Fireside Consulting

What Fireside Consulting does

Fireside Consulting is a privately held, women-owned research and evaluation consulting firm headquartered in Orange, California, founded in 2021 by Rebecca Heilman and Mindy Friedman and officially launched in February 2022. The firm delivers program evaluation, needs assessments and asset mapping, strategic planning, and grant writing and reporting services to mission-driven organizations, with a stated specialization in behavioral health, public health, criminal justice, and social determinants of health. It also offers a menu of limited-engagement deliverables — dashboards, infographics, data visualization, report writing, literature reviews, logic model development, data analysis, editing, facilitation, and training — to extend engagement scope.

The underlying "product" is human-delivered professional services rather than software; technology is not a core component, and the firm does not disclose proprietary platforms, APIs, or integrations. Its differentiated capability rests on the founders' combined applied evaluation experience, civil rights and public health legal training, and a culturally responsive, equity-centered methodology. The firm also publishes thought-leadership resources, including a Nonprofit Evaluation Starter Kit and a Social Justice-Oriented Evaluation Practice Guide for Using Artificial Intelligence developed at Claremont Graduate University.

Commercially, Fireside operates as a direct-to-client consulting practice, targeting nonprofits and community-based organizations, philanthropic foundations, local government agencies (including behavioral health services), and adjacent private-sector health and social services firms. Pricing is project-based and quote-based with no publicly disclosed rates; engagements are typically multi-year contracts. Since June 1, 2023, the firm has been certified as a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) by the U.S. Small Business Administration, providing access to set-aside federal contracting opportunities. The firm is privately held as an LLC, has no disclosed parent company or institutional investors, no recorded funding rounds, and no disclosed M&A activity.

Name

Fireside Consulting

Legal name

Fireside Consulting, LLC

Website

https://fireside-consulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fireside Consulting is a women-owned evaluation and strategic planning firm in Orange, California, serving nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies with culturally responsive program evaluation, needs assessments, and grant writing services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting - Program Evaluation Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Performance Management & Productivity Consulting (BPAHAGAL)

Keywords

• Program evaluation services
• Strategic planning consulting
• Needs assessment services
• Nonprofit evaluation consulting
• Research and evaluation

Headquarters

HQ city

Orange

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. Large-scale Consulting Engagements: Comprehensive multi-year project engagements including program evaluation, needs assessments, and strategic planning services. Revenue generated through professional services contracts with government agencies, foundations, and nonprofits.
2. Limited Engagement Services: Shorter-term project engagements providing specific deliverables such as dashboards, infographics, data visualization, report writing, literature reviews, logic model development, data analysis, editing, facilitation, and training services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Fireside Consulting provides research, evaluation, and strategic planning services to mission-driven organizations including nonprofits, foundations, community-based organizations, and local government agencies. Core offerings include comprehensive multi-year program evaluation, needs assessments, and strategic planning engagements, as well as shorter limited-engagement services such as dashboard development, data visualization, report writing, literature reviews, logic model development, data analysis, editing, facilitation, and training. Services are delivered with a culturally responsive, equity-centered approach that emphasizes accessible, actionable, and community-rooted findings.

Product overview

Fireside Consulting is a research and evaluation consulting firm offering a comprehensive suite of services organized into large-scale engagements (program evaluation, needs assessments, strategic planning) and limited engagement services (dashboards, infographics, data visualization, report writing, literature reviews, logic model development, data analysis, editing, facilitation, and training). The firm also provides downloadable resource toolkits including a Nonprofit Evaluation Starter Kit and an AI practice guide for social justice evaluation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Program Evaluation Services Comprehensive program evaluation services for mission-driven organizations, applying culturally responsive and equity-centered evaluation approaches to assess effectiveness and impact.
• Strategic Planning Services Strategic planning initiatives to help mission-driven organizations define goals, develop action plans, and assess outcomes for guiding programmatic and organizational decisions.
• Needs Assessment and Asset Mapping Assessment services that identify community needs and map available resources and assets to inform program design and funding decisions for mission-driven organizations.
• Grant Writing and Reporting Grant writing and reporting services including program work plan and evaluation work plan development to help mission-driven organizations secure funding and demonstrate accountability to funders.
• Dashboard Development Creation of data dashboards for tracking and visualizing program metrics and outcomes for mission-driven organizations.
• Infographics and Data Visualization Graphic design services for infographics and data visualization that communicate evaluation findings effectively to diverse stakeholders.
• Report Writing Professional report writing services for documenting evaluation findings, recommendations, and stakeholder communications.
• Literature Reviews Comprehensive literature review services that synthesize existing research and evidence to support evaluation projects and proposals.
• Logic Model Development Development of logic models to illustrate program theory and outcomes pathways for evaluation planning and stakeholder alignment.
• Data Analysis Statistical and qualitative data analysis services to derive insights from program data for mission-driven organizations.
• Editing and Proofreading Services Line editing, copyediting, and proofreading services for documents and reports produced by mission-driven organizations.
• Facilitation Services Facilitation of meetings, data collection sessions, and research/project findings presentations for mission-driven organizations.
• Training and Technical Assistance Training sessions and technical assistance to build organizational capacity in evaluation practices for mission-driven teams.
• Nonprofit Evaluation Starter Kit A downloadable PDF resource providing key tools and resources about nonprofit evaluation practices for mission-driven organization leaders.
• Social Justice-Oriented Evaluation Practice Guide for Using Artificial Intelligence A downloadable practice guide for using AI tools in social justice-oriented evaluation, developed for evaluators and mission-driven organization leaders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Mindy Friedman has supported more than 100 programs across public agencies, nonprofits, and foundations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Claremont Graduate UniversityminorOthers · 1 December 2023Rebecca Heilman completed her Doctorate in Evaluation Practice from Claremont Graduate University. Her capstone examined how evaluation reports in behavioral health communicated findings.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Improve Group: Evaluation, research, and consulting firm working with nonprofits, government, and foundations on program evaluation and learning. Closely aligned with Fireside in target customers and equity-centered methodology.
• ORS Impact: Evaluation and strategy firm focused on social impact, serving foundations and nonprofits with program evaluation, strategic learning, and capacity-building services. Directly comparable in mission-driven evaluation practice.
• Harder+Company Community Research: Evaluation and research consulting firm serving foundations, nonprofits, and government agencies on program evaluation, strategic planning, and needs assessments. Highly comparable to Fireside in service mix, customer segments, and mission-driven positioning.
• Spark Policy Institute: Evaluation and policy research firm working with public agencies, foundations, and community organizations on behavioral health, public health, and social services outcomes. Overlaps Fireside's behavioral health and social determinants focus.
• Claremont Evaluation Center (Claremont Graduate University): University-based evaluation center offering program evaluation services and training across nonprofit, foundation, and government sectors. Comparable to Fireside in evaluation practice and connected to Rebecca Heilman's doctoral training.
• Social Policy Research Associates: Research and evaluation firm providing program evaluation, needs assessments, and policy analysis for public agencies and foundations. Closely aligned with Fireside's government and foundation customer segments.
• Innovation Network: Nonprofit evaluation and learning organization providing evaluation, research, and capacity-building services to nonprofits and funders. Comparable in mission-driven evaluation methodology and customer base.
• Metis Associates: Evaluation and research firm specializing in public health, behavioral health, and human services program evaluation for government agencies and nonprofits. Direct overlap with Fireside's public-sector behavioral health focus.

Broad incumbents

• Abt Associates: Global research and consulting firm with deep public-sector evaluation practice across health, behavioral health, and social programs. A large incumbent that competes for federal evaluation contracts in Fireside's target verticals.
• Mathematica: Large research and evaluation firm providing program evaluation, policy research, and data analytics across health, human services, and education for federal and state agencies. A broader incumbent competing for the same government evaluation RFPs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/firesideeval

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Fireside Consulting