The Sheridan Group

What The Sheridan Group does

The Sheridan Group (TSG) is a Washington, DC-based boutique policy and advocacy consulting firm founded in 1991 by Tom Sheridan. The firm serves nonprofit organizations, socially conscious corporations, and social enterprises that operate at the intersection of innovation and federal policy. Its service offerings span Strategic Visioning & Planning, Legislative & Policy Development, Budget and Appropriations, Political Engagement, Coalition Building & Management, Impact Advocacy, and Advocacy Training. The firm operates as a professional services consultancy, with revenue generated through retained engagements and project-based federal advocacy work for mission-aligned clients.

The Sheridan's business model is anchored in long-term relationships with a relatively concentrated set of named nonprofit clients, including the ONE Campaign, Save the Children (and its 501(c)(4) arm SCAN), Benetech, Voices for National Service, and SPARC. The firm has produced measurable federal policy outcomes—it played a role in the creation and reauthorization of PEPFAR, secured $32M in federal appropriations for Benetech Bookshare, and helped leverage approximately $1.5B for the America Forward Coalition. The firm also built and continues to coordinate the America Forward Coalition, a network of 70+ innovative nonprofits and social enterprises that serves as both a client pipeline and a positioning asset.

The firm is private and founder-owned, with no disclosed outside investors, funding rounds, or M&A activity. Leadership is concentrated around founder and president Tom Sheridan, a "Top Lobbyist"-recognized figure, supported by senior policy staff such as Jim Stowers. The firm's strategic positioning is reinforced by Sheridan's 2019 book, "Helping the Good Do Better," which codifies the firm's cross-sector methodology. There is no disclosed technology platform, software product, or AI/ML component to the service offering.

Name

The Sheridan Group

Legal name

The Sheridan Group

Website

https://sheridangroupdc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Sheridan Group is a Washington, DC-based boutique policy and advocacy consulting firm founded in 1991 that serves nonprofits, socially conscious corporations, and social enterprises through strategic planning, legislative advocacy, appropriations work, and coalition management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy and Advocacy Consulting

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (54182)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Policy Management, Training & Ethics/Whistleblowing (BPAEAPAI)

Keywords

• Policy advocacy consulting
• Coalition building services
• Government relations strategy
• Legislative strategy consulting
• Federal appropriations advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

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. Professional Services - Advocacy Consulting: TSG generates revenue through professional service fees for customized advocacy, policy development, coalition building, and strategic consulting engagements with nonprofit organizations, social enterprises, and corporations seeking to influence public policy and create social change.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Sheridan Group (TSG) is a Washington, DC-based boutique consultancy that helps mission-driven organizations create social change through public policy. It delivers customized advocacy, policy development, coalition building, budget and appropriations, political engagement, and advocacy training services to nonprofit organizations, social enterprises, and socially conscious corporations through a phased approach of Impact Ideation, Policy Planning, and Execution.

Product overview

The Sheridan Group is a policy and advocacy consulting firm that operates as a single-service consultancy rather than a technology platform. The firm offers seven distinct but interconnected service offerings: Strategic Visioning & Planning, Legislative & Policy Development, Budget and Appropriations, Political Engagement, Coalition Building & Management, Impact Advocacy, and Advocacy Training. These services are delivered through a phased approach—starting with Impact Ideation & Visioning, moving to Political & Policy Planning, and culminating in Execution—providing mission-driven organizations with end-to-end advocacy campaign support. All services are customized for each client and centered on leveraging public policy as a force for social change.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Visioning and Planning Strategic planning service that helps mission-driven organizations increase impact and accelerate change, including auditing internal functionality and designing strategic plans aligned with policy-driven solutions.
• Legislative and Policy Development Policy and legislative strategy service that creates top-down and bottom-up advocacy campaigns and develops sophisticated advocacy strategies for social change.
• Budget and Appropriations Federal funding advocacy service that identifies, protects, and grows funding streams through the 24-month budget cycle by engaging the Administration, House and Senate Budget Committees, and Appropriations Committees.
• Political Engagement Bipartisan issue campaign strategy development and implementation, including candidate engagement, policy endorsements, and creation of 501(c)(4) organizations, 527 organizations, and PACs.
• Coalition Building and Management National coalition creation and management service that unifies organizations and stakeholders to exert influence on the legislative process, including the America Forward Coalition (70+ organizations) and Voices for National Service.
• Impact Advocacy Corporate social responsibility service that applies proven advocacy strategies to develop meaningful solutions to social problems through public policy, bridging the nonprofit and corporate sectors for next-generation corporate social responsibility.
• Advocacy Training Policy and advocacy training workshop service offering grassroots advocacy tools, customized curriculum, and strategic messaging development; available as individual workshops or half/full-day events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 9 million Africans gained access to life-saving AIDS medication through PEPFAR advocacy
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• America Forward CoalitionflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Network of more than 70 innovative, impact-oriented organizations fostering innovation in education, early childhood, workforce development, youth development, and poverty alleviation. TSG developed and led the America Forward campaign to engage 2008 presidential candidates in adopting policy proposals for social innovation.
• New Profit Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial entrepreneurship organization that hosts the annual Gathering of Leaders where the America Forward coalition concept originated.
• Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency that administers the Social Innovation Fund. TSG advocacy helped secure authorization and appropriations for this innovation agenda.
• White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic ParticipationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhite House office created to provide leadership for the social innovation agenda championed by America Forward coalition.
• Voices for National ServiceflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of national service organizations committed to expanding opportunities for Americans to serve their communities. TSG has built, managed, and sustained this coalition for nearly two decades.
• BenetechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit developing software for social good, including Bookshare accessible library. TSG provides ongoing appropriations strategy and advocacy support.
• Save the Children / Save the Children Action NetworkflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerTSG provided strategic guidance to create the 501(c)(4) Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) and continues to work with SCAN on policy agenda for early childhood education and child survival.
• SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational alliance of nearly 800 academic and research libraries working to create open access to scholarly research. TSG helped formulate federal open access policies.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Raben Group: Boutique public affairs and lobbying firm based in Washington, DC focused on nonprofit, progressive, and mission-driven clients. Highly comparable to TSG in size, philosophy, and client base, with deep expertise in policy advocacy and coalition management.
• Mehlman Consulting: DC-based bipartisan lobbying and government relations firm known for hill advocacy and coalition work. Comparable boutique scale and a similar focus on policy outcomes for mission-driven clients.
• CGCN Group: Washington, DC lobbying and public affairs firm with strong nonprofit and corporate client portfolio. Similar boutique advocacy model and coalition-building capabilities as TSG.
• Forbes Tate Partners: Strategic communications and government relations firm offering public affairs, lobbying, and advocacy services. Directly comparable to TSG in scope of services and target client segments.
• Subject Matter: DC-based public affairs and advocacy firm specializing in health, education, and social impact policy. Comparable boutique model with similar emphasis on nonprofit and foundation clients.

Broad incumbents

• BGR Group: One of the largest bipartisan government affairs and public relations firms in Washington, DC. Provides overlapping advocacy and government relations services to a broader client base, including corporations and trade associations.
• Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck: Major DC law and lobbying firm with substantial government relations and policy advocacy practice. Overlaps with TSG's federal advocacy work but as part of a much larger legal and lobbying portfolio.
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Global law firm with one of the largest lobbying and public policy practices in Washington, DC. Competes with TSG for high-profile policy advocacy engagements but at significantly larger scale.
• Holland & Knight: Major U.S. law firm with a substantial federal government relations and public affairs practice. Provides comparable advocacy services to nonprofits and corporations as part of a broader legal practice.
• K&L Gates: Global law firm with a significant government affairs and policy advocacy practice. Overlaps with TSG's federal lobbying work but serves a broader corporate and institutional client base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SheridanGroupDC
• Facebookfacebook.com/SheridanGroupDC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/SheridanGroupDC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 The Sheridan Group