Who We Are

Root Cause is a nonprofit research and consulting firm that partners with nonprofits, philanthropy, government, and business to advance solutions to today’s toughest social issues.

Our Beliefs

The challenge: Despite the massive resources devoted to addressing social problems here in the United States, progress remains slow and fragmentary. Current resources are not being used efficiently and effectively enough, and no one sector has the resources and the knowledge to tackle today’s social issues alone.

The solution: Leaders from all sectors must work together in a new social impact market that fosters social innovation and enables collaboration across sectors and social issues to distribute resources based on performance.

Within this emerging social impact market:

• Forward-thinking leaders in all sectors will have the skills and organizational capacity they need to create social impact.
• Information on social issues and the performance of organizations working on social issues will be readily available to help investors and practitioners make informed decisions.
• A new role for government will facilitate collaboration and provide the infrastructure and policies that unlock the potential of sectors, organizations, and citizens in which resources are tied to results.
• Collaboration within and across social issues will make it possible to maximize resources and spread solutions.

Our Values

• Focus above all else on the social problem being addressed, regardless of organizational structure (government, for-profit, nonprofit), ego, or political agenda.
• Take a rigorous, thoughtful, and creative approach to work that integrates a broad range of perspectives.
• Strive to integrate practice, applied research, and public policy.
• Take an entrepreneurial, goal-oriented approach to work, with a commitment to integrity, diversity in all forms, and learning by listening, acting, and on-going self-improvement.
• Collaborate with new and existing systems, institutions, and infrastructures in order to provide all types of organizations with access to the information, capital, and tools they need to develop enduring solutions to social problems.

Our Work

Since 2004, we have worked across the nonprofit, public, and business sectors to provide leaders from all sectors with the skills and information they need to bring twenty-first century solutions to old social problems.

We pursue our work through four initiatives: Consulting, Social Impact Research, Social Innovation Forum, and Knowledge.