Alexa Culwell

Alexa Culwell, Open Impact


Open Impact is an advising and innovation firm that serves as a trusted guide to private donors, foundations, and networks in developing impact strategies. We bring deep expertise in strategy (leveraging all forms of capital), governance, organizational design, and executive leadership. We are a team passionate about equitable social change, with decades of lived experience as senior leaders in foundations and nonprofits and unparalleled expertise and networks for good. We are a Certified B Corporation® founded and led by women, based in California’s Bay Area.

Philosophy/Approach: As a firm, we believe we are differentiated from a number of other donor advising or consulting firms in our breadth of experience. We describe ourselves as:

Counselors: We draw from a broad range of experiences with a team composed of seasoned executives and strategic advisors at the peak of their careers.

Connected: We tap our extensive networks of sector leaders and experts to bring the best insights forward.

Collaborative: We act as one team with our clients, drawing on our collective strengths to identify and co-create solutions. As a result, the work is fully owned by the client team.

Creative: We design and facilitate opportunities to learn and reflect together, surface bold and creative ideas, and build consensus around your vision for impact.

Types of clients: Private foundations, Corporation foundations, Community foundations, Individual donors

Specialization: Open Impact positions private donors and their families for a legacy of impact. We move our clients from visioning and planning to effective action by accompanying them at any stage of the path and offering distinctly customized solutions, including:

Strategy
Learning journeys and assessments
Governance
Organization
Leadership
Grantmaking support

Incubating New Initiatives: In addition to serving clients, we also develop innovative new initiatives—such as leadership networks, donor collaboratives, or aggregated funds—to advance the field and catalyze more impactful philanthropy at the systems level. In these cases, we will identify a problem or need, pilot and test an idea with foundation or client support, and then help incubate and scale it up or spin it out.

The National Center for Family Philanthropy is indebted to Open Impact for their expert guidance and partnership throughout our strategic planning process. Their depth of experience, knowledge of the philanthropic sector, and expert facilitation led us through a thoughtful process to reimagine the organization and strengthen our position as a premier resource for philanthropic families. The clarity and distinction of the plan helped us to successfully make the case to several funders, strengthening our ability to provide resources and support.
- Nicholas A. Tedesco, President and CEO