for impact, measure outcomes, and tell their impact story. Engagements are custom, fee-for-service assignments applying proprietary frameworks (Impact Formula™ and HPO) to support foundations, nonprofit organizations, and corporations in strategic planning, evaluation and learning, organizational capacity building, and board consulting.

Product overview

Blue Garnet is a Los Angeles-based social impact consulting firm offering strategy and management consulting services for foundations, nonprofits, and corporations. The firm provides specialized consulting services through its three service modules: For Philanthropy, For Nonprofits, and For Corporations. Blue Garnet's core intellectual property includes the proprietary Impact Formula™ Framework (created in 2011) for defining and measuring organizational outcomes, and the High Performing Organization (HPO) Framework which encompasses four disciplines: organizational clarity, shared leadership, healthy economics, and accountability for results. The firm also offers capacity building initiatives and training programs that have reached 186 organizations, and serves as technical assistance provider and learning partner for The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation's HALO Award program. Additionally, they maintain a content resource through their Social Impact Geek blog.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy and Management Consulting for Philanthropy Strategic support services tailored for foundations and philanthropic organizations, including evaluation framework design, theory of change development, DEI strategy, grantee capacity building, and learning partner roles (e.g., HALO Award program).
• Strategy and Management Consulting for Nonprofits Strategic support services for nonprofit organizations, including strategic business planning, outcome measurement, volunteer program support, organizational culture and shared leadership development, and capacity building.
• Strategy and Management Consulting for Corporations Strategic support services helping corporations and corporate foundations develop and implement CSR strategy, manage corporate foundations, define impact measurement frameworks, advance DEI strategy, and prepare for B Corp certification.
• Capacity Building Initiatives and Trainings Organizational capacity building programs and training services delivered alongside consulting engagements, complementing direct consulting work (which has reached 100 organizations) with training programs that have impacted 186 organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% of clients achieve clarity on their organization's outcomes from working with Blue Garnet (over the past 5 years)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Carl & Roberta Deutsch FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Since Cohort 2 of the HALO Award (2010), Blue Garnet has served dual roles as technical assistance provider and learning partner for the Foundation's HALO Award — a capacity building initiative strengthening nonprofits through volunteer program support. Blue Garnet designed and implemented evaluation across 10+ cohorts, including real-time assessment and longitudinal evaluation. This is the firm's longest-standing and most documented partnership, generating quantifiable outcomes (16% average capacity increase per cohort).
• HALO Award / HALO Award StoriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue Garnet served as technical assistance provider and learning partner for the HALO Award program, which recognizes extraordinary volunteers and builds organizational capacity through improved volunteer management. Blue Garnet also supported the multimedia 'HALO Award Stories' project to inspire greater investment in volunteer programs. 11 cohorts completed by 2021.
• B Lab / B Corp CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue Garnet is a Certified B Corporation since 2013, audited by B Lab against rigorous social and environmental performance standards. The firm has received 'Best for the World' honors for 6 consecutive years, placing in the top 10% of B Corps globally. B Lab provides the certification framework and community network that Blue Garnet actively participates in.
• Los Angeles Social Venture Partners (now SJPLA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue Garnet co-founded Los Angeles Social Venture Partners (now SJPLA — Social Justice Philanthropy for Los Angeles) in 2004. SJPLA is a philanthropy network focused on social justice in Los Angeles.
• UCLA Anderson School of ManagementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder Way-Ting Chen conducted a workshop at UCLA Anderson on 'Strategy + Evaluation: the Yin and Yang of Social Impact,' bridging academic and practitioner perspectives on integrating strategy formation with evaluation for greater impact.
• National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers (NNCG)minorOthersBlue Garnet's Code of Ethical Conduct was inspired by NNCG's code of ethical conduct for consultants to grantmakers. This signals professional alignment and adherence to sector standards.
• Southern California Grantmakers (SCG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue Garnet is an active participant in SCG's evaluation and learning peer group and partnered with SCG for its 2012 Annual Conference. SCG is a regional philanthropy network serving Southern California.
• Downtown Women's CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue Garnet conducted a culture assessment for Downtown Women's Center (DWC), engaging staff, board, residents, program participants, and volunteers. CEO Lisa Watson leveraged the engagement to build and elevate organizational culture during a period of expansion.
• ExED (Excellence + Innovation in Education)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue Garnet partner Jenni Shen serves on the ExED Board. ExED is a nonprofit supporting educational excellence for underserved communities in Southern California. Blue Garnet has also partnered with ExED for charter school capacity building work.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TCC Group: TCC Group is a national consulting firm serving foundations and nonprofits with strategy, evaluation, and organizational development services — directly comparable to Blue Garnet's nonprofit and foundation service modules.
• La Piana Consulting: La Piana Consulting partners with nonprofits and funders on strategic planning, capacity building, and impact-focused consulting — closely aligned with Blue Garnet's core offerings to the social sector.
• ORS Impact: ORS Impact is a consulting firm specializing in strategy and evaluation for foundations and nonprofits — directly comparable to Blue Garnet's strategy and evaluation offerings.
• The Bridgespan Group: Bridgespan is a nonprofit advisory firm focused on strategy, organizational transformation, and impact for social sector organizations — a direct competitor for nonprofit and foundation consulting work.
• Bates & Company: Bates & Company is a management consulting firm serving foundations and nonprofits on strategy and operations, similar in client base and scope to Blue Garnet.
• FSG: FSG is a global social impact strategy and evaluation consulting firm advising foundations and corporations on strategy, evaluation, and impact measurement — the closest direct peer to Blue Garnet's philanthropy and nonprofit advisory work.
• Arabella Advisors: Arabella Advisors provides strategic guidance, impact advising, and philanthropic advisory services to foundations, nonprofits, and impact investors — overlapping Blue Garnet's philanthropy and corporate CSR engagements at greater scale.

Regional players

• Cynthia Weese & Associates: A California-based consulting firm serving nonprofits with strategy and capacity building — regionally comparable to Blue Garnet's Southern California nonprofit practice.

Others

• B Lab: B Lab is the nonprofit certifying body for B Corps and the community Blue Garnet actively participates in — adjacent ecosystem player that shapes the firm's client network and credibility but does not compete in consulting.

Broad incumbents

• Boston Consulting Group (BCG) - Social Impact Practice: BCG's Social Impact practice delivers strategy consulting to foundations, nonprofits, and corporations on social impact — a broad incumbent competitor where Blue Garnet's co-founder previously worked.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blue-garnet-associates
• Xx.com/hellobluegarnet
• Facebookfacebook.com/hellobluegarnet

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Blue Garnet