What Creation In Common does

Creation In Common is a privately held strategic consulting firm headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, founded in 2002 by three theater makers—Carlo Cuesta, Dana Gillespie, and Padraic Lillis—who translated their creative collaboration expertise into a professional services practice serving mission-driven organizations. The firm offers five integrated service areas: Community Engagement, Research & Evaluation, Strategic Planning, Organizational Development & Governance, and Coaching & Training. Its proprietary "Shared Creativity" methodology applies theater-inspired facilitation techniques to organizational challenges, grounded in strengths-based rather than deficit-model frameworks.

The company serves three primary customer segments on a horizontal basis: nonprofits, philanthropic foundations, and government agencies. Named clients span a diverse set of sectors including health and human services (Minnesota Department of Health Infectious Disease Division, Fairview Health Services), food insecurity (Houston Food Bank, Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado), arts and culture (Walker Art Center, Minnesota Humanities Center, Penland School of Craft), environmental stewardship (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance), and education (Southern Methodist University Simmons School, Minnesota Department of Education). The team comprises three co-founders and approximately nine senior associates and project consultants, totaling 12 members.

The business operates on a sales-led, professional services model with custom consulting engagements scoped per client. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting fees; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market relies on direct engagement, referrals, thought leadership content (blog, case studies, webinars), and LinkedIn/Facebook presence. Geographic concentration is in the Midwest, particularly Minnesota, with extension into Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina. There is no proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML capabilities, and no external funding—the firm is independent and founder-controlled.

Name

Creation In Common

Legal name

Creation In Common

Website

https://creationincommon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Creation In Common is a St. Paul, Minnesota-based strategic consulting firm, founded in 2002, serving nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies through five service areas: community engagement, research and evaluation, strategic planning, organizational development, and coaching and training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Cause/Sustainability & Purpose-Driven Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Creative & Brand Campaign Development (BPAFAAAB), Executive Leadership & C-Suite Development (EDABAAAA)

Keywords

• Nonprofit consulting services
• Strategic planning consulting
• Organizational development
• Community engagement consulting
• Research and evaluation

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

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 Revenue: The firm generates revenue through professional consulting engagements with nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies. Engagements include strategic planning facilitation, organizational development, research and evaluation services, coaching and training, and community engagement consulting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Creation In Common is a strategic consulting firm that delivers Community Engagement, Research & Evaluation, Strategic Planning, Organizational Development & Governance, and Coaching & Training services to nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies. Engagements are project-based and scoped individually, applying a "Shared Creativity" methodology rooted in theater-inspired facilitation and strengths-based frameworks. The firm has served mission-driven organizations since 2002 across sectors including Health & Human Services, Food Insecurity, Arts & Humanities, Environmental Stewardship, and Education.

Product overview

Creation In Common is a strategic consulting firm offering five integrated service areas: Community Engagement, Research & Evaluation, Strategic Planning, Organizational Development & Governance, and Coaching & Training. The firm works exclusively with nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies since 2002. Their approach centers on 'shared creativity' to strengthen communities, with specialized expertise across Health & Human Services, Food Insecurity, Arts & Humanities, Environmental Stewardship, and K-12 & Higher Education sectors. The company was founded by three theater makers and applies creative collaboration methods to social impact consulting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Engagement Consulting service that centers diverse perspectives and ideas, helping nonprofit, foundation, and government clients facilitate creative collaboration and stakeholder involvement.
• Research & Evaluation Consulting service that turns hunches into deep insights through formative and summative evaluation approaches, helping organizations measure progress and impact.
• Strategic Planning Consulting service that transforms organizational impact through strategic action, helping clients navigate change and create actionable plans.
• Organizational Development & Governance Consulting service that strengthens teams and boards through capacity building, health assessments, and governance improvements.
• Coaching & Training Consulting service that builds new capabilities to deepen client work through customized training programs and executive coaching.

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

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bain & Company (Social Impact Practice): Bain & Company's Social Impact practice serves foundations, NGOs, and government entities with strategy consulting — comparable client overlap with Creation In Common but part of a much broader global consulting portfolio.
• McKinsey & Company (Public & Social Sector): McKinsey operates a large Public & Social Sector practice advising government agencies and nonprofits on strategy and operations — overlapping with Creation In Common's government and foundation clients but operating at vastly larger scale with broader portfolios.

Direct peers

• CompassPoint Nonprofit Services: CompassPoint provides leadership development, executive coaching, and organizational consulting for nonprofits — directly overlapping Creation In Common's coaching/training and governance service lines for the same target audience.
• The Management Center: The Management Center is a management support organization providing consulting, training, and coaching to nonprofit leaders — directly comparable in mission, service mix, and target audience to Creation In Common.
• TCC Group: TCC Group is a consulting firm serving nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies with strategy, evaluation, and capacity-building services — closely matching Creation In Common's service mix and client base across the social sector.
• FSG: FSG is a global social impact consulting firm that advises foundations, nonprofits, and corporations on strategy, evaluation, and systems change — overlapping heavily with Creation In Common's service areas and client segments.
• La Piana Consulting: La Piana Consulting provides strategy, organizational development, and capacity-building services specifically to nonprofits and foundations — directly comparable to Creation In Common's core offerings and mission-driven consulting approach.
• The Bridgespan Group: Bridgespan is a leading strategy consulting firm focused exclusively on nonprofits, philanthropies, and impact-oriented leaders — a larger but directly comparable peer serving overlapping clients with similar strategic planning and organizational development services.
• OMG Center for Collaborative Learning: OMG Center provides evaluation, research, and capacity-building services to nonprofits and foundations — closely matching Creation In Common's research & evaluation and organizational development practices.

Regional players

• Foraker Group: Foraker Group is an Alaska-based nonprofit consulting and capacity-building firm serving social sector organizations — comparable services and client base but operating primarily in a different geographic region than Creation In Common.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Creation-In-Common-LLC-219913141355000
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/creation-in-common-llc
• Xx.com/cic3

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Creation In Common