La Piana Consulting

What La Piana Consulting does

La Piana Consulting is a privately held, US-based strategy consulting firm founded in 1998 by David La Piana, exclusively serving the social sector (nonprofits, foundations, and mission-driven organizations such as social enterprises and Latine-serving groups). The firm offers a portfolio of core services — Strategic Planning (anchored by the proprietary Real-Time Strategic Planning methodology, refreshed as RTSP 2.0 in 2023), Business Planning, Mergers & Partnerships, Capacity Building, and Organizational Development — supplemented by a bilingual Latine-centered practice branded Vías, workshops, and speaking engagements. Its intellectual property includes the RTSP framework, Scenario Mapping for VUCA environments, the Collaborative Map (a framework illustrating 15 ways nonprofits can partner), the Merger & Alliance Toolkit, the BUILDing for Growth program co-developed with the Ford Foundation, and the published book The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution.

The firm is operated as a fully virtual organization since inception, with a team of approximately 16–17 senior consultants, partners, associate consultants, and a communications manager working from home offices and connecting through video and periodic in-person meetings. Notable engagements span 1,600+ organizations over 25 years, including high-visibility clients such as NAACP, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ACLU California Action, the National Women's Law Center, Ford Foundation, Catholic Charities of Rochester, and the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven: prospective clients reach the firm through a "Talk to Us" inquiry portal and direct phone/email, leading to customized proposals and project-based professional services engagements. Pricing is custom and not publicly disclosed. Marketing is content-led through the La Piana Insights blog, a quarterly Learning Link email newsletter, a SoundCloud-hosted podcast, LinkedIn, downloadable toolkits, and conference speaking. Leadership transitioned to Onuka Ibe as Managing Partner alongside founder David La Piana, with a partner group that includes Kristen Godard (Head of Finance and Operations), Luis Vergara (Head of Practice, Vías lead), Lara Jakubowski, Lester Olmstead-Rose, and Scott Cotenoff.

Name

La Piana Consulting

Legal name

La Piana Consulting

Website

https://lapiana.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

La Piana Consulting is a privately held, US-based strategy consulting firm founded in 1998 that exclusively serves nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises with proprietary methodologies in strategic planning, mergers and partnerships, capacity building, and a bilingual Latine-centered practice.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA), Organization Design & Operating Model Consulting (BPAHAGAB)

Keywords

• Nonprofit management consulting
• Strategic planning services
• Mergers and partnerships advisory
• Organizational development consulting
• Foundation capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Moorpark

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Customized consulting engagements for nonprofits and foundations including strategic planning, business planning, mergers and partnerships, capacity building, organizational development, and Latine-centered consulting. Revenue generated through project-based professional service fees tailored to client needs and scope.
2. Training and Speaking Engagements: Fees for workshops, presentations, and speaking engagements on nonprofit management topics including strategic planning, mergers, leadership, and sector-specific issues. Positioned as both revenue stream and client acquisition channel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

La Piana Consulting is a strategy consulting firm that sells customized advisory services to nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises, including strategic planning, business planning, mergers and partnerships advisory, capacity building, organizational development, and Latine-centered consulting through its Vías practice. Engagements are delivered by senior consultants (most of whom are former nonprofit executives) using proprietary methodologies such as Real-Time Strategic Planning, the Collaborative Map, and the Merger & Alliance Toolkit, and are complemented by trainings and speaking engagements.

Product overview

La Piana Consulting is a strategy consulting firm offering a comprehensive suite of advisory services for nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises. The core offerings include Strategic Planning (with the proprietary Real-Time Strategic Planning methodology), Business Planning, Mergers & Partnerships, Capacity Building, and Organizational Development. The firm also operates Vías, a specialized Latine-centered consulting practice providing bilingual and bicultural services. Supporting resources include the Merger & Alliance Toolkit and Career Workbook. Services are delivered through a team of experienced consultants with backgrounds as nonprofit leaders, and the firm has helped more than 1,600 organizations since 1998.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vías: Latine-centered consulting practice at La Piana Consulting, led by Luis Vergara, offering services specifically designed for Latine-serving organizations
• Real-Time Strategic Planning

Products and services

• Strategic Planning Comprehensive strategic planning services to help nonprofit organizations define their direction, set priorities, and allocate resources to achieve their mission. Delivered through customized consulting engagements for nonprofit executive directors and boards.
• Real-Time Strategic Planning (RTSP) Adaptive strategic planning methodology designed for uncertainty and volatility, helping nonprofits make decisions quickly amid changing conditions through short-term action plans and an updated RTSP 2.0 version delivered as a customized consulting engagement.
• Business Planning Determines the economic and operational requirements for a given strategy to succeed, including cost projections, staffing needs, and technology requirements for nonprofit and social-sector organizations.
• Mergers & Partnerships Advisory services for nonprofit mergers, strategic alliances, and other forms of organizational collaboration, applying the proprietary Collaborative Map framework illustrating 15 ways nonprofits can partner. Includes the Merger & Alliance Toolkit for practical guidance.
• Capacity Building Organizational development interventions that strengthen infrastructure, leadership, and operational capacity of social sector organizations, including the BUILDing for Growth multi-year evidence-based intervention developed with Ford Foundation for 60+ social justice grantees.
• Organizational Development Consulting services to help nonprofit organizations improve their structure, culture, governance, and overall effectiveness, including support for change initiatives and leadership transitions.
• Vías: Latine-Centered Consulting Bilingual and bicultural consulting practice for Latine-serving nonprofits, offering facilitation, bilingual surveys, Spanish-language interviews, focus groups, executive advising, and translation services to help organizations authentically engage with Latine communities.
• Trainings and Speaking Engagements Professional development and thought leadership offerings for nonprofits and foundations, including workshops, training sessions, and keynote presentations on strategic planning, mergers, organizational development, leadership, and sector-specific issues.

Quantifiable outcome

• Helped more than 1,600 nonprofit organizations since 1998
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Institute for Nonprofit PracticemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Featured interview collaboration with Yolanda Coentro, President & CEO of Institute for Nonprofit Practice, on strategic collaboration topics including asset transfers and partnership approaches. Joint content development through podcast interviews exploring nonprofit partnership strategies.
• The Brand ConsultancyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2013Engaged for website redesign and rebranding project in 2013, providing third-party stakeholder interviews and branding expertise that helped La Piana examine and refine their market positioning and communication strategies.
• Ford FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership on the BUILDing for Growth initiative, a multi-year evidence-based intervention for social justice organizations. La Piana developed and delivered this capacity-building program in collaboration with Ford Foundation's BUILD initiative, assisting over 60 Ford grantees in navigating rapid unplanned growth.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Bridgespan Group: The most direct and prominent peer: a nonprofit and philanthropy strategy consulting firm offering strategy, mergers, and organizational effectiveness services to the same social-sector buyer as La Piana. Closely overlapping service lines (strategy, M&A, capacity building) and a similar mission-driven positioning.
• TCC Group: Philadelphia-based nonprofit consulting firm that provides strategy, evaluation, and capacity-building services to foundations and nonprofits, with explicit overlap to La Piana's strategy and organizational development offerings.
• FSG: Global nonprofit and philanthropic advisory firm that helps foundations and nonprofits develop strategy, evaluate impact, and pursue collective action — a direct match to La Piana's strategy, scenario planning, and foundation advisory work.
• BCT Partners: Management consulting firm specializing in research, evaluation, and organizational development for nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies, with a strong focus on equity and DEI — directly comparable to La Piana's strategy and equity-centered practice.
• CauseEffective: Boutique consulting firm focused on nonprofit strategic planning, fundraising strategy, and organizational development — a direct head-to-head competitor for La Piana's mid-sized nonprofit client base.

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company (Social Sector Practice): Large global management consulting firm with a dedicated social-sector practice serving major foundations, multilaterals, and large nonprofits. Competes with La Piana on large strategic engagements from a broader portfolio of capabilities.
• Bain & Company (Social Impact Practice): Global management consulting firm with a Social Impact practice advising foundations, NGOs, and development organizations. Overlaps with La Piana in the foundation and large-ngo buyer segments from a much broader service menu.

Emerging players

• Common Impact: Nonprofit that designs skills-based volunteer and consulting engagements connecting companies with nonprofits, operating in adjacent territory to La Piana's capacity-building and organizational development offerings.

Others

• Taproot Foundation: Nonprofit that mobilizes pro bono consulting for other nonprofits; adjacent rather than competitive, but operates in the same buyer segment and offers an alternative delivery model for capacity-building engagements.
• Nonprofit Finance Fund: Nonprofit community development financial institution that advises nonprofits on financial strategy, business planning, and capitalization — overlaps with La Piana's business planning service line and shares the same social-sector buyer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lapianaconsulting
• Xx.com/LaPianaConsult
• Facebookfacebook.com/LaPianaConsulting

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 La Piana Consulting