What QED Associates does

QED Associates LLC is a privately held, founder-owned boutique consulting firm headquartered at 996 Maine Avenue SW, Suite 326, Washington, DC. The firm operates as a professional services business delivering three integrated service lines — Strategic Planning, Development (fundraising and grant writing), and Communication — to nonprofits, museums, government agencies, foundations, and content creators in the United States and internationally.

Its core deliverables center on governance and program strategy, funder/donor identification and bridge-building between partners and funders, and the research, writing, editing, and production of publications, exhibitions, advocacy materials, and multimedia content. The firm is led by two PhD-trained principals — founding partner Marjorie Lightman (ancient Greek and Roman history, nonprofit and international affairs) and managing partner William Zeisel (medieval history, public history with foundation and academic experience) — augmented by special consultant Lesley L. Weiss, a Biden-appointed official with Holocaust-education expertise.

The business model is project-based and retainer-style professional consulting, with quote-based pricing calibrated to each partner's needs and financial capacity. Go-to-market is consultative and referral-driven, supported by a 30-year operating track record, 50+ partner relationships, 300+ content deliverables, and project experience across 20+ countries. There is no external institutional investment, no parent company, and no disclosed technology stack — the firm's economics rest on its principals' credentials and personal reputation rather than on scalable infrastructure.

Name

QED Associates

Legal name

QED Associates LLC

Website

https://qedassociatesllc.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

QED Associates LLC is a Washington, DC-based boutique consulting firm offering strategic planning, development (fundraising/grant writing), and communication services to nonprofits, museums, government agencies, foundations, and content creators. Founded over 30 years ago, the PhD-led firm operates on quote-based, relationship-driven engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Innovation, Product & R&D Consulting (BPAHACAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Strategic planning consulting
• Nonprofit consulting services
• Fundraising development
• Grant writing services
• Communication consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Consulting Services: QED Associates generates revenue through professional consulting engagements in strategic planning, development (fundraising/grant writing), and communication services, tailored to nonprofits, museums, government agencies, foundations, and content creators. Revenue is derived from project-based and retainer-style consulting engagements.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

QED Associates LLC provides professional consulting services in strategic planning, development (fundraising and grant writing), and communication to nonprofits, museums, government agencies, foundations, and content creators. The firm operates on project-based and retainer engagements, delivering tailored problem-solving, goal-setting, and content creation services calibrated to each partner's financial capacity and organizational capability.

Product overview

QED Associates LLC operates as a consulting firm offering three integrated service lines: Strategic Planning Services, Development Services, and Communication Services. These services are calibrated to the needs and capacities of partners, which include nonprofits, museums, government agencies, foundations, and content creators. The firm creates opportunities through close personal attention and dynamic problem-solving, goal setting, and content creation processes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Planning Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 50+ partners served across diverse sectors including museums, universities, nonprofits, foundations, government agencies, and advocacy groups.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte (Government & Public Services): Major professional services firm with a Government & Public Services practice that serves federal agencies, museums, and nonprofits — a broad incumbent competing for QED's institutional clients at larger scale.
• McKinsey & Company (Social Sector Practice): Global management consulting firm with a dedicated Social Sector practice serving nonprofits, museums, and government agencies — competes with QED for higher-end strategic-planning mandates.
• Bain & Company (Social Impact Practice): Global consulting firm with a Social Impact practice advising nonprofits, foundations, and government entities — overlaps with QED in strategic planning and organizational development.

Direct peers

• TCC Group: Consulting firm focused on nonprofit and philanthropic clients, providing strategy, evaluation, and capacity-building services — comparable offering depth and client overlap with QED.
• Arabella Advisors: Philanthropic advisory firm that helps foundations, nonprofits, and impact investors develop strategy, deploy capital, and communicate outcomes — directly comparable to QED's development and strategic-planning services.
• FSG (Foundation Strategy Group): Mission-driven consulting firm advising nonprofits, foundations, and corporations on strategy, evaluation, and philanthropic advisory — overlapping QED's nonprofit/foundation client base and strategy-plus-funder-bridge offer.
• The Bridgespan Group: Nonprofit and philanthropic-sector consulting firm offering strategy, fundraising, and organizational development — a direct competitor for the same museum, nonprofit, and foundation engagements QED targets.
• La Piana Consulting: A management consulting firm exclusively serving nonprofits with services in strategic planning, fundraising, and organizational development — the closest direct peer to QED's three-pillar service model.

Emerging players

• Heller Consulting: Consulting firm working with nonprofits and associations on strategy, fundraising, and technology — a smaller-scale peer with partial overlap on QED's strategy and development services.
• Nonprofit Finance Fund: Nonprofit and philanthropic-sector advisory and capital provider offering financial planning, strategy, and consulting to nonprofits — adjacent to QED's strategic planning and development offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 QED Associates