Strategy, Advisory & Consulting
for Mission-Driven Organizations
We're Criterion, a values-led firm that helps people building organizations for good strengthen revenue development, communications, and business practice.
WHAT WE BELIEVE IN
Every mission-driven organization carries the potential for greatness.
Over nearly 30 years, we’ve developed a clear point of view about the role nonprofits and mission-driven businesses play in society, what it takes to sustain them, and where traditional approaches sometimes fall short.
We’ve built frameworks and ways of working around those beliefs—grounded in experience, evidence, listening, and the understanding that strategy, revenue, communications, and organizational practice are deeply connected.
We believe in people building organizations for good and what becomes possible when mission and strong business practice work together.
WHAT WE SOLVE
Mission-driven organizations rarely struggle because
they lack passion or vision.
More often, the strategies, resources, and systems needed to sustain that vision have not kept pace.
organizations often come to Criterion at moments like these
Sound familiar? If so, you're not alone.
“We think we could accomplish more together.
We need to understand what collaboration could actually look like."
Deeper collaboration may create opportunities to combine strengths, share resources, increase mission impact, strengthen organizational effectiveness, or build greater long-term sustainability.
We assess readiness, clarify shared goals, explore potential partnership models, identify key decision points, and determine next steps for sustained collaboration.
"Our messaging doesn’t feel right anymore.
We just don’t know what to replace it with."
It's never been more important to communicate urgency, impact, and the need for support, but crisis messaging and deficit-framing can alarm donors and diminish the people and communities
at the center of your work.
We help build clear, strength-based messaging and authentic storytelling that communicate value and impact while protecting dignity, agency, and trust.
"We have a bold vision.
We’re not sure what it will take to make it work."
You know the change you want to create. What is less clear is how to translate that vision into the strategy, revenue, systems, and messaging that will ensure your mission-driven organization works—and thrives.
We help build and align the strategy, systems, revenue, and messaging that make good work sustainable.
“We’re all working hard.
We’re not all working from the same strategy.”
When mission, priorities, audiences, revenue, and decision-making are not aligned, organizations can spend significant energy moving in different directions.
Together, we'll build a highly tailored strategic plan grounded in research, stakeholder perspectives, and organizational realities, then translate it into an operational roadmap with clear ownership, measurable objectives, aligned resources, and a regular review cadence.
"We thought we had a fundraising problem.
Now we think the problem may be bigger than fundraising."
Revenue challenges can point to something broader, including disconnected fundraising and communications, gaps in organizational strategy, or an incomplete or
missing revenue model.
We identify what is limiting revenue and develop a practical plan to strengthen fundraising, communications, organizational strategy, and your revenue model.
“Our fundraising and communications are working separately.
We need them to reinforce each other."
When fundraising, communications, and digital strategy operate in silos, organizations miss opportunities to build trust, deepen relationships, and turn visibility into sustained support. Strong messaging and authentic storytelling should work across channels, audiences, and fundraising efforts.
We help you integrate and align fundraising and communications across teams so that messaging, storytelling, and donor engagement reinforce one another.
Expertise Across the Areas
That Move Organizations Forward
HOW CRITERION CAN HELP
You envision a better future for your business and for the world. Criterion brings deep practitioner experience and fresh perspective to help you build good, better.
01
Organizational Strategy & Planning
Helping organizations set direction, make strategic choices, and translate priorities into practical plans.
Services include:
Strategic planning | Organizational strategy | Implementation roadmaps | Business and program planning
02
Revenue Development Strategy
Strengthening the strategies, systems, and revenue approaches that help sustain mission-driven organizations.
Services include:
Fundraising strategy | Revenue development | Fundraising plans | Case for support | Legacy giving strategy
03
Grant Program Development
Building the strategy, infrastructure, and practices needed to pursue and manage grants effectively.
Services include:
Grant program design | Funder research and fit | Grant strategy | Systems and workflows | Proposal development
04
Strategic Communications & Messaging
Building communications strategies and messages that strengthen understanding, relationships, revenue, and trust.
Services include:
Communications strategy | Organizational messaging | Strength-based messaging | Case messaging | Communications audits
