What Open Impact does

Open Impact was a boutique philanthropy consulting firm founded around 2015 by Alexa Cortés Culwell and Heather McLeod Grant and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm served ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families, private foundations, and donor networks with bespoke advisory engagements focused on philanthropy strategy, governance design, change management, and capacity building. Over a nearly ten-year operating history, Open Impact worked with more than 70 private donors, foundations, and networks — primarily in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley — including named clients such as Arthur Blank and the Sobrato family.

The firm's core product was custom advisory services augmented by a research-based content library. Open Impact published a portfolio of influential industry reports, including The Giving Code (2016, funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation), The Giving Journey (2018), The New Normal (2018), Leading Systems Change (2019, funded by the James Irvine Foundation), and Building Capacity for Sustained Collaboration (2020, in partnership with SeaChange Capital Partners). These reports, along with articles, workshops, and conference presentations at venues such as the National Center for Family Philanthropy, drove thought leadership and referral-based client acquisition. Open Impact had no technology platform; its work product consisted of research, frameworks, and direct consulting.

Revenue was generated through professional services engagements with high-net-worth clients at custom-quoted rates. The firm operated with a team of approximately 11 strategists and operators and was self-sustaining, with no disclosed external investment. At the end of 2024, Open Impact sunsetted operations; CEO and Co-Founder Alexa Cortés Culwell departed to join The Sobrato Organization as its first Chief Impact Officer and President of Sobrato Philanthropies.

Name

Open Impact

Legal name

Open Impact

Website

https://openimpact.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Open Impact was a boutique philanthropy consulting firm that advised ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families, and foundations on philanthropy strategy, governance, and change management, serving 70+ Bay Area clients before sunsetting at end of 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropy Consulting

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Banking Philanthropy & Impact Advisory (FSABADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH), Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Impact Investing (Intentional, Measurable Social/Environmental Outcomes) (FSAAALAC)

Keywords

• Philanthropy consulting
• Philanthropy advisory
• Foundation governance
• Donor strategy
• Social sector advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Burlingame

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. Philanthropy Advisory Services: Open Impact provided bespoke consulting services to private donors, foundations, and family philanthropies. Engagements included strategy development, governance design, change management, and capacity building for philanthropic organizations. Revenue was generated through professional service engagements with high-net-worth clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Open Impact was a boutique philanthropy consulting firm providing bespoke advisory services to private donors, family foundations, and donor networks. Its offerings spanned strategic philanthropy planning, foundation governance design and reform, change management for philanthropic transitions, capacity building for nonprofit partners, and research-driven insights on giving trends. The firm combined direct advisory engagements with a portfolio of published industry reports that informed and shaped its consulting work.

Product overview

Open Impact is a philanthropy consulting firm offering strategic advisory services to private donors, foundations, and networks. The firm's offerings include a portfolio of published industry reports (The Giving Code, The Giving Journey, The New Normal, Building Capacity for Sustained Collaboration, Leading Systems Change) and specialized consulting services focused on governance improvement and change management for philanthropies. The firm operated as a unified service offering—combining research-based insights with direct advisory engagements—before sunsetting operations at the end of 2024.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Philanthropic Advisory Services Bespoke strategic consulting and advisory services for private donors, foundations, and donor networks to help envision, design, and accelerate their philanthropic impact, covering philanthropy strategy, governance design, change management, and capacity building.
• The Giving Code: Silicon Valley Nonprofits and Philanthropy Comprehensive report presenting a holistic portrait of Silicon Valley's nonprofit and philanthropy ecosystems, examining the disconnect between growing wealth and community needs and offering frameworks for understanding and bridging divides with local community-based organizations.
• The Giving Journey: Guiding New Donors to Actualized Philanthropy Research report based on 50+ interviews with UHNW individuals examining barriers and motivations to giving, and ways to accelerate their journey to actualized strategic philanthropy.
• The New Normal: Capacity Building During a Time of Disruption Research report exploring how the economic and political environment impacts capacity building needs of social-change leaders and how philanthropy can better support this work.
• Leading Systems Change: A Workbook for Community Practitioners and Funders Workbook sharing key lessons for supporting cross-sector collaboration, community capacity-building, and civic innovation based on the New Leadership Network experience in California's Central Valley.
• Building Capacity for Sustained Collaboration Report on pooled funding initiatives for sustained collaboration including mergers, joint ventures, partnerships, and other arrangements that permanently change an organization's business or operating model.
• Governance Advisory for Foundations and Families Specialized advisory services focused on helping foundations and families develop governance systems (structures and processes for decision making, accountability, and control) that align with their philanthropic aspirations and increase impact.
• Change Management Strategy for Philanthropies Framework and advisory offering for managing organizational change within philanthropies, helping leadership teams limit friction and build excitement by co-developing change processes with staff and stakeholders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Served 70+ private donors, foundations, and networks over nearly a decade
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SeaChange Capital PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Open Impact worked with SeaChange Capital Partners to prepare the launch of the Sustained Collaboration Network in 2020, sharing stories from communities experimenting with pooled funding models for sustained nonprofit collaboration.
• National Center for Family PhilanthropyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpen Impact presented workshops at NCFP's Leadership Retreat including a 2023 workshop on change management strategy and a 2022 forum on systems-level philanthropy change.
• The Sobrato OrganizationminorOthersCEO Alexa Cortés Culwell announced transition to join The Sobrato Organization as first Chief Impact Officer and President of Sobrato Philanthropies at end of 2024, representing her next career move after sunsetting Open Impact.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Foundation Source: Largest provider of foundation management services for private foundations. Comparable as a scaled incumbent in philanthropy services adjacent to Open Impact's governance and foundation advisory work, though more productized and infrastructure-oriented.
• The Bridgespan Group: Social-sector strategy consulting firm advising nonprofits, philanthropists, and impact-led enterprises. Comparable in serving high-end philanthropic and nonprofit clients with strategy and organizational design, though operating at significantly larger scale.
• BNY Mellon Wealth Management — Philanthropic Solutions: Large wealth manager offering philanthropic advisory, foundation management, and giving vehicles to HNW clients. Comparable in serving the same UHNW philanthropic client base with adjacent (broader wealth-management) capabilities.

Emerging players

• FSG: Mission-driven consulting firm advising foundations, corporations, and nonprofits on strategy and evaluation. Comparable in advisory approach and foundation client base, though FSG focuses more on impact strategy and CSR than UHNW donor advisory.
• National Center for Family Philanthropy: Membership-based organization providing education, resources, and convening for family philanthropies. Comparable as a peer ecosystem player Open Impact partnered with and presented to, though NCFP is a non-profit membership model rather than a fee-based advisory.

Direct peers

• Geneva Global: Philanthropy advisory and performance management firm working with donors and foundations on strategy, evaluation, and impact. Closely comparable in client base (UHNW donors and foundations) and advisory-led service model.
• Campbell & Company: Consulting firm serving nonprofits and philanthropists with fundraising, strategy, and executive search. Comparable as a peer advisory in the philanthropic sector with overlapping service lines around donor and foundation strategy.
• Arabella Advisors: Boutique philanthropy and impact advisory firm serving high-net-worth donors, foundations, and impact investors. Directly comparable to Open Impact in target client (UHNW philanthropists), service mix (strategy, governance, grantmaking design), and mission-driven consulting model.
• TCC Group: Consulting firm focused on philanthropy, nonprofit strategy, evaluation, and capacity building. Comparable in serving foundations and donors with strategy and capacity-building engagements similar to Open Impact's research and advisory offerings.
• Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: Established philanthropy advisory firm providing strategy, grantmaking, and impact services to donors and foundations globally. Comparable as a peer offering philanthropy advisory with research-driven frameworks and HNW/foundation clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-impact

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Impact