Positively Partners

What Positively Partners does

Positively Partners is a Boston-headquartered, for-profit social enterprise founded in 2016 that delivers HR outsourcing, executive and professional search, HR consulting, leadership and management training, and compensation strategy services exclusively to nonprofits and social impact organizations. Its target segment is U.S. nonprofits with up to approximately 300 employees, served through satellite offices in Washington DC, New York, and Pennsylvania with staff distributed nationally and virtual consultation nationwide.

The firm's delivery backbone is the proprietary PositivelyHR platform—an integrated HR command center used for day-to-day outsourced engagements that includes payroll, benefits administration, time and attendance, and performance management. Service methodology is grounded in Positive Psychology (PERMA framework), with additional proprietary assets including a competency-based hiring model, the 'Foundations of Leadership' training series, and compensation benchmarking frameworks purpose-built for mission-driven organizations. The founding leadership team includes personnel trained by Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania, providing a distinctive academic foundation.

The business model blends recurring managed-services revenue from outsourced HR subscriptions with project-based professional services fees across search, consulting, training, and total rewards engagements. Pricing is quote-based, billed annually, and structured around each client's headcount and scope. Go-to-market is sales-led, driven by direct engagement through the website, free initial consultations, content marketing (blog, LinkedIn newsletter 'The Purposeful Leader'), and word-of-mouth within the nonprofit ecosystem. Customer base spans education, youth services, healthcare literacy, advocacy, Jewish-sector organizations, labor unions, and municipal clients such as Reach Out and Read, MENTOR, YMCA of Greater Boston, uAspire, Eskolta, City of Boston, and SEIU 509.

Name

Positively Partners

Legal name

Positively Partners

Website

https://positivelypartners.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Positively Partners, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Boston, provides outsourced HR, executive search, HR consulting, leadership training, and compensation strategy exclusively to U.S. nonprofits and social impact organizations, supported by its proprietary PositivelyHR platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Resources Services for Nonprofits

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Business Support Services (5614)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPACAKAI

HR Service Delivery & Employee Contact Centers (HR Helpdesk)

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/HR Outsourcing (HRO) & Shared Services

SECONDARYBPAAAIAH

Employee Helpdesk / HR Service Center (Tier 1)

Business & Public Services/Administrative & Support Services (BPO, Call Centers, Back Office)/HR Operations Outsourcing (Onboarding, Benefits, HR Admin)

SECONDARYBPACAKAE

Benefits Administration & Total Rewards Outsourcing

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/HR Outsourcing (HRO) & Shared Services

Keywords

• Nonprofit HR outsourcing
• Human resources consulting
• Executive search services
• Compensation strategy
• Leadership training

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. HR Outsourcing: Full-service HR outsourcing for nonprofits including payroll services, benefits administration, compliance, and employee relations support.
2. Executive and Professional Search: Executive search and professional recruitment services placing candidates with skills and competencies to thrive in client organizations.
3. HR Consulting: Organizational assessments, employee compensation consulting, competency models, employee handbooks, and performance management projects.
4. Leadership and Management Training: Expert training services including Foundations of Leadership series and customized training modules delivered virtually or in-person.
5. Compensation Strategy and Design: Total rewards consulting including compensation philosophy development, salary benchmarking, and pay transparency implementation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Positively Partners delivers outsourced human resources, executive and professional search, HR consulting, leadership and management training, and compensation strategy and design services built specifically for nonprofit and social impact organizations with up to 300 employees. Service delivery is anchored on the proprietary PositivelyHR platform, which handles time/attendance, benefits administration, payroll, and performance management for client organizations.

Product overview

Positively Partners offers a comprehensive suite of HR services for nonprofits and social impact organizations. The core offering consists of five interconnected service lines: Outsourced Human Resources (powered by the PositivelyHR platform), Executive and Professional Search, Human Resources Consulting, Leadership and Management Training, and Compensation Strategy and Design. These services are designed to work together as an integrated ecosystem—outsourced HR provides day-to-day operational support while consulting, training, and compensation services address strategic and developmental needs, and search services support talent acquisition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PositivelyHR: An integrated HR platform that serves as the company's HR command center, providing time and attendance tracking, benefits administration, payroll, and performance management services.

Products and services

• Outsourced Human Resources Full-service HR outsourcing built for nonprofits with up to 300 employees, delivering employee-facing services, payroll, benefits administration, compliance, and employee relations.
• Executive and Professional Search Structured, competency-based recruiting and placement services for executive and professional positions, with inclusive sourcing practices and competency-based hiring processes.
• Human Resources Consulting Evidence-based HR consulting services including organizational assessments, employee compensation design, competency models, employee handbooks, and performance management projects.
• Leadership and Management Training Training programs grounded in Positive Psychology, Brave Spaces, and Appreciative Inquiry that equip managers and employees with leadership, communication, feedback, and decision-making skills.
• Compensation Strategy and Design Fair and equitable compensation strategy development including salary benchmarking, compensation philosophy creation, pay transparency implementation, and compensation structure design.
• PositivelyHR Platform Integrated HR management platform serving as a command center for time and attendance tracking, benefits administration, payroll, and performance management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% BIPOC leaders achieved (from 11%) at MENTOR through competency-based hiring
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

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.

• Commonwealth Corporation - Workforce Training Fund ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerApproved training provider through the Workforce Training Fund Program (WTFP) Express Program, enabling Massachusetts businesses to access training grants covering up to $15,000 per calendar year at $300 per instructional hour.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nonprofit HR (formerly Stratton-Powell): An HR consulting and outsourcing firm exclusively serving nonprofit organizations, offering outsourced HR, search, training, and total rewards services—essentially the same niche as Positively Partners with comparable service mix and customer base.
• TalVista Solutions: A woman-owned HR consulting and search firm focused on nonprofit and social-impact organizations, providing talent acquisition, DEI, and HR advisory services that overlap with Positively Partners' consulting and search offerings.
• Mission Met: A consulting firm specializing in nonprofit organizational effectiveness, talent, and HR strategy; comparable as a sector-specialized consulting peer competing for similar strategic HR engagements with mid-sized nonprofits.

Broad incumbents

• Vensure Employer Solutions: A large-scale PEO and HR outsourcing firm serving small and mid-sized businesses across industries; comparable because Positively Partners' Director of Payroll previously led payroll there, and it represents the scaled PEO competitor set Positively Partners differentiates against in the nonprofit segment.
• Justworks: A technology-driven PEO providing payroll, benefits, compliance, and HR support to SMBs; a competitor for outsourced HR contracts from smaller nonprofits seeking generalist solutions at lower price points.
• TriNet: A leading PEO/HR-outsourcing provider for SMBs and mission-driven organizations, including nonprofits. Comparable as the scaled incumbent whose pay transparency, benefits, and compliance bundling Positively Partners competes with on service depth rather than price.
• Insperity: A major PEO offering co-employment, payroll, benefits, and HR consulting to SMBs including nonprofit clients; represents the broad incumbent alternative when nonprofits evaluate outsourced HR providers.
• ADP TotalSource: ADP's PEO division delivering HR outsourcing, benefits, payroll, and compliance to small and mid-sized businesses; an incumbent competitor with nationwide reach that competes for the same outsourced-HR wallet share among growing nonprofits.
• Paychex PEO: Paychex's PEO/HR-outsourcing business providing payroll, benefits, and HR administration to small employers; comparable to Positively Partners on outsourced payroll and benefits admin functionality.

Emerging players

• BoardSource: A nonprofit-focused organization providing governance, leadership, and HR-adjacent resources to nonprofits; comparable in serving nonprofit leadership needs but focused primarily on board governance rather than full HR outsourcing.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@positivelypartners607
• Facebookfacebook.com/positivelypartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/positively-partners
• Instagraminstagram.com/positivelypartners
• Xx.com/positivelyptnrs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Positively Partners