Cause Consulting

What Cause Consulting does

Cause Consulting is a Boston-based, privately held social impact strategy and communications consulting firm founded in 2005 by Mark Feldman and Nikki Korn to help corporations design, activate, and measure corporate social impact, CSR, ESG, and DEI programs. It operates as a boutique professional services practice with 11-50 employees, serving primarily large enterprise clients including Fortune 500 and multinational companies, with a publicly documented flagship engagement with Aramark running continuously since 2008.

The firm sells project-based advisory services through a direct B2B sales motion and packages its work around three proprietary methodologies: the Invest, Engage, Lead signature-program framework; the Prepare-Decide-Act Emerging Issue Action Model; and a Social Impact Modeling / Theory of Change methodology. Core services span social impact strategy consulting, communications consulting, ESG and corporate responsibility report development, employee volunteer program design, and DEI-to-community-investment alignment. The firm has no proprietary software platform and no disclosed AI tooling; its intellectual property is method-based rather than product-based.

Go-to-market is direct enterprise engagement supported by content marketing (the "Causenation" blog, LinkedIn, email newsletter) and conference speaking at venues such as the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP) Annual Conference and Engage for Good Summit, where the founders also lead the firm's "Courageous Together" thought-leadership series. Revenue is generated through professional-services fees from consulting engagements, ongoing program development and management work, and speaking/training engagements; no pricing is publicly disclosed, and the firm has no outside institutional ownership, no funding rounds, and no subsidiaries.

Name

Cause Consulting

Legal name

Cause Consulting

Website

https://causeconsulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cause Consulting is a Boston-based boutique social impact strategy and communications consulting firm serving enterprise clients on CSR, ESG, DEI, and signature program design, founded in 2005 by Mark Feldman and Nikki Korn.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

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, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Strategic Consulting Services: Social impact strategy and communications consulting engagements with corporate clients. Projects include signature program design, ESG strategy, DEI alignment, and corporate responsibility advisory services.
2. Program Development & Management: Ongoing engagement for designing, implementing, and managing corporate social impact and employee volunteer programs. Case study reference: Aramark Building Community program.
3. Speaking & Training Engagements: Keynote speeches, workshops, and training sessions on corporate social impact topics at industry conferences (e.g., ACCP Conference, Engage for Good Summit).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cause Consulting is a social impact strategy and communications firm that crafts and activates corporate social impact programs for large enterprises. Its core offerings include strategic social impact consulting, signature program development (using a proprietary Invest, Engage, Lead framework), ESG and corporate responsibility reporting, employee volunteer program design, DEI alignment, and the Emerging Issue Action Model for guiding executive teams on societal issues. The firm also delivers keynote speaking, workshops, and thought leadership content such as the Courageous Together video and blog series.

Product overview

Cause Consulting is a social impact strategy and communications firm offering consulting services rather than a software product. Their core offerings center on strategic consulting to help companies craft and activate social impact programs. Key services include social impact strategy consulting, communications consulting, signature program development using their proprietary Invest, Engage, LeadSM methodology, ESG/corporate responsibility report development, and employee volunteer program design. They also provide thought leadership frameworks including the Emerging Issue Action Model and the 'S-Five' approach for maximizing the Social component of ESG. The Courageous Together Series serves as their primary content/insight platform featuring video series and blog posts on social impact topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Causenation: A blog by Cause Consulting featuring insights on social impact strategy and communications

Products and services

• Social Impact Strategy Consulting Strategic consulting services helping companies craft and activate social impact programs that differentiate brands, deliver business and social value, and inspire action. Targeted at large corporate enterprises pursuing CSR and ESG initiatives.
• Communications Consulting Communications services focused on demonstrating the value of social impact and helping companies effectively tell their impact stories to stakeholders. Targeted at corporate clients seeking impact storytelling and stakeholder communications.
• Signature Program Development (Invest, Engage, Lead Framework) Proprietary signature program development methodology using the Invest, Engage, LeadSM framework to help companies build ownable, branded, and outcome-driven social impact initiatives with nonprofit partnerships, year-round stakeholder engagement, and strategic expertise sharing.
• Emerging Issue Action Model (Prepare, Decide, Act) A three-step decision-making framework to help executive teams diagnose situations and determine appropriate action around societal issues, consisting of Prepare, Decide, and Act phases. Includes tools such as issue research, stakeholder maps, and Decision Trees.
• ESG/Corporate Responsibility Report Development Guidance and support for companies developing their first or subsequent ESG, Corporate Responsibility, and Sustainability reports, including materiality processes and framework alignment. For corporate clients navigating ESG disclosure requirements.
• Employee Volunteer Program Design Strategic design and activation of corporate employee volunteer programs, including global signature programs such as Aramark Building Community. Targeted at corporations seeking to engage employees in volunteerism and philanthropy.
• Social Impact Modeling and Theory of Change Impact modeling services including theory of change development, logic model mapping, and strategic guidance for designing, evaluating, and managing signature social impact programs. For organizations measuring outcomes versus outputs.
• DEI and Social Impact Alignment Strategic consulting to align social impact and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies, including ERG engagement and community investment alignment. For corporate clients integrating DEI with CSR/community investment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Aramark invested tens of millions of dollars in community impact through programs designed by Cause Consulting
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AramarkflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Long-term strategic partnership since 2008 to develop and implement Aramark Building Community, a global signature philanthropic and employee volunteer program. Cause Consulting provides campaign development, employee engagement, naming, messaging, impact storytelling, partner management, and strategic planning.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• BSR: BSR is a global sustainability strategy and advisory firm helping corporations develop and implement social impact, ESG, and sustainability programs. It is one of the closest direct peers to Cause Consulting in terms of serving corporate social impact strategy and signature program work for Fortune 500 clients.
• GlobeScan: GlobeScan is a research and strategy consultancy focused on sustainability, purpose, and stakeholder insights, frequently partnering with brands on social impact communications. Its corporate purpose and impact strategy work closely mirrors Cause Consulting's strategy and communications engagements.
• SustainAbility (an ERM company): SustainAbility is a sustainability strategy and advisory firm that helps companies develop and report on ESG and social impact strategies. Its corporate strategy and reporting work directly overlaps with Cause Consulting's ESG and corporate responsibility advisory offerings.
• JUST Capital: JUST Capital measures and ranks corporate performance on stakeholder issues and works with companies to improve how they communicate and act on social impact. Its advisory and corporate stakeholder work overlaps with Cause Consulting's social impact measurement and stakeholder engagement services.
• FSG: FSG is a social impact strategy consulting firm that advises corporations, foundations, and nonprofits on strategy, evaluation, and collective impact initiatives. It competes directly with Cause Consulting in advising companies on social impact strategy, signature programs, and theory of change.

Others

• Net Impact: Net Impact is a professional community of students and leaders driving social and environmental change inside business. It is an adjacent community and content organization that overlaps thematically with Cause Consulting's audience of CSR and sustainability professionals.
• Points of Light: Points of Light is a global nonprofit focused on volunteer service and civic engagement, and the entity behind the Presidential Points of Light Award received by Cause Consulting's co-founder. It is an adjacent ecosystem organization operating in the same corporate volunteering and social impact space.
• Taproot Foundation: Taproot Foundation is a nonprofit that enables pro bono and skill-based volunteering between corporate employees and nonprofits. It is an ecosystem player in the same corporate volunteerism and community impact space that Cause Consulting designs programs within for clients like Aramark.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: IDEO is a global design and innovation consultancy with a dedicated social impact practice serving corporations, foundations, and NGOs. While broader in scope than Cause Consulting, it competes for the same corporate social impact strategy and human-centered program design engagements.
• Kantar Sustainability: Kantar's sustainability practice provides research, insights, and brand strategy for purpose-driven and ESG positioning at large global brands. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps with Cause Consulting on communicating the value of corporate social impact.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cause-consulting
• Xx.com/causeconsulting
• Facebookfacebook.com/causeconsultingfirm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Cause Consulting