What Aim & Arrow Group does

Aim & Arrow Group is a Chicago-based, woman-owned professional services firm founded in 2012 that provides consulting, applied research, and capacity-building services to social-impact organizations, foundations, and public-sector partners. Its work centers on program design, implementation support, and evaluation for clients including the Chicago Department of Public Health (Family Connects Chicago), Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Public Library Foundation (81 Club initiative), Bridgespan Group, mHUB's Clean Tech Economy Coalition, and the Girl Coalition of Indiana. The firm complements its consulting engagements with ongoing academic affiliations at the University of Chicago and Northwestern and a published "Field Notes" thought-leadership series.

The operating model is partner-led boutique consulting: headcount has remained in the 1–10 employee band across 14 years, indicating that scale is achieved through senior practitioner utilization and subcontracted expertise rather than full-time hiring expansion. Revenue mechanics are project-based, anchored by multi-year engagements with a small set of large institutional and municipal clients, supplemented by shorter-term foundation and coalition work. The firm has no disclosed outside funding and operates as a private, self-funded practice.

Strategic posture is incremental rather than transformational: the firm broadens its vertical surface area one engagement at a time (public health → education → civic/cultural → clean tech → out-of-state social services) and invests in distribution through academic linkages and content rather than through headcount, geographic buildout, or proprietary technology platforms. No AI/ML, proprietary software, or data-product components are disclosed in the firm's offerings.

Name

Aim & Arrow Group

Legal name

Aim & Arrow Group

Website

https://aimandarrowgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aim & Arrow Group is a Chicago-based, woman-owned boutique consulting firm that provides program design, evaluation, and capacity-building services to social-impact nonprofits, foundations, and public-sector clients, with a portfolio spanning public health, education, civic/cultural, and clean-tech initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Social sector consulting
• Nonprofit advisory services
• Philanthropy strategy
• Leadership development
• Government consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago Park

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. Consulting & Advisory Services: Professional consulting services for government agencies, nonprofits, and philanthropy organizations. Services include strategic planning, program design, stakeholder engagement, performance optimization, and impact measurement. Revenue generated through project-based engagements and retainer arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Aim & Arrow Group is a boutique management consulting firm that provides strategic planning, leadership development, program design and evaluation, stakeholder engagement, and capacity-building services. It serves government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropic foundations through three integrated service pillars: Clarity of Vision, Validated Strategy, and Decisive Action. Engagements are delivered by senior partners (often former Bain, Bridgespan, and United Way leaders) on a project or retainer basis, with notable work including the launch and scale of Family Connects Chicago and the 81 Club library card initiative with Chicago Public Schools.

Product overview

Aim & Arrow Group is a management consulting firm offering strategic consulting and advisory services to government agencies, non-profits, and philanthropy organizations. The company provides three integrated service pillars: Clarity of Vision (identifying goals, strengths, and values), Validated Strategy (research and experimentation to develop plans), and Decisive Action (instilling confidence to embrace change). Services span strategic planning, leadership development, program design and evaluation, and capacity building. The firm is certified as a woman-owned business and does not offer a software product, API, or AI-enabled tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consulting & Advising for Government Agencies & Non-Profits
• Consulting & Advising for Philanthropy
• Leadership Development Services
• Sector Change Initiatives

Quantifiable outcome

• Family Connects Chicago program reaches 30,000+ newborns annually for maternal and child health screening
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers20 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

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Girl Coalition of IndianaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024In January 2024, Aim & Arrow joined Girl Coalition of Indiana team (led by Executive Director Mackenzie Pickerrell) to investigate root causes of disparities between girls and boys in Indiana. Conducted listening sessions with girls, caregivers, and providers to build a call to action for the 2024 Indiana Girl Report.
• Chicago Public Library FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Chicago Public Library Foundation hired Aim & Arrow to support the 81 Club initiative, which puts a Chicago Public Library card into the hands of every CPS student. Aim & Arrow designed mutually reinforcing strategies to increase library resource uptake among students.
• Bright PinkflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Aim & Arrow supported Bright Pink's expansion from startup nonprofit to scaled program model. In 2022, returned to support founder Lindsay Avner in transitioning pioneering programs to Dana Farmer Cancer Institute while re-launching Bright Pink as a venture philanthropy fund.
• City of Chicago Mayor's Office and Chicago Department of Public HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Since 2018, Aim & Arrow has worked with the Mayor's Office and CDPH to explore scaling Family Connects intervention from Durham, NC to Chicago. Through research, program design, and pilot testing, helped launch Family Connects Chicago - an in-home nurse service available to all Chicago families with newborns.
• McCormick Foundation and Steans Family FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017In 2017, Aim & Arrow supported McCormick Foundation, Steans Family Foundation, and philanthropic peers to explore launching Playful Learning Landscapes in Chicago and beyond. Supported research and design of effort to leverage built environment for family engagement with young children.
• The Bridgespan GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAim & Arrow Group is affiliated with Bridgespan, a consulting firm affiliated with Bain & Company. They utilize Bridgespan's Leading for Impact® program methodologies. Several team members serve as coaches and facilitators for Bridgespan's programs including Leading For Impact® in Chicago and Strategic Clarity Accelerator.
• mHUB (Clean Tech Economy Coalition)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhen approached by mHUB to convene partners for a joint proposal to advance the clean tech economy as part of Build Back Better regional challenge, Aim & Arrow supported facilitation and project design of 16 initiatives across 19 partnering organizations. Coalition was awarded $500,000.
• University of Chicago Crown School of Social WorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAim & Arrow partners with the Master's Program in Social Sector Leadership at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Team members hold faculty positions to incubate next-generation social impact leaders.
• Northwestern University Harvey Kapnick CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAim & Arrow partners with Social Sector Strategies within the Harvey Kapnick Center for Business Institutions Program at Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University. Team members hold faculty positions.
• Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest IndianaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a recent client. Six Girl Scout Councils collaborated with Girl Coalition of Indiana to address disparities identified in the 2023 Indiana Girl Report.
• Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan WashingtonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam member Elise Lamarre visited Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington and highlighted CEO Dr. Laura Meyers' leadership. Aim & Arrow provides strategic leadership support.
• Lurie Children's Hospital Center for Childhood ResiliencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with Lurie Children's Hospital and Illinois State Board of Education on creating metrics system for Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois and program management for Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing program.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• La Piana Consulting: Boutique nonprofit strategy firm specializing in strategic planning, mergers and collaborations, and leadership development for nonprofits and foundations. Mirrors Aim & Arrow's boutique scale, sector focus, and consulting service mix.
• TCC Group: Consulting firm serving foundations, nonprofits, and government agencies on strategy, evaluation, and capacity building. Direct comparable in offering type (strategy + evaluation for social sector) and target buyer profile to Aim & Arrow.
• The Bridgespan Group: Nonprofit and philanthropy strategy consulting firm affiliated with Bain & Company. Direct peer because Aim & Arrow explicitly uses Bridgespan's Leading for Impact® methodologies, shares talent (Kate Attea is a former Bridgespan consultant), and serves the same nonprofit, foundation, and public-sector client base.
• Geneva Global: Philanthropy advisory and management consulting firm that helps donors and foundations design, implement, and evaluate high-impact giving strategies. Closely comparable in service mix (strategy, grantmaking design, program evaluation) and foundation client base to Aim & Arrow's philanthropy practice.
• FSG: Global social-impact strategy consulting firm working with foundations, corporations, and nonprofits on strategy, evaluation, and collective impact. Closely comparable in mission, methodology (collective impact frameworks), and target clients to Aim & Arrow's social-sector capacity-building work.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte (Government & Public Services): Big Four firm with a large Government & Public Services practice delivering strategy, transformation, and program design for state and municipal agencies. Competes for the same government-agency program-design work that Aim & Arrow delivers at a boutique scale.
• Bain & Company: Global management consulting firm with a dedicated Social Impact practice that serves foundations, NGOs, and governments. Comparable as a large-scale incumbent that competes for the same institutional clients and adjacent to Bridgespan, with which Aim & Arrow is affiliated.
• McKinsey & Company (Social Sector Practice): Global management consulting firm operating a dedicated Social Sector practice serving governments, multilaterals, and foundations on large-scale social programs. Broad incumbent competing for the same foundation and public-sector engagements as Aim & Arrow, though at much larger contract sizes.
• The Boston Consulting Group (Social Impact): Global consulting firm with a Center for Public Impact and social-sector work serving governments and foundations. Comparable incumbent competitor for large institutional consulting engagements in the social-impact space.

Others

• Independent Sector: National membership organization representing nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs through advocacy, research, and convening. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor; useful proxy for the policy and funding environment that drives demand for Aim & Arrow's services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aimandarrow

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Aim & Arrow Group