Organizational Consulting Services
We provide customized consulting services to help
organizations maximize their impact. We partner with a variety of clients spanning nonprofit, corporate, education, and government sectors to provide services in three main areas.
Research & Evaluation
Sound research and evaluation allow organizations to capitalize on strengths and make continuous improvements.
Planning & Facilitation
Proper planning and facilitation enable organizations to be purposeful, strategic, and inclusive.
Organizational Effectiveness
Organizational effectiveness consulting helps set organizations up for success so they can achieve their goals.
We have a simple but focused purpose to help organizations realize their visions and maximize their impact in order to make communities great places to work and live. We strive to help organizations become so extraordinarily impactful they are in a category of one.
About Us
Testimonials
What Our Clients Say
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![Laurie Ponce Lage]()
"C1C helped our network of nonprofits develop a comprehensive, collaborative, and inclusive process for selecting a policy agenda. Their team was professional, accommodating, and patient as they guided us through this monumental task."
Laurie Ponce Lage, Executive Director, Coalition for a Strong Nebraska
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![Anne Hindery]()
"We have always had positive, professional, and exceptional experiences with C1C. They are amazing to work with and deliver what they promise every single time."
Anne Hindery, Chief Executive Officer, Nonprofit Association of the Midlands
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![Gina Brummels]()
"We partnered with CIC to assess an HR program that was costing us over $3 million with minimal ROI. Their guidance helped us build the right business case for including external best practices in order to change the program and turn it into a success. We work with CIC because they bring best in class knowledge of how to use data and insights to help drive HR practices forward, all while making the process feel seamless."
Gina Brummels, Senior Director of Learning, Talent, & Change, Ardent Mills
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![Robert Moore]()
"I am impressed with C1C's ability to provide our school district with timely feedback on all aspects of our federal grants through their evaluation process. I am even more impressed with their thoroughness, service, and the relationships C1C has developed with our team to ensure the success of our grant initiatives."
Robert Moore, Assistant Superintendent, Bellevue Public Schools
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"We've worked with C1C on several projects and have always had a positive experience. They deliver exactly what they promise every time, are enjoyable to work with, and produce high quality final products. Their expertise and insights have helped make our organization better and more effective."
Brian Depew, Executive Director, Center for Rural Affairs
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![Meredith Dillon & Naomi Hattaway]()
"You know there's something special in a partnership when you get teary at a deliverable email. We appreciate not only C1C's process and outcomes, but also the thoughtful way in which they work and consistently show up for their clients. C1C's ability to listen, ask important questions, and simultaneously bring joy to a project is unmatched. It's so obvious there is a depth of care for the community in the way they approach their work."
Meredith Dillon & Naomi Hattaway, Executive Director & Director of Communications and Community Initiatives, Front Porch Investments
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![Leah Carpenter]()
"C1C helped us to better support our organization during a time of growth and change with the development of clear and evidence-based practices. These resources have resulted in a more sustainable organizational structure, employee satisfaction, and tools that have been used long-term to guide practices such as hiring, onboarding, and monitoring key performance indicators."
Leah Carpenter, Associate Director, Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition
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![Rachel Bahl]()
"From the very first meeting, C1C provided a strategic and inclusive process as well as polished and user-friendly deliverables. After working with C1C, the key stakeholders in our organization are more aligned and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities ahead."
Rachel Bahl, Co-Director, inCOMMON Community Development
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![Greg Ryan]()
"C1C is the best partner I have had the chance to work with, ever. They are organized, knowledgeable, inclusive, considerate, thorough, on time, and on budget. They are the "easy button" for any program evaluation project."
Greg Ryan, Chief Strategy Officer, Heartland Family Service
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![Erin Porterfield]()
"The C1C team was able to take a very abstract, complex subject and work in tandem with us to create something clear, actionable, and useful for a wide variety of users. They worked with our collective impact partner agencies, elicited input from varied perspectives, and integrated the range of ideas into a best-in-class product. Always creative, positive, and dependable, they set the stage for great collaboration from day 1 to the finished product. They are our favorite team to partner with!"
Erin Porterfield, Executive Director, Heartland Workforce Solutions
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![Daniel Padilla]()
"C1C was a great resource for us! We were a new organization in need of operations and measurement support. They were able to review our client system and help with procedures for evaluation, tracking, and decision making. Their deliverables came in a very professional manner and followed a strict timeline. Everything was completed as planned and our organization and partners were very pleased with C1C’s performance."
Daniel Padilla, Executive Director, Lending Link
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![Joe DiCostanzo]()
"From the first meeting through the final presentation, C1C was thoughtful, flexible, organized, and tuned into the needs of our organization and staff. The result was a very collaborative, useful, and professional plan that will guide our work for years to come."
Joe DiCostanzo, Vice President, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation
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![Jeremy Bouman]()
"C1C are the best in the business at what they do and add tremendous value to our organization as a longtime partner. Their thorough evaluation of our programs gave our clients and constituents a safe space to provide critical feedback that led to several improvements. Their deliverables are top notch and tell your organization's story through both qualitative and quantitative data in a way that builds trust and support from the broader community. C1C is the real deal."
Jeremy Bouman, Executive Director, RISE
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![Merica Whitehall]()
"C1C efficiently, and very effectively, engaged a large staff and board team in strategic planning at Fontenelle Forest. The process was thorough and concise. Our plan was measurable and actionable. Most importantly, C1C provided us with a process to assure accountability and adaptability as we implemented our plan."
Merica Whitehall, Senior Associate, The Valtas Group
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![Brent Dillinger]()
"C1C is resourceful, inspiring, and fun to work with - I can always count on them to deliver what they promise. I have always had excellent experiences with C1C that add great value to our organization."
Brent Dillinger, Chief Executive Officer, Trivium Life Services
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![Jo Giles]()
"The work that Category One has done for the Women’s Fund helped us identify our areas of opportunity for growth and improvement and allowed us to institutionalize our hiring and onboarding practices. We now have formed an internal committee focused on a culture of inclusivity. By providing us with a framework and strategic vision, we are collectively moving in the same direction with the same goals in mind."
Jo Giles, Executive Director, Women’s Fund of Omaha
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![Kalisha Reed]()
"Our organization was fortunate to work with C1C. Their team approach was collaborative and supportive. They took care to keep our mission and vision their focus when developing the best and evidence-based practices for our programs. C1C set our organization up to take it to the next level in our programs and services and we are grateful!"
Kalisha Reed, Executive Director, Youth Emergency Services
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"Working with Category One Consulting was a joy. They made the process of Strategic Planning simple and enjoyable and delivered a product that is impactful."
Mike Hornacek , President and CEO, Together Omaha
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Category One Consulting recently completed a review of ten social service programs funded by the Housing Authority of the City of Erie. They did a great job researching the ten organizations, and it was obvious by the Executive Review and the individual agency reviews they conducted, that they had a concept of the services the agencies provide, their commitment to providing those services, and the issues the Housing Authority would need to address going forward. I would highly recommend C1C for their commitment to the scope of services and the finished products that they provided.
Michael R. Fraley, Executive Director, Housing Opportunities for the People of Erie
Insights
Learn From Our Leaders
