Since 1937, The James Irvine Foundation has provided more than $1.98 billion in grants to nonprofits working across California, including $105 million in 2019. The singular goal of the foundation’s grantmaking is a California where all low-income workers have the power to advance economically.

The James Irvine Foundation has launched a new initiative targeting Priority Communities: cities in inland California with growing, diversifying populations that represent the future of California. These cities had a disproportionate number of jobs that paid low wages and offered few protections or opportunities to advance; now there is an opportunity – and imperative – to build more inclusive economies that are both equitable and better prepared for the next crisis.

• Expanding Grantmaking in Priority Communities

“Leaders and communities [in inland California] exhibit immense assets and are critical to California’s future. Community input was a critically important factor in developing this strategy. With help from partners, Engage R&D and Public Equity Group, we convened community leaders from Fresno and Salinas in 2019 to better understand local needs and opportunities — and to inform our strategy. We developed criteria to determine where to expand, such as cities with populations greater than 100,000, cities that serve as economic hubs for up-and-coming regions, and cities with local efforts to develop inclusive economies.”

  –  Jessica Kaczmarek, Initiative Director

The Buffett Fund is among the best regarded early childhood education entities in the nation. The Fund has helped scale Educare early childhood schools across the country, and has helped advocate for increased early childhood education access and funding nationally.

From 2016 to 2018, a PEG team supported the Buffett Fund in reviewing its program and organizational priorities, including its governance relationships with key partners, in part through the creation of new relationship management and performance management processes and tools. PEG’s work with the Buffett Fund has resulted in notable shifts in the Fund’s operations (particularly project management) and relationships.

“We needed help thinking through key strategic issues associated with one of our major investments… We engaged PEG to help us evaluate the situation and provide recommendations for moving forward. We were impressed with [the PEG team’s] thoughtful and data informed approach to our problem as well as their understanding of our unique culture and work style. Our initial work expanded to include strategic advice on evaluating our entire grant portfolio, asking probing questions about our priorities as a funder and providing strategic suggestions regarding organizational effectiveness that have helped to propel us forward.”

–  Eric Buchanan, Director, Strategic Partnerships

Since 1991, Education Through Music (ETM) has partnered with under-resourced schools to provide music as a core subject for all students. Education Through Music utilizes music education as a catalyst to improve academic achievement, motivation for school, and self-confidence, and nurtures the skills that can help students thrive in the future.

PEG was retained by ETM’s senior leadership and Board to help the organization understand likely paths for growth in New York and nationally. ETM had grown very rapidly in the preceding years; after completing our diagnostic work, we identified areas in which the ETM’s growth had outpaced its organization (including recruiting and staffing, project management, and alignment between teachers and the central program staff). We recommended that the organization take a brief hiatus from growth while making necessary investments in staff, the organization, and their evaluation effort. We also recommended that ETM recruit several key positions including that of Chief Operating Officer. The Board and leadership endorsed these recommendations and launched an initiative to create the structures required for growth. After a hiatus, during which time a COO was hired, ETM began to again increase its footprint in New York and was able to do so in a way that created few of the past organizational strains that expansion had previously entailed. ETM has formalized its national expansion effort and is presently on the verge of opening new programs outside of New York.

• ETM Strategic Plan, 2018-2022

• ETM Case (A): Costs and Growth at a Scaling Nonprofit

• ETM Case (B): Seeking Operational Excellence at a Scaling Nonprofit

• ETM Impact Report, 2018

• Education Through Music Impact (website)

“Our leadership and Board were immediately impressed with PEG’s broad and deep knowledge, succinct and direct communication style, and pragmatic approach to planning. They tailored their analytical approach to our questions and capacity, and budgeted time and money efficiently towards helping us develop the answers we needed. We especially praise the lead consultants on our project, John Newsome and Warner Fite, for their acumen, integrity, enthusiasm, leadership, and outstanding project management skills. They were able to develop extremely strong rapport with Board and staff very quickly. They deftly managed the balancing act of becoming trusted extensions of our team while maintaining proper professional boundaries. The result was an efficient staff and board driven diagnostic and planning effort that boosted morale and cohesion in and of itself.”

– Katherine Damkohler, Executive Director

Founded in 1948, the San Francisco Foundation is one of the nation’s largest community foundations — a grantmaking public charity dedicated to improving life within a specific local region. Their mission is to mobilize resources and act as a catalyst for change to build strong communities, foster civic leadership, and promote philanthropy in the San Francisco Bay Area.

PEG’s team of consultants (including John Newsome, Rita Louh, Esther Kim, and Jean Cooper) supported the Foundation to develop a set of “guiding principles” for its equity strategy; synthesized Bay Area equity research and data (including feedback from Bay Area community members and stakeholders), and related implications; and developed scenarios and ultimately strategies for TSFF equity work going forward. John and Rita continue to support the Foundation through program strategy and grant-making implementation, leadership coaching, and organization-wide change management.

• The San Francisco Foundation: Advancing Equity…How We Created Our Equity Agenda

• The San Francisco Foundation: Advancing Equity: Reimagining the Ways a Community Foundation Delivers on Its Mission

• The Stanford Social Innovation Review: Listening To The Community To Reimagine How A Foundation Delivers On Its Mission

• The San Francisco Foundation Website

The San Francisco Foundation in the news:

• San Francisco Chronicle: SF Foundation Drafts Plan to Tackle… Disparity

• San Francisco Business Times: Can Philanthropy Pull a Country … Closer Together?

• San Francisco Business Times: Foundation to tackle… “challenges” involving race, economic exclusion 

“We were looking for someone who understood what we were trying to do, even though we couldn’t fully articulate what we were trying to do,” said Chief Operating Officer Dee Dee Brantley. The foundation found it in Public Equity Group (PEG), a boutique San Francisco based consulting firm run by people of color. As PEG Founder John Newsome often says, “Equity is our middle name.”

– Fred Blackwell, CEO

Based on Northern California, Canal Alliance is a nonprofit champion of immigrants who are challenged by a lack of resources and an unfamiliar environment.

PEG’s team of consultants (including Rita Louh, Abigail Stewart-Kahn, and Jean Cooper) supported Canal Alliance leadership, Board and staff in developing and aligning on a strategic vision for the organization as it transitioned to new executive leadership after 35 years of operations. PEG's work included an analysis of existing programs and impact, synthesis of community needs and stakeholder feedback, development of future program strategy and initiatives, and deep engagement with the staff and Board throughout the process, leading to shared ownership across the organization of the strategic vision.

“To be successful… we needed a strategic partner with the right combination of experience and skills in organizational cultural change, impact and a clear commitment to equity and justice.  We chose to work with PEG after interviewing several consultants. PEG demonstrated… all the technical skills and human qualities necessary to embrace an organizational transformation. PEG was a fundamental part of our process and their contributions were invaluable to our success in developing and articulating our long term vision and plans.” 

– Omar Carrera, CEO  

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation (GMF) was founded on the premise that generosity can unlock an individual’s potential and strengthen the community for everyone who lives here. Achieving their mission for greater Milwaukee,“a vibrant, economically thriving region comprised of welcoming and inclusive communities that provide opportunity, prosperity and a high quality of life for all,” requires specific focus on identifying and eliminating barriers to opportunity so all people can reach their full potential.

PEG helped GMF develop a framework for racial equity and inclusion, featuring targeted strategies within the interconnected and mutually reinforcing ideas of Connected People and Thriving Communities. Fundamental to this commitment is employing culturally responsive practice by inviting people to be at the center of decisions that affect them and ensuring their ability to participate in designing, building and implementing specific strategies to address the conditions or systems they seek to change.

• Community Leadership

• Thriving Communities

• Connected People

• Early Childhood Education

“The PEG team has a remarkable talent for articulating ideas with a clarity and focus that welcomes people into the conversation and drives the debate toward tangible solutions. Following an intensive two-year learning journey with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Board and staff to explore how the Foundation could further advance racial equity and inclusion in our region, we sought guidance from PEG on operationalizing our generational commitment to equity. Using an approach that was thorough and well-defined without being prescriptive, John Newsome, Stacey Smith, and their team engaged staff, Board and stakeholders in a process of discovery that built ownership and understanding, leading to strategy development. The PEG team helped the Foundation develop a deeper understanding and capacity to analyze data and community research, as well as our own knowledge of the community, to set strategy for population-level change. They didn’t construct our framework; rather, they fostered our competency to develop a framework we could embrace and sustain. John and Stacey are both skilled facilitators of organizational change efforts of significant breadth and magnitude. Equally important, they are wonderful to work with, offering guidance, encouragement and insight along the way.”

– Ellen Gilligan, President and CEO, Greater Milwaukee Foundation

John Newsome and PEG colleagues supported leaders from four organizations that were funded by Open Society Foundations (OSF): Center for a New Economy; the ACLU of Puerto Rico; the University of Puerto Rico law school; and the Center for Investigative Journalism. The aim was to launch a new organization and develop strategies to advance progressive change and long-term civic capacity across Puerto Rico. The effort was based on OSF’s “place-based” work in Baltimore, and undertaken in close collaboration with Open Society Foundations’ leaders and board.

• Nuevo Dia: EA Sues the PR Government

• EA and CNE Launch Hurricane Recovery Fund

• Telemundo: EA Holds “Virtual” Budget Hearing

• EA Report on PR Corporate Tax Giveaways

• Espacios Abiertos Website

“John Newsome’s work during our 9-month strategic plan process was extraordinary.  He had to craft the strategic plan for a new NGO that does collaborative work with other non-profit organizations in Puerto Rico.  He was able to understand the complex environment we are working in, learn about our partner organizations and reconcile differing visions to help us craft a plan that honored the mission of the organization while re-focusing our objectives and fine-tuning our strategies.  His commitment to the work was above and beyond what we expected—which is a clear testament to his professional abilities and his commitment to help organizations have a real impact on the social justice issues he cares deeply about…”

– Nuria Ortiz, Executive Director, Espacios Abiertos

The Buffett Early Childhood Institute emerged from the shared vision of the University of Nebraska leadership and Susie Buffett, a longtime philanthropist and champion of early childhood education and development. The mission of this University of Nebraska-based Institute, which has an endowment of $100 million, is to make Nebraska “the best place in the US to be a baby”—particularly for low income children of color, and children in rural NY communities.

John Newsome, Jean Cooper, and PEG analysts supported the Institute to develop a framework and strategy for closing the early childhood achievement and opportunity (or “equity”) gap, and mobilizing the state’s prominent university system, philanthropic and business communities, media, and local communities in support of this mission.

• Buffett Institute Three Year Report

• Buffett Early Childhood Institute Website

“Working with John Newsome and Jean Cooper has been extremely helpful to us a start-up with great ideas, high expectations, and talented people. John led us through a theory of change process that brought us together as a staff, helped us articulate our goals, and enabled us to clarify and focus our energies. Wherever John went and with everyone he met, he communicated his knowledge, skill, and professionalism. He has been a wonderful facilitator and an equally valuable ambassador for all we do. My staff and I are very grateful for the opportunity to work with him.”

–  Dr. Sam Meisels, Founding Executive Director

The Peter Kiewit Foundation creates opportunities for people to live in and help build strong and vibrant communities, achieve economic success, and enjoy a high quality life, moving towards a future with engaged citizens and thriving communities. 

A team of PEG consultants supported the Peter Kiewit Foundation (NE), which awards about $25 million annually in grants. We gathered, analyzed, and synthesized research and data about people, places, and issues in Nebraska; conducted leader and stakeholder interviews and focus groups across the state (culminating in a data and stakeholder feedback summary report, available on PKF’s website); and prioritized key areas for potential focus, based on the Foundation’s unique positioning. Ultimately, we codified a new strategy that increased the Foundation’s explicit focus on addressing “inequality of opportunity”—e.g., education and workforce development, community development, leadership development, and planning/policy advocacy (PEG continues to advise PKF on strategy, implementation, and board governance).

• PKF Strategic Plan

• PKF Strategy Highlights

• PEG Data and Interview Highlights

• Omaha World Herald: New Plan, More Goals for Kiewit Foundation

• The Peter Kiewit Foundation Website

“We engaged PEG to help us develop our foundation’s first strategic plan. They did an excellent job of gathering the data, asking the right questions, and guiding the process. But what really distinguished their work was how apparent it was to our team, to our board, and to our community how invested they were in our success and how passionate they were in making sure our work would lead to real impact… We emerged with a strong plan that aligned our board and staff and that we are now ‘living our way into’. Thanks PEG!”

– Jeff Kutash, Executive Director, The Peter Kiewit Foundation
(former Managing Director, FSG San Francisco)

Tipping Point is a non-profit based in San Francisco, that breaks the cycle of poverty in the Bay Area for the 1.7 million people who don't have the resources to meet their basic needs.

PEG’s team helped Tipping Point Community (a grant-making organization, modeled after NY’s Robin Hood Foundation, that has raised more than $260 million since 2005 for Bay Area community organizations) develop an impact framework and strategy that redouble the organization’s focus on long-term impact, and aligns Tipping Point’s investment strategies, grantee support, and internal accountability metrics accordingly (e.g., more funding and TA over a longer period of time; greater investment in R&D to surface truly “breakthrough” solutions and increased accountability for progress). Previously, PEG teams supported Tipping Point to develop a grantee feedback report (based on comprehensive grantee surveys and interviews) and helped Tipping Point refine and focus its approach to grantee technical assistance.

• Tipping Point Grantee Feedback Report

• Tipping Point Community Website

“[PEG’s team members] are sharp, diligent collaborators who bring a mix of big picture thinking and a real understanding of on-the-ground challenges. They continue to provide invaluable support and guidance to our team as we use the strategy to better serve the 1.3 million people who struggle to meet their basic needs in our community.”

– Daniel Lurie, Founder + CEO

Open Society-U.S. is committed to building a vibrant, inclusive, and more just society in the United States. OSF (US) combines grantmaking, advocacy, fellowships and field office work to promote full participation in the nation’s civic, political, and economic life—particularly for communities that are historically marginalized—and to ensure that the core institutions of civil society are effective, equitable, and accountable to the public. OSF (US) works at the federal, state and local level, and is guided by the power of local voices in several efforts: the Open Society Institute–Baltimore; work to rebuild Puerto Rico; and ongoing efforts in a number of primarily South and Southwestern cities and states.

PEG has supported OSF’s “Open Places Initiative” in Puerto Rico, part of a multi-year project intended to increase marginalized communities’ influence and access to economic, civic, and political opportunities and also supported strategy development for OSF’s Puerto Rico project, which funds leading grassroots organizations and initiatives around the island and across the Puerto Rican diaspora in the US.

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy: How Foundations Can Make A Difference After Puerto Rico’s Latest Natural Disaster

“I was very excited to build on our work in Baltimore and launch the Open Places Initiative…  I am proud to be associated with what [OPI grantees] have accomplished. While we will only know the true measure of your success many years from now, I hope you feel encouraged by what you have already achieved to reduce discrimination and instability… I also give thanks to Terri Bailey, Prue Brown, Manuel Pastor, John Newsome and the regional funders who contributed to our early thinking, provided helpful critiques along the way, and share [OSF’s] enthusiasm for all [OPI grantees] can accomplish.”

- Diana Morris, Director, Open Places Foundation (Open Places Initiatives & Baltimore OSF office) 

GLIDE is the largest, progressive megachurch in the United States is known for its commitment to “radical inclusivity.”

John Newsome, Rita Louh, and other PEG team members supported GLIDE’s leadership and board in developing the organization’s first-ever comprehensive strategic plan, spanning both the Church and Foundation (programs). It culminated in a renewed focus on racial, economic, and social justice advocacy, and fostered deep relationships and “transformative impact” with San Francisco’s poorest and most marginalized populations. John, Rita, and their colleagues also worked closely with GLIDE leaders and trustees to support the organization’s governance and succession plans (and continue to provide periodic advisory support).

• San Francisco Chronicle: Glide Church + SF Foundation team up for Equity discussion

• GLIDE Memorial Church and Foundation Website

• San Francisco Examiner: GLIDE’s passionate voice for justice

• Rabbi joins GLIDE’s Social Justice Center

“The team at Public Equity Group (PEG) helped GLIDE create a new strategic framework to integrate the Church and Foundation visions. [John, Rita and Tom] facilitated a process that was inclusive, broad and expansive, yet focused enough for us to implement. What made the work so effective was that the PEG team took the time to understand our culture – what makes us tick – and used that understanding to help create a plan that was consistent with who we are, what we are good at, and who we serve. We highly recommend PEG for your strategic planning work.”

– Karen Oliveto, Senior Pastor; Rita Shimmin, Co-Executive Director; Kristen Growney Yamamoto, Co-Executive Director

Founded in 1990, Community Housing Partnership (CHP) is an award-winning San Francisco nonprofit dedicated to helping homeless people secure housing and become self-sufficient. By providing high quality housing and delivering comprehensive services CHP can empower formerly homeless individuals and families to rebuild their lives.

CHP develops supportive residential properties and maintains them with high quality property management services. They currently own, manage and/or provide support services in 17 buildings in San Francisco – a total of over 1,300 units, with 240 more in development. Together they house more than 1,400 formerly homeless individuals.

CHP delivers comprehensive services to residents. Through individualized case management, employment programs, health services, youth and family programs, and civic engagement initiatives, CHP helps residents become active members of their community.

PEG worked with CHP to help develop a comprehensive strategic plan. “[PEG was] invaluable in ensuring that we were able to both realize our commitment to an inclusive process while simultaneously reaching concrete decisions and a clear, actionable plan.”

• CHP Strategic Plan

• CHP Impact Report 2018

• CHP Impact Report 2017

“Public Equity Group helped us develop a thorough and thoughtful plan to fully implement our theory of change and refined mission. [The PEG team members] were excellent process leaders, project managers, and thought partners… Perhaps of equal value, our work with PEG served to build our internal capacity to manage change, a long-reaching benefit to CHP as we move into implementation of our ambitious commitment to help homeless families and individuals not only secure housing, but reach long-term self-sufficiency and a greater quality of life.”

– Gail Gilman, Executive Director, Community Housing Partnership (CHP)

The Kapor (pronounced KAY-por) Center aims to make the technology ecosystem and entrepreneurship more diverse and inclusive. They are particularly interested in positive social impacts for communities that have historically been on the periphery of access to opportunity, participation and influence in the United States.

John Newsome supported the Kapor Foundation (now the Kapor Center) on numerous equity strategy projects. John supported the Foundation’s expanded focus on “supporting organizations that provoke social change in communities of color, en route to equality.” He also supported the creation and scaling of the College Bound Brotherhood, an initiative that combines grant funding, TA, convening, and movement building to support Bay Area African American males to aspire to, prepare for, and attend college; and has advised Foundation leaders regarding ongoing operations, to ensure consistency with the Foundation’s social justice vision and values. He also has worked within the Foundation’s portfolio to support organizations and leaders to undertake rigorous strategy development and implementation planning.

• BBCBI Strategy Research

• White House Announcement

• Responsive Philanthropy: Small Foundation, Big Impact

• The Kapor Center for Social Impact Website

“[PEG founder] John Newsome uncovered germane data, and consistently provided high-quality and high-level information, enabling [the Foundation] to lead our trustees through discussions about our direction.”

– Cedric Brown, CEO

Active Voice Lab

“Between 2011-2013, John [Newsome] supported Active Voice with organizational planning and ongoing advice that ultimately has culminated in our exciting shift from film-based engagement campaigns to ‘big picture’ creative media strategy. As a seasoned management consultant and non-profit leader, John has walked the walk—and his energy and compassion were evident in every step we took together.”

– Ellen Schneider, Founder and Executive Director, Active Voice Lab

Children’s Council San Francisco

“At Children’s Council we embarked on a journey to improve our services—offering more touch points to low-income, high-need families—and we needed some external capacity to develop a game plan for change on an ambitious timeline. PEG impressed us with their expertise, thoughtfulness and involvement in the process. Their time management skills are exceptional!.”

–  Jennifer Brooks, Chief Program Officer

Concourse Education

“Before we started Concourse Education, we needed to do a landscape analysis of the post-secondary education field. From my prior work with John Newsome at SummerSearch, I knew he would be the ideal partner. What we got was a crack PEG team that was thorough, timely, and more impactful on the shaping of our program than I could have imagined. I am extremely comfortable recommending PEG to others in the sector.”

– Ted Williams

Education Through Music

“Our leadership and Board were immediately impressed with PEG’s broad and deep knowledge, succinct and direct communication style, and pragmatic approach to planning. They tailored their analytical approach to our questions and capacity, and budgeted time and money efficiently towards helping us develop the answers we needed. We especially praise the lead consultants on our project, John Newsome and Warner Fite, for their acumen, integrity, enthusiasm, leadership, and outstanding project management skills. They were able to develop extremely strong rapport with Board and staff very quickly. They deftly managed the balancing act of becoming trusted extensions of our team while maintaining proper professional boundaries. The result was an efficient staff and board driven diagnostic and planning effort that boosted morale and cohesion in and of itself.”

– Katherine Damkohler, Executive Director

First And Always Melanin (FAAM)

“PEG helped us develop our first strategic plan; this process allowed us to develop a more cohesive vision for FAAM while aligning it with the needs of our community. They offered consultation and did the work and research necessary to understand the unique experience of our city [enabling] them to be effective allies that advocated not only for the advancement of FAAM but for the advancement of our community through FAAM programming. We are grateful for their hard work and guidance.”

– Faheemah Salahud-Din

Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA Network)

“With extraordinary guidance from Public Equity Group, GSA Network engaged in a participatory, rigorous and data-driven strategic planning process in order to detail the Safe and Healthy LGBT Youth Project’s five-year goals, programmatic priorities and sustainability plan. The strategic planning processes, plans and deliverables that John [Collins] and John [Newsome] provided us with were truly valuable and will allow us to positively impact the lives of tens of thousands of youth while also strengthening our internal operations. The team at Public Equity Group was knowledgeable, went above and beyond expectations and became like family to our staff during their time with us. It was truly a pleasure and we hope other colleagues will utilize their terrific services.”

– Dave Renyolds, Project Director, Safe and Healthy LGBT Youth Project

Global Business Coalition on Health (Formerly Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria)

“Since starting on a consulting basis with GBC, John [Newsome] has done a wonderful job developing the strategy and laying the foundation for one of our most important initiatives. … Working with leaders at the national and local levels, from the White House to Capitol Hill, and from the CDC to the Mayor’s office in Oakland and beyond, John and his team led a core group of GBC member companies who stepped up to launch an impressive array of efforts that bring business sensibilities and assets to the fight against AIDS. … The program’s success has received wide media coverage, including by the Washington Post and the Economist.”

– Dr. John Tedstrom, PhD, President and CEO, Global Business Coalition

Jewish Vocational Service

“PEG helped JVS develop a strategic plan that capitalized on our organizational strengths, the research about best practices in workforce development, and our experience getting job seekers toward economic self-sufficiency. John’s [Newsome] skills are many; we most appreciated how he helped us think clearly about our approach and impact and how he facilitated many rich discussions throughout the process. He is equal parts dedication, brilliance and compassion. JVS’s Board of Directors and staff are fully invested in executing this ambitious and exciting plan, and we have John and PEG to thank.”

– Abby Snay, Executive Director

“To us, John Newsome and the PEG Team are much more than advisors or contractors. They really are a part of our organization, but not only because they've helped build it. It's something more. They "get" our thinking since the beginning, our conflicts, our contradictions and they follow our leads with a lot of trust and a capacity to listen, interpret and dissect that thinking. We love working with John, Aly, Nicolás and the PEG Team because, first, they literally speak our language (Spanish) and we can communicate so much better in our language, especially when talking about our work, the things that matter the most to us. These are issues that are very emotional, that we live, suffer and rejoice in in Spanish. Secondly, they "get" us, which means they truly understand and connect with our needs. They don't bring pre-made solutions or schemes or narratives or clicés, and we are so grateful for that. They listen, they connect and they create plans, strategies, solutions and interpretations that just fit us, our vision as well as cultural and political contexts. And last but not least, they do it without making you work a lot. Our plan took almost six months but all we had to do was put them in contact with some of our closest folks and commit to a weekly meeting. We did a lot of talking but we didn't have to write or do tasks. They just took what we already had in our minds and everything that was going on during  that time in our organization and they made something beautiful, understandable, something lucid and doable out of it. We love them and wish they lived closer to home. Thank you John, Ally, Nicolás and everyone at PEG!”

- María Mari-Narváez, Directora ejecutiva, Kilómetro 0

Larkin Street Youth Services

“John Newsome was a game changer for Larkin Street. His leadership of our strategic planning process moved the agency forward in significant ways that will forever impact our work. He helped us through a very difficult process, and he did it with grace, humor, and intelligence. He connected authentically with our staff, board, and agency leadership, ensuring that we came out of the process stronger and with a unified vision. He and his team were diligent and met ambitious deliverables; on a personal level, he was an amazing coach and mentor. I am grateful to John for his guidance and support, and for the foundation he built for Larkin Street’s bright future.”

– Sherilyn Adams, Executive Director, Larkin Street Youth Services

Leadership Enterprise for African Development (LEAD)

“Public Equity Group consistently provided invaluable strategic advice and produced exceptional project-related materials, contributing critical counsel and rigorous research to our core team of advisors throughout key stages of our organizational development process.”

– M. Kamari Clarke, Founding member, Leadership Enterprise for African Development Initiative; Chair, Yale University Council on African Studies

Memphis Music Inititiative

“PEG worked with one of our partner organizations to build a youth development framework that sought to promote high-quality programming across a city-wide system. As a funder and capacity-builder within Memphis, we are grateful for the persistence and diligence that the PEG team modeled. We also are grateful for the level of transparency and vulnerability that they demonstrated while working with our partners and our internal staff team. Making space for us, as a funder, to be present during a pivotal reflection and assessment meeting, for example, exemplifies the level of candidness that PEG embodies and one which we admire and applaud. John Newsome’s and Jean Cooper’s leadership served as a powerful reminder that although meaningful change management can be a rigorous and unpredictable process, creative and collaborative responsiveness are effective tools through which to navigate the challenge.”

– Grants and Capacity Building Team (Memphis Music Initiative (MMI))

“PEG came in at an important time for Millennial Action Project (MAP), helping us design our Strategic and Operational Plan. This plan has become our roadmap to take our cross-partisan work with young legislators to the next level. Throughout the process, John and Warner were a quick study and a great team. They conducted their work with the highest level of professionalism, kindness, and enthusiasm; rigorously gathered data; and made thoughtful recommendations that are propelling us in the right direction. I was also impressed with how deeply John and Warner understood MAP’s ethos and mission—they were truly passionate about the project and it showed in their work. Our entire team was grateful to work with John and Warner. And because no good deed goes unpunished, they will continue to be part of the MAP family for the long haul.”

- Steven Olikara, President and CEO, Millennial Action Project

The Mitchell Kapor Foundation

“John [Newsome] uncovered germane data, and consistently provided high-quality and high-level information, enabling [the Foundation] to lead our trustees through discussions about our direction.”

– Cedric Brown, CEO, The Mitchell Kapor Foundation (recipient of the 2010 Association of Black Foundation Executives Emerging Leader in Philanthropy Award)

MIT CoLab

“PEG completely redefined my expectations and… expanded them… The first thing PEG did… was help make visible the critical connection between vision, mission, and organizational infrastructure… PEG’s great strength is… their approach to organizational development…It’s right sized, staged, [and] accessible. Their stellar strength is not to deliver the report at the end; the strength and commitment is actually to stand up the organization in a new way.”

“[PEG’s] work style is just extremely collaborative and co-creative, really responsive to input, priorities, anxieties, and deep commitments. It’s really easy to trust PEG and to put your process in PEG’s hands and feel well supported.”

– Dayna Cunningham, Executive Director

Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative

“John was a confidential sounding board. He provided me with a safe space for exploration, a space where I could think through different ideas and concepts related to the organization. John provided me with very specific metrics that helped me manage the transition period and get the organization ready to bring on a new executive director. It was nice to have a third party who was connected enough to know what was going on, but not so engaged that they might color future relationships. There were times where I thought I’d come up against an area of concern, and he would help me understand that it was a symptom of culture, either regional or organizational. To me, this is the closest I’ve ever had to an external coach, which was another really positive opportunity. I’ve been doing nonprofit work for a long time, and he made it really valuable, even for me. John is absolutely trustworthy, knowledgeable, professional, and operates with a high level of integrity. John gets to know the organizations he’s working with deeply and isn’t afraid to be provocative – he encouraged me to explore and question my thinking in different directions all the time.”

–  Kathy Bell, Interim Executive Director

New Profit (Boston)

“PEG did an outstanding job helping New Profit gather and make sense of important feedback from our portfolio organizations. PEG customized the tools and processes for our needs, and was incredibly responsive to adjustments as the work progressed. Their analysis and synthesis gave us the data we needed to make improvements to our investment and support processes, as well as our communications and feedback channels.”

–  Bob Searle, Managing Partner

New American Leaders

“We worked with PEG over a period of eight months, during which we benefited from their strategic thinking and practical approaches. The team is a great combination of tactical and big-picture, and adapted quickly to our changing needs… Working with them helped us to determine how to address small but time-consuming practices, as well as larger questions about growth and expansion with applications throughout the entire organization’s departments and programs… Warner and John are excellent listeners and balance being understanding about [an] organization’s challenges with being clear and firm about their recommendations for improvement… We whole-heartedly recommend PEG, especially to other [organizations] looking at strategic expansion.” 

– Sayu Bhojwani, Founder and President

Nurse-Family Partnership (California)

“The PEG team was a vital resource in developing our Bay Area strategic plan. The level of thoughtfulness and commitment to our work was impressive and reassuring. They really helped to broaden our perspectives and think outside the box. Thank you!”

–  Chris Krawczyk, State Director, and Maria Camargo, Business Development Manager

PBLWorks (Formerly Buck Institute for Education)

“Public Equity Group has been an outstanding partner for PBLWorks. Beginning and ending with our shared commitment to educational equity, we enjoy working with John, Kimberly and the entire PEG Team. PEG facilitated two processes that has led to expanded growth and deeper impact for the students in the schools and districts where we partner. The plans also assisted us in building new internal organizational capacities and raising millions of dollars to support our mission.”

–  Bob Lenz, CEO, PBLWorks

Peer Health Exchange

“John Newsome and PEG are a valuable resource to growing organizations, including helping them think about growth and impact and their relationship to each other. John helped us revise growth scenarios for an era focused on deepening impact on every teen we serve and brought clarity, openness, and collaboration to a critical series of conversations on our team. Our team loved working with him—he found a way to enroll as he worked with a diverse group of leaders—a hard but very important task!”

– Louise Langheier, CEO and Co-Founder, Peer Health Exchange

PolicyLink

“As PolicyLink approaches its 20th year at this peak moment for the equity movement, we needed a rigorous, strategic, and honest assessment of how the organization could maximize its value. We needed a firm with an equity DNA, respected leadership, and the ability to interpret a highly nuanced and rapid changing ecosystem. Public Equity Group exceeded our expectations across the board. Thanks to the team’s thorough landscape review and intuitive analysis, PolicyLink is prepared to enter its third decade stronger than ever.”

– Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO

San Francisco AIDS Foundation

“Public Equity Group helped us to ask and answer the right strategic questions to address the problem of high HIV incidence among young Black gay men in San Francisco. Their thorough literature review of best practices, synthesis of extant data, and interviews with national leaders in the field were instrumental in the creation of a detailed, deeply informed, and readily implementable program design. That they did so with incisive professionalism, humor, and compassion for the human subjects was icing on the cake.”

– Kyriell Noon, Director of Prevention Services, San Francisco AIDS Foundation

Stanford Graduate School of Business

“John [Newsome] developed a valuable workshop for MBA students at the Stanford Graduate School of Business focused on communicating in high stakes, high pressure situations. Students appreciated John’s strategic insights and authentic teaching style, and immediately gained a set of tools to help them navigate difficult conversations in a wide range of business situations. Working with John I found him to be professional, creative, and enthusiastic. He was committed to the success of the session and to continual improvement for future iterations. John’s a joy to watch in front of the room and a pro to work with behind the scenes.”

– JD Schramm, EdD, Director, Mastery in Communication Initiative

Summer Search

“John Newsome’s support was invaluable to creating a clear, ambitious five-year strategy for our $15M youth development organization to nearly double in size. John helped guide planning at our national level and across multiple sites, bringing data and exceptional facilitation to bear, that allowed us to wrestle with and make several tough strategic decisions. Moreover, he and his team partnered seamlessly with us post strategy launch to execute initiatives to define governance and decision-making across our multi-site, multi-board network, and to identify programmatic innovation pilots. What John brings to the table is a whole package unlike anyone else I’ve worked with: a strategic mind, analytical chops, and exceptional people skills that I believe stem from his passion for social justice and natural empathy for others.”

– Amy Saxton, CEO, Summer Search (national)

Tipping Point Community

“PEG helped us develop our partnership strategy, a plan that allows us to connect the best of the business sector to our portfolio of the 40 most effective poverty-fighting nonprofits in the Bay Area. John Collins and John Newsome are sharp, diligent collaborators who bring a mix of big picture thinking and a real understanding of on-the-ground challenges. They continue to provide invaluable support and guidance to our team as we use the strategy to better serve the 1.3 million people who struggle to meet their basic needs in our community.”

– Daniel Lurie, Founder + CEO, Tipping Point Community

Transgender Law Center

“TLC completed our first formal strategic planning process last year. … This process helped TLC determine that we need to proactively focus on two core areas—economic justice (including employment and access to social services) and health coverage and access. While TLC will continue to prioritize [other areas], these decisions are meant to ensure that our work effectively supports institutional changes that will positively impact all members of our community, including the most vulnerable.”

– Masen Davis, Executive Director, Transgender Law Center, in the 2009 Annual Report overview