Civitas Public Affairs Group

What Civitas Public Affairs Group does

Civitas Public Affairs Group is a Washington, D.C.-based B2B professional services firm founded in 2011 by Patrick Guerriero and Bill Smith that designs and executes large-scale advocacy and public affairs campaigns for leading philanthropists, nonprofit organizations, and thought leaders at the local, state, and federal levels. The firm operates across three offices (Washington D.C., New York, and Boston) with 26+ team members organized in a partner-to-associate hierarchy, and it is led by founding partners Guerriero and Smith (Chair), managing partner Katherine Grainger, and partner Marc Solomon — all architects of the marriage equality movement. Its core service lines are Campaign/Public Affairs Management, Donor Advising and Support, Policy Solutions (including executive orders and legislation), Strategic Thought Leadership, Opportunity Mapping, Message Research and Execution, and National Convenings.

The firm has no proprietary technology platform; its underlying "product" is the team's collective political relationships, campaign experience, and bipartisan execution capability. Revenue is generated through professional fees for advocacy campaign services, donor advising engagements, and technical policy work, with no publicly disclosed pricing or contract structure. Civitas joined the Orchestra network of communications companies in September 2024 — bringing it into a 700+ person platform alongside BerlinRosen, Derris, Glen Echo Group, and others — while retaining operational autonomy under founding and managing partners. Documented client engagements include Pew Charitable Trusts, Planned Parenthood, Audubon, GLAAD, Brady Campaign, Year Up, Trust for Public Land, Inseparable, the Pipeline Initiative, and Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, with the firm's track record anchored by the 2023 AAPC Campaign Excellence Award for the Respect for Marriage Act.

Name

Civitas Public Affairs Group

Legal name

Civitas Public Affairs Group, LLC

Website

https://civitaspublicaffairs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Civitas Public Affairs Group is a Washington, D.C.-based bipartisan advocacy and public affairs firm that designs and executes campaigns for leading philanthropists, nonprofit organizations, and thought leaders at the local, state, and federal levels, operating across three offices with 26+ staff.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Affairs Consulting

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820), Public Relations Agencies (54182), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Affairs, Government Relations & Lobbying (BPAFADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK), Public Affairs & Government Relations (MPAAADAE)

Keywords

• Public affairs consulting
• Advocacy campaign management
• Political strategy services
• Donor advising
• Policy development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advocacy Campaign Services: Professional fees for developing and managing large-scale advocacy campaigns at city, state, and federal levels. Services include grasstops and grassroots coalition engagement, lobbying, earned and paid media, social media, and political engagement coordination.
2. Donor Advising Services: Advisory services to high-impact philanthropic and political donors on giving strategies, including developing and executing political, advocacy, and public education campaigns.
3. Policy Solutions: Technical policy support including drafting executive orders, legislation, and white papers. Services include federal, state, and municipal policy development for legislative and executive action.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Civitas Public Affairs Group is a professional services firm that develops and manages large-scale bipartisan advocacy campaigns at the city, state, and federal levels. The firm advises philanthropic and political donors on giving strategies and provides policy development support, including drafting executive orders, legislation, and white papers, for nonprofit organizations, philanthropists, thought leaders, and centers of influence.

Product overview

Civitas Public Affairs Group is a professional services firm offering a unified portfolio of advocacy and public affairs consulting services rather than a software product platform. The core offerings include Campaign/Public Affairs Management, Donor Advising & Support, Policy Solutions, Strategic Thought Leadership, Opportunity Mapping, Message Research/Development/Execution, and National Convenings & Leadership Summits. These services work together to help clients build and execute bold advocacy initiatives at local, state, and federal levels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Campaign / Public Affairs Management

Quantifiable outcome

• Marriage equality public support moved from 27% in 1996 to 71% in 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 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 core and secondary.

• OrchestracoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 September 2024Civitas joined Orchestra, a full-service communications company, in September 2024. Orchestra brings together 700+ people across BerlinRosen, Civitas, Derris, Glen Echo Group, Inkhouse, M18, Message Lab, Onward, and Small Girls PR. Orchestra also includes Brightmode (talent acquisition) and Versus Media Group. This partnership expands Civitas's social impact capabilities and resources while maintaining its commitment to values and quality.
• Shared AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 September 2024Ken Himmelman serves as Managing Partner for pro-democracy campaign Shared America, launched in early 2024. Civitas and Shared America collaborate on democracy advocacy initiatives.
• Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013James Dozier founded CRES in 2013 to engage Republican policymakers and right-of-center audiences in climate and clean energy discussions. Civitas provides strategic guidance and support to CRES, including help creating National Clean Energy Week.
• Centerline ActioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJames Dozier founded Centerline Action and Centerline Liberties, which spearheaded the successful GOP-focused advocacy campaign to pass the Respect for Marriage Act.
• The Pipeline InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2018, Civitas played a pivotal role in launching The Pipeline Initiative to analyze candidate recruitment and training. Civitas supported creation of Pipeline Fund, Pipeline Education Fund, and The Pipeline Initiative. Pipeline has built a database of 500,000+ elected offices and supports a network of 15 state pipeline organizations.
• InseparablesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerBill Smith founded Inseparable, a mental health advocacy organization. Chris Cordingley is a co-founder. Civitas team members are involved in this mental health initiative.
• Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy SchoolsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerKen Himmelman previously served as Executive Director of CPL at Harvard Kennedy School, which develops principled effective public leaders. Civitas has connection through Ken's prior role.
• The Bridgespan GroupsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCivitas Partner Marc Solomon co-authored articles with Bridgespan Managing Partner William Foster on policy campaign characteristics and philanthropy support. Previously, Patrick Guerriero co-authored with Susan Wolf Ditkof on philanthropy and advocacy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BerlinRosen: Sibling firm within the Orchestra network; large progressive communications and public affairs firm. Most direct comparable because of shared parent, overlapping nonprofit/philanthropy client base, and identical advocacy-campaign service model.
• Inkhouse: Orchestra network sibling providing public relations and strategic communications for technology and consumer brands. Adjacent within the same parent network with overlapping public-affairs-adjacent capabilities.
• SKDK: Top-tier political consulting and public affairs firm with comparable issue advocacy, campaign management, and donor advising services for nonprofits and foundations. Closest independent competitor to Civitas by capability and client profile.
• Mercury: Bipartisan public affairs and strategic communications firm serving nonprofits, philanthropists, and corporate clients with advocacy, lobbying, and media strategy. Comparable in service breadth and bipartisan positioning.
• Forbes Tate Partners: Bipartisan public affairs and strategic communications firm offering advocacy strategy, coalition management, and donor engagement services to nonprofits, foundations, and corporate clients.
• Glen Echo Group: Orchestra network sibling focused on public affairs, policy communications, and advocacy campaigns for technology and consumer clients. Directly comparable public affairs offering with shared parent infrastructure.
• A10 Associates: Bipartisan political and public affairs consulting firm serving nonprofits and corporate clients with advocacy, coalition, and government-relations services. Comparable in scale and issue-advocacy positioning.
• Beacon Strategic Consulting: Public affairs and advocacy firm specializing in campaign strategy, coalition building, and policy communications for nonprofits, foundations, and philanthropists — closely aligned to Civitas's donor-advising model.
• BSG (Bullpen Strategy Group): Public affairs and corporate reputation firm with bipartisan advocacy, coalition building, and media campaign services. Comparable in client mix (corporate, nonprofit, trade associations) and advocacy campaign focus.

Broad incumbents

• Ogilvy Public Relations: Global communications network with public affairs and advocacy capabilities. Larger incumbent offering broader geographic reach and corporate-issue campaigns, but with a wider portfolio rather than Civitas's nonprofit/philanthropy specialization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/civitasfirm
• Facebookfacebook.com/CivitasPublicAffairs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/civitas-public-affairs-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 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 Civitas Public Affairs Group