opensource leadership strategies

What opensource leadership strategies does

OpenSource Leadership Strategies, Inc. is a Durham, North Carolina-based national consulting practice founded in 2003 by Gita Gulati-Partee. The firm delivers customized consulting engagements to foundations, funder networks, nonprofit advocacy organizations and coalitions, and leadership development programs, with each engagement blending Strategy Adviser, Critical Friend, and Capacity Builder services through comprehensive change processes that run a minimum of nine months and average one to three years. The practice applies organization and leadership development, power analysis, and equity-centered tools to help client-partners articulate their North Star vision and strategy for measurable social impact, and its go-to-market is sales-led, with prospective clients initiating contact through the firm website at opensourceleadership.com.

Fee structures are customized to reflect deliverable value and complexity as well as client budget and capacity — no standard daily or hourly rates are offered — and the firm deliberately avoids short-term tactical interventions in favor of long-term partnerships. OpenSource is woman of color-owned, intentionally diverse across identity, experience, discipline, and expertise, and operates with a small core team augmented by a stable cadre of frequent partners including CounterPart Consulting, Leverage Philanthropic Partners, MP Associates, and Katy Love.

The firm has no disclosed funding, no parent company, and no software or technology products; its competitive position rests on human expertise, sector credentials — including an inaugural Borealis Philanthropy REACH Fund Award, the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network fellowship for Gita Gulati-Partee — and recurring thought leadership published in philanthropic journals and at geofunders.org. Service is delivered nationally from the Durham headquarters under the legal entity OpenSource Leadership Strategies, Inc., incorporated in North Carolina.

Name

opensource leadership strategies

Legal name

OpenSource Leadership Strategies, Inc.

Website

https://opensourceleadership.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Short description

OpenSource Leadership Strategies is a Durham, North Carolina-based national consulting practice founded in 2003, providing long-term (9-month to 3-year) Strategy Adviser, Critical Friend, and Capacity Builder engagements to foundations, funder networks, nonprofit advocacy organizations, and leadership development programs focused on equity and social progress.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Talent Management & Leadership Advisory (Succession, Performance, Culture) (BPACAJAH), Strategy, Decision-Making & Business Acumen Coaching (EDABANAH)

Keywords

• Organizational strategy consulting
• Leadership development consulting
• Equity consulting
• Capacity building services
• Nonprofit consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

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 Services: Customized consulting engagements scoped approximately one year at a time, with engagements typically lasting a minimum of nine months and averaging one to three years. Fee structures are customized to reflect the value and complexity of deliverable as well as the budget and capacity of the client-partner. No standard daily or hourly rates are offered.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

OpenSource Leadership Strategies is a national consulting practice that researches, designs, and evaluates social purpose efforts and builds the capacity of organizations and leaders to transform their work and communities. Engagements blend the roles of Strategy Adviser, Critical Friend, and Capacity Builder and are delivered through Comprehensive Change Processes that last a minimum of nine months and average one to three years. The practice serves foundations, funder networks, nonprofit advocacy organizations and coalitions, and leadership development programs across the United States.

Product overview

OpenSource Leadership Strategies is a national consulting practice that offers a unified portfolio of advisory services rather than a software product. The core offerings consist of Strategy Adviser, Critical Friend, and Capacity Builder services, which are blended in every engagement. These services are delivered through comprehensive change processes lasting a minimum of nine months (typically one to three years) to help foundations, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, and leadership development programs strengthen their capacity for social progress and equity advancement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy Adviser Services Strategic advisory that blends organization and leadership development with power analysis and practical tools to amplify mission impact and advance equity for foundations, funder networks, advocacy organizations, coalitions, and leadership development programs.
• Critical Friend Services Provides candid, objective perspective and feedback to organizations and leaders navigating complex change processes for social purpose, including foundations, funder networks, advocacy organizations, and leadership programs.
• Capacity Builder Services Builds sustainable organizational and leadership capacities that continue after the engagement concludes, focusing on skill development and operational excellence for social-purpose organizations and their leaders.
• Comprehensive Change Processes Long-term engagement programs spanning a minimum of nine months and averaging one to three years, scoped roughly a year at a time, that strengthen shared commitment, analytical clarity, and operational skill to help client-partners achieve their social purpose.

Named customers4 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

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CounterPart ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKathleen Crabbs and Sterling Freeman have been partners since OpenSource opened its doors in 2003. In 2018, they formed CounterPart Consulting, where they continue to be a close and frequent partner of OpenSource Leadership Strategies, Inc. Kathleen Crabbs serves as Principal at CounterPart Consulting and is a leadership and equity educator and coach. Sterling Freeman is a leadership coach, organizational and cultural change agent, facilitator, and counselor.
• Leverage Philanthropic PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdgar Villanueva, Founder & Principal of Leverage Philanthropic Partners, is listed as a frequent partner. Edgar brings expertise in philanthropy and equity work.
• MP AssociatesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaggie Potapchuk, Founder & Principal of MP Associates, is listed as a frequent partner. Maggie brings expertise in participatory processes and equity work.
• Katy LoveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKaty Love is listed as a frequent partner specializing in participatory process work.
• William C. Friday Fellowship for Human RelationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKathleen Crabbs served as Lead Faculty and Coach with the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations for 17 years, where she co-designed and facilitated a two-year cohort leadership program and provided one-on-one coaching. Through this work, she has coached over 80 adults. Gita Gulati-Partee is a 2001-2003 William C. Friday Fellow for Human Relations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• TCC Group: TCC Group is a national consulting practice serving foundations and nonprofits with strategy, evaluation, and capacity-building services — directly comparable to OpenSource's core offerings and target clients.
• Arabella Advisors: Arabella Advisors provides strategic guidance to philanthropists, foundations, and nonprofits — overlapping directly with OpenSource's foundation advisory and capacity-building work and increasingly building equity-aligned practices.
• Management Assistance Group (MAG): MAG is a consulting practice supporting social justice and equity-focused nonprofits and foundations with organizational development — a direct peer given OpenSource's equity-centered value proposition and similar client base.
• Banyan Global: Banyan Global provides organizational development and capacity-building consulting for social purpose organizations, including equity-focused work — comparable to OpenSource in client segment and consulting modality.
• Informing Change: Informing Change provides research, evaluation, and strategy consulting to foundations and nonprofits — directly comparable to OpenSource's advisory and capacity-building services for the social sector.
• La Piana Consulting: La Piana Consulting is a national firm advising nonprofits and foundations on strategy, partnerships, and organizational change — closely comparable to OpenSource's Strategy Adviser and Capacity Builder offerings.

Broad incumbents

• FSG: FSG is a large, established nonprofit and foundation strategy consultancy advising on social impact; it serves the same foundation/funder network segment as OpenSource but at significantly greater scale and with a broader portfolio.
• The Bridgespan Group: Bridgespan is a leading nonprofit and philanthropic strategy advisory; it overlaps with OpenSource in serving foundations and social-purpose organizations on strategy and organizational transformation, but operates at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Justice Funders: Justice Funders is a philanthropic advisory and membership network specifically focused on racial equity in philanthropy — a highly comparable niche peer given OpenSource's positioning around funder equity work.
• Common Future: Common Future builds field infrastructure and advises social enterprises and funders on equitable economic development — an emerging peer with thematic overlap to OpenSource's equity- and movement-centered consulting practice.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/opensource-leadership-strategies-inc.

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 opensource leadership strategies