Evaluation Into Action

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).

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

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

• Program evaluation services
• Nonprofit consulting
• Impact assessment
• Survey design
• Data visualization

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

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 (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.
2. 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.
3. 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

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core 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

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Joan Garry's Nonprofit Leadership LabminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Evaluation 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

Direct 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/chari-smith-636b982

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 Evaluation Into Action