Consulting

Putnam Community Investment Consulting, Inc. is a national philanthropy and nonprofit consulting firm with offices in San Francisco and Cleveland. We work in partnership with philanthropic organizations to assess community needs, develop effective strategies and grantmaking initiatives, allocate funds, and evaluate impact:

Assess needs

– Conduct environmental scans
– Interview & survey key stakeholders
– Identify funding gaps

Develop grantmaking strategies
– Recommend grantmaking strategies and programs
– Design funding initiatives
– Identify potential funding partners
– Support implementation

Allocate funds
– Design and manage Requests for Proposals
– Review grant proposals
– Conduct due diligence & site visits
– Make funding recommendations

Evaluate impact
– Assess evaluation needs & readiness
– Design & implement evaluations
– Conduct interviews, focus groups & surveys
– Analyze qualitative and quantitative data

Our Client List Includes:

Blue Shield of California Foundation, The California Endowment, California HealthCare Foundation, Casey Family Programs, Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, Northern California Grantmakers, Oakland Private Industry Council, PolicyLink, The Rapides Foundation, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Stuart Foundation, United Way of the Bay Area, and University of Akron.

Client Testimonials

“We chose Putnam Community Investment Consulting because of their experience as evaluators working with both quantitative and qualitative information. They quickly understood the project, then pushed through to deliver the results we needed under a very tight timeline.”
Anne Vally, Special Initiatives Officer, James Irvine Foundation

“You can cut corners by hiring a less expensive consultant, buy you’ll end up paying for it in the end. Someone with Putnam’s analytical capacity and skills can do the job in half the time, and they have the competence and confidence to help you make better decisions.”
Denis Udall, Senior Program Officer, Walter S. Johnson Foundation

“We’ve received only positive feedback from our partners about Putnam Community Investment Consulting. They’ve helped me stay organized and ahead of the curve, while organizing and planning one of the most comprehensive initiatives that our foundation has ever launched.”
Lisa Bottoms, Program Director, The Cleveland Foundation

“Today, everyone is trying to do more with less. You need consultants who are a quick study, who already have broad experience, and who can work with a variety of people. Putnam Community Investment Consulting has all these qualities. We will definitely work with them in the future.”
Angela Glover Blackwell, President, PolicyLink

“Our task seemed overwhelming at first, but Putnam had the patience and ability to make us feel that we could get through it. They listened to our ideas and helped us to articulate a plan. They brought lots of excitement to the job and showed great respect for the people they worked with.” Billie Osborne-Fears, Executive Director, Starting Point-Cuyahoga County

Examples of Client Engagements

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (New Jersey) asked Putnam to assist with developing a new $15 million Workforce Development Initiative focused on health and healthcare. After working with staff to clarify program direction and draft the Call for Proposals, we convened a national review group, organized a series of regional conferences, and worked closely with Foundation staff to support initiative rollout and launch of the Jobs to Careers initiative.

The Cleveland Foundation (Ohio) retained Putnam to help design and launch all aspects of a comprehensive, county-wide youth development initiative called MyCom (My Commitment, My Community). This included developing a theory of change with over 200 stakeholders, creating strategies to improve the quality of and access to after-school and youth employment programs; coaching and technical assistance to six intermediary organizations; and designing the initiative’s governance and management plan.

The James Irvine Foundation (California) came to Putnam to conduct a grant seeker feedback evaluation of their New Connections Fund. We conducted online surveys of 314 grant seekers, probed further with a dozen telephone interviews, and analyzed the data in a detailed report.
To learn more, please visit our website, or contact Kris Putnam-Walkerly at 800-598-2102 or kputnam [at] putnamcic [dot] com.