Evaluation Into Action
Evaluation Into Action is a Portland-based consultancy that helps nonprofits and foundations design and implement program evaluation systems using a proprietary 9-step method, supported by training, coaching, specialty services, a published book, and a free readiness assessment.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersPortland, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Evaluation Into Action does
Evaluation Into Action is a Portland, Oregon-based professional services firm founded in 2005 that provides program evaluation consulting to nonprofit organizations and philanthropic foundations. The firm helps clients design and implement realistic, sustainable evaluation systems that align with funder requirements and internal program-improvement objectives, working across verticals including housing and homelessness, education and youth development, healthcare and patient support, arts, and community services. Its named-client roster spans small community nonprofits (Brown Hope, Project Lemonade, Detroit PAL) through regional intermediaries (Meyer Memorial Trust, Metro Oregon) to international organizations (International Myeloma Foundation, Impact Center in Saudi Arabia), with 30+ organizations documented across case studies.
The firm's core intellectual property is the Evaluation Into Action Method, a structured 9-step process covering Design, Plan, Collect, Manage, Analyze, Report, Communicate, Improve Programs, and Support Development. Delivery is productized into a modular suite: hands-on program evaluation consulting, professional development training, monthly staff coaching, specialty services (Logic Model development, Survey design and analysis, Data Visualization, Literature Review), and conference speaking. Adjacent products include the published book "Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple" (January 2021), a companion website (getyourdata.com) with downloadable templates, a free online Evaluation Readiness Assessment that functions as a top-of-funnel lead generation tool, and an Evaluation Mini Guide series. There is no proprietary software platform; the firm operates as a knowledge-and-methodology practice.
The business model is fee-for-service professional consulting priced on a custom quote basis per engagement, supplemented by revenue from paid public workshops (delivered via Eventbrite/Ticket Tailor), book royalties (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, VitalSource academic distribution), and a referral-affiliate arrangement with Joan Garry's Nonprofit Leadership Lab. The go-to-market is sales-led, relationship-driven, and amplified through content marketing (blog, email newsletter), conference speaking (American Evaluation Association, OPEN), podcast appearances, and the funnel-leading free assessment tool. The firm is a privately held LLC owned and operated by founder Chari Smith, with no external investors, no subsidiaries, and a core team of two (Smith as founder/president and Christine Chvatal as research associate since 2011).
Evaluation Into Action firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Evaluation Into Action
- Legal name
- Evaluation Into Action, LLC
- Website
- https://evaluationintoaction.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Evaluation Into Action is a Portland-based consultancy that helps nonprofits and foundations design and implement program evaluation systems using a proprietary 9-step method, supported by training, coaching, specialty services, a published book, and a free readiness assessment.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Evaluation Into Action industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Program Evaluation Consulting
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Management Consulting Services (54161)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting & Compliance (Grant Oversight) (HLAJALAN)
Keywords
Where Evaluation Into Action is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Portland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Evaluation Into Action business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Professional Services (Consulting, Coaching, Training, Speaking): The primary revenue stream is fee-for-service professional consulting work. Services include hands-on program evaluation, monthly coaching for program evaluation staff, professional development training workshops, and speaking engagements at conferences. Pricing is quote-based and tailored to each engagement's scope and duration.
- Book Sales: Revenue from sale of the book 'Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple: Get your Data. Show your Impact. Improve your Programs.' Sold through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and VitalSource (academic e-textbook distribution). Every book purchase includes free access to a companion website with templates and downloadable examples.
- Affiliate Partnership (Nonprofit Leadership Lab): Evaluation Into Action participates as an affiliate partner with Joan Garry's Nonprofit Leadership Lab, receiving referral benefits when site visitors convert to paid members through the affiliate relationship.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Evaluation Readiness Assessment |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom Professional Services Engagement |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Evaluation Into Action product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Evaluation Into Action provides hands-on program evaluation consulting services to nonprofit organizations and foundations. The firm guides clients through a proprietary 9-step "Evaluation into Action Method" covering design, planning, data collection, data management, analysis, reporting, communication, and continuous program improvement. Offerings are delivered as direct consulting engagements, monthly coaching, professional development training, specialty services (logic models, surveys, data visualization, literature reviews), and conference speaking engagements.
Product overview
Evaluation Into Action operates as a consulting and training services firm offering a portfolio of program evaluation solutions for nonprofits and foundations. The core offering is hands-on program evaluation consulting services, supported by four service modules: Training (professional development workshops), Coaching (monthly staff coaching), Hands-On Services (collaborative implementation), and Specialty Services (Logic Models, Surveys, Data Visualization, Literature Review). The company also offers Speaking engagements and a free Evaluation Readiness Assessment tool. A key product is the published book "Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple" with an associated companion website providing downloadable templates. Additional resources include Evaluation Mini Guides and white papers on evaluation culture and methodology.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Program Evaluation Consulting Services Hands-on, collaborative program evaluation services for nonprofit and foundation clients covering the full 9-step Evaluation into Action Method including data collection, management, analysis, and reporting.
- Training Professional development workshops for nonprofit boards and teams to understand and execute program evaluation, featuring hands-on interactive activities.
- Coaching Monthly coaching for program evaluation staff leads to implement evaluation plans, build staff skills, and integrate evaluative thinking into organizational culture.
- Hands-On Services Collaborative virtual staff-member services performing program evaluation through all nine steps of the Evaluation into Action Method, including coaching on plan utilization.
- Specialty Services Focused services including Logic Model development, Survey design and analysis, Data Visualization, and Literature Review services tailored to each client's organizational context.
- Speaking
Quantifiable outcome
- 677% increase in annual foundation fundraising; 753-754% increase in individual donor fundraising for Path Home, directly attributed to having a program evaluation system in place.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Evaluation Into Action
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Evaluation Into Action technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Evaluation Into Action partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Joan Garry's Nonprofit Leadership LabminorEvaluation Into Action is an affiliate partner with Joan Garry's Nonprofit Leadership Lab. The firm promotes the lab's webinars and workshops on its Resources page, with affiliate links that generate referral benefits when site visitors become paying lab members. The partnership extends Evaluation Into Action's reach into Joan Garry's broad audience of nonprofit executive directors and organizational leaders. Both parties benefit: Joan Garry's lab gains visibility with Evaluation Into Action's audience, and the firm gains credibility by association and referral income.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Evaluation Into Action competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ORS Impact: ORS Impact is a boutique consulting firm providing evaluation, strategy, and learning services to foundations, nonprofits, and cross-sector partnerships. It competes for the same program evaluation engagements in the social-sector advisory space.
- TCC Group: TCC Group is a consulting firm serving nonprofits, foundations, and corporate funders with strategy, evaluation, and capacity-building services. It serves an overlapping client base of foundations and nonprofit executives needing evaluation support.
- Banyan Philanthropy Advisors: Banyan Philanthropy Advisors provides evaluation, capacity-building, and strategic learning services to foundations and nonprofits. It is a closely comparable evaluation-focused consultancy operating in the same buyer segment.
- Innovation Network: Innovation Network is a nonprofit consulting firm focused on evaluation, strategy, and learning for community-based organizations and foundations. It directly parallels Evaluation Into Action's mission to build evaluation capacity in the social sector.
- La Piana Consulting: La Piana Consulting is a strategy and evaluation firm focused exclusively on the nonprofit sector, helping organizations with strategic planning, mergers, and impact measurement. It directly competes in nonprofit evaluation and capacity-building advisory work.
- The Bridgespan Group: The Bridgespan Group is a strategy consulting firm serving nonprofits, philanthropists, and foundations on social impact strategy, organizational effectiveness, and performance measurement. It is a leading player in nonprofit advisory serving many of the same funder clients.
Broad incumbents
- American Institutes for Research (AIR): AIR is a large behavioral and social science research organization delivering program evaluation, assessment, and technical assistance to education, health, and social-sector clients. It is a broad incumbent in the same evaluation services category.
- Abt Associates: Abt Associates is a large research and evaluation consultancy serving federal, state, foundation, and international clients. It is a much larger incumbent player that competes for foundation and government program evaluation contracts.
- Mathematica Policy Research: Mathematica is a major policy research and evaluation firm providing evidence-based insights to public- and social-sector clients. It operates at significantly larger scale with overlapping program evaluation capabilities.
- The Foundation Review / FSG: FSG is a global social impact consulting firm advising foundations, corporations, and nonprofits on strategy, evaluation, and collective impact. It operates at much larger scale across the same social-sector client base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Evaluation Into Action social profiles
Digital presenceEvaluation Into Action financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Evaluation Into Action leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Evaluation Into Action funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Evaluation Into Action M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Evaluation Into Action
What does Evaluation Into Action do?
Evaluation Into Action provides hands-on program evaluation consulting services to nonprofit organizations and foundations. The firm guides clients through a proprietary 9-step "Evaluation into Action Method" covering design, planning, data collection, data management, analysis, reporting, communication, and continuous program improvement. Offerings are delivered as direct consulting engagements, monthly coaching, professional development training, specialty services (logic models, surveys, data visualization, literature reviews), and conference speaking engagements.
Is Evaluation Into Action a public or private company?
Evaluation Into Action is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Evaluation Into Action founded?
Evaluation Into Action was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Evaluation Into Action based?
Evaluation Into Action is headquartered in Portland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Evaluation Into Action make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Professional Services (Consulting, Coaching, Training, Speaking) is the primary driver. The others are book Sales and affiliate Partnership (Nonprofit Leadership Lab).
Who are Evaluation Into Action's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ORS Impact, TCC Group, Banyan Philanthropy Advisors, Innovation Network, La Piana Consulting and The Bridgespan Group. Broad incumbents are American Institutes for Research (AIR), Abt Associates, Mathematica Policy Research and The Foundation Review / FSG.
Does Evaluation Into Action have an API?
No public API is recorded for Evaluation Into Action.
What industry is Evaluation Into Action in?
Evaluation Into Action's product category is Nonprofit Program Evaluation Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAJALAN, Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting & Compliance (Grant Oversight). Its NAICS code is 54172 and its SIC code is 8742.