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Coalitions and Foundations
LMA helps funders, coalitions, collaboratives, and mission-driven organizations understand what is working, where alignment is needed, and how collective efforts can create measurable community impact.
Coalitions and foundations often lead work that spans organizations, systems, communities, and priorities. Progress depends on more than good intentions. It requires shared goals, useful data, clear strategy, and evidence that partners can trust.
Experience, Data for Good, and Human Intelligence for shared community impact.
Coalitions and foundations work in complex spaces. They bring together partners with different roles, priorities, resources, and responsibilities. They often need to measure progress across programs, organizations, communities, and systems.
LMA brings decades of applied evaluation experience to this work. We use Data for Good to clarify needs, document progress, identify gaps, and support better decisions. We apply Human Intelligence to interpret findings with context, listen to stakeholder perspectives, and help partners turn evidence into action.
The result is evaluation and strategy support that helps coalitions and foundations align around what matters, learn as they go, and strengthen the systems they are working to improve.
Over 30 Years of Experience
Decades of evaluation and planning experience with foundations, coalitions, collaboratives, public agencies, and community-based organizations.
Data for Good
Responsible use of data to clarify priorities, measure progress, reveal gaps, and support decisions that strengthen communities.
Human Intelligence
Listening, facilitation, judgment, and contextual understanding that help partners make sense of complex systems and act on evidence.
How we support coalitions and foundations
Shared Strategy & Planning
We help coalitions, funders, and partner networks define shared priorities, develop theories of change, build logic models, identify indicators, and create practical plans for action.
Evaluation & Learning Systems
We design evaluation approaches that help partners understand implementation, outcomes, collaboration, and systems-level progress. Our work supports accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.
Needs Assessment & Landscape Analysis
We help partners understand community needs, service gaps, available resources, stakeholder perspectives, and opportunities for stronger alignment across systems.
Coalition Capacity & Shared Measurement
We support coalition development through facilitation, partner feedback, collaborative functioning assessment, social network analysis, data tools, reporting systems, and shared measurement frameworks.
“I have had the pleasure of working with LMA for nearly a decade. They have conducted multiple evaluations of programs funded by Helios Education Foundation. Their reports showcase program strengths, areas for continued advancement, as well as tell the story of our work alongside our partners and grantees. They understand the education landscape and can navigate complex and multi-stakeholder collaboration with ease. I would recommend them to anyone.”
Paul Perrault, Senior Vice President, Community Impact and Learning, Helios Education Foundation
Questions we help Coalitions and Foundations answer
Effective collective work starts with clear questions. LMA helps partners examine:
Are coalition partners aligned around shared goals and priorities?
What needs, gaps, assets, or barriers are emerging across the community or system?
How well are partners coordinating, communicating, and using data together?
What outcomes should be measured, and what indicators would show meaningful progress?
How are community members, providers, grantees, and system partners experiencing the work?
What data collection or reporting tools would make shared learning easier?
Where are resources being used effectively, and where might strategy need to shift?
How can findings support funding decisions, advocacy, planning, and long-term systems change?
What changes would strengthen coordination across programs, agencies, and community partners?
Experience in action
ASU / Helios Decision Center
Evaluation support for a foundation-university partnership focused on education data, stakeholder learning, and data-informed decision-making from early learning through postsecondary education.
Hillsborough Education Funders Research Project
Mixed-methods research for an education funders group examining early learning strategies, kindergarten readiness, and insights from early learning coalitions and school districts.
SNAC Coalition Evaluation & Backbone Support
Coalition evaluation and backbone support, including facilitation, evaluation briefs, annual reporting, collaborative functioning assessment, and social network analysis.
Social Venture Partners 2Gen Collaboration
Consultation and data support for a funder-led collaboration of nonprofit organizations working to collect, analyze, and report shared data.
Helios College Knowing & Going
Evaluation of a college access initiative, including logic model support, fidelity tools, surveys, interviews, focus groups, outcome data analysis, and reporting.
Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition
Planning consultation and evaluation support for statewide coalition implementation of cancer prevention and control strategies.
Use evidence to strengthen shared impact.
Whether you are building a coalition, evaluating a foundation-funded initiative, developing a shared measurement strategy, assessing community needs, or planning your next investment, LMA can help turn complex information into practical action.
We help coalitions and foundations use experience, data, and human intelligence to align partners, strengthen strategy, and improve outcomes for the communities they serve.