Founded in 1998, La Piana is a national nonprofit management consultancy recognized for being on the cutting edge of thinking and methodology related to strategy development, business planning, and strategic alliances. We are dedicated to strengthening nonprofits and foundations for greater social impact.
As a mid-sized firm, we combine the capacity to undertake complex projects with a highly personalized, client-centric approach. Our experienced consultants employ a balanced, creative, and comprehensive approach to projects, incorporating relevant data analyses and proven, practical processes. The firm’s commitment to sharing knowledge and making sense of evolving trends is demonstrated in our many books, articles, and online resources.
Our original methodologies have been adopted widely, including our RealTime Strategic Planning approach — which has been customized for use by hundreds of diverse nonprofits and adopted by YMCA of the USA as the official strategic planning methodology across The Y network — and our DARE2 Succeed business planning methodology — which provides an intensive, focused process to help a nonprofit review and refine its current thinking, create and test different operating scenarios, challenge financial assumptions, and reframe the organization’s plans as needed for maximum likelihood of success.
Beyond innovative methodologies, we believe that how we work with our clients is as important as what we do with them. Our approach is collaborative and iterative, and driven by a commitment to help our clients accelerate results. We offer a practical framework and tools for decision-making and action, with the flexibility to accommodate a range of organizational needs and to adjust as new information is developed during the process. The firm’s guiding values: accountability, collaboration, equity, flexibility, innovation, and social impact describe who we are and who we aspire to be as a team.
We have consulted with over 1,500 nonprofits and foundations of all small arts organizations. (See selected clients at right and a more complete client list on our website here.)