Groundwork
Partners
Our Practice
Groundwork Partners is a women-powered social
impact consulting consortium that works with
foundations, nonprofits, municipalities, and
purpose-driven companies to advance racial
justice, gender equity, and economic mobility.
We help our clients define goals, execute plans,
and create the structure and momentum
necessary to spur transformational change.
As a team of experienced facilitators, grant
makers, strategists, and social change advocates,
we’ve learned that the means through which we
pursue change are equally as important as the
results achieved. Bringing an diversity, inclusion,
and anti-bias lens to all our work, we build
trusting relationships with our partners and
design experiences that invite authenticity,
honesty, curiosity. We draw on research, design
thinking, our own expertise, and the innate
wisdom of our clients and their community
partners to develop solutions. We create clarity
amidst complexity so you can make sound
decisions.
Groundwork Partners * www.groundworkpartners.co * lauren.marra@groundworkpartners.co
Our Services
Policy makers, civil servants, and social justice
advocates all shape a common desire to build
inclusive communities where all people have
equitable opportunities to thrive and experience
dignity, justice, and shared prosperity. We partner
with you to dismantle barriers and foster diversity,
equity, and inclusion by customizing our core
services to your context. These include:
• Coalition & Community Building: Be it among
policy makers, community leaders, and
residents, or within singular organizations, our
expert facilitators help diverse groups develop a
shared vision for change and build the buy-in
needed for advancing it.
• Strategy and Planning: We help you analyze the
landscape in which you are working, set goals,
construct effective strategies, and create
practical implementation plans.
• Implementation & Learning: Whether as an
advisor or an extension of your team, we help
you implement plans, revise policies and
practices, develop your team, and reflect on
impact and efficacy so you can assess progress
toward your vision.
Our Team
Groundwork Partners is led by
Lauren Marra, a seasoned
philanthropic advisor, social
impact strategist, connector, and
facilitator with over 15 years of
experience leading high-impact
initiatives across the public,
private, and philanthropic
sectors. Her clients have ranged
from foundations like the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation,
Ewing Marion Kauffman
Foundation, and the Burton D.
Morgan Foundation, to
numerous individual
philanthropists, leading
nonprofits and fortune 100
companies, and municipalities
like Kansas City, MO and Howard
County, MD. Lauren previously
led two 40+ person strategy
practices at top consulting firms
for a decade, bearing
responsibility for strategy, talent
and culture, and financial
performance. Lauren also
spearhead several successful
state- and federal legislative
advocacy campaigns.
Groundwork regularly engages
its “Collaborator” network, a
group of 10 practitioners who
collectively bring a range of
skills, experiences, and
backgrounds. The network
enables us to build teams
customized to our clients’
needs, aspirations, and
contexts.
For more information on our approach, services, and past client experience, visit our website at
www.groundworkpartners.co or email us at lauren.marra@groundworkpartners.co.
Recent Partners
Our consortium has partnered with over 200 philanthropic families,
foundations, businesses, and municipalities. We have helped advance
issues spanning from economic mobility and educational equity to gender
equality and racial justice. Some of our relevant work includes:
Howard County Council
Facilitating a community-based task force to inform County legislation
Stemming from a desire to be an even more diverse, inclusive, and
equitable community, the Howard County Council established the Racial
Equity Task Force, a coalition comprised of 60 community members (split
into 6 subgroups) charged with recommending legislative actions to the
Council to address racial disparities and inequities in the county. Our team
has been hired to facilitate subgroup meetings, to guide recommendation
development and public engagement, and to create an inclusive and
productive community engagement experience. In July 2021, Groundwork
Partners will produce a report full of the Task Force’s recommendations
and supporting findings, and present this in partnership with members to
the County Council to inform their priorities.
Echoing Green
Developed a strategic plan through extensive stakeholder engagement
and providing diversity and inclusion coaching to executive team
Echoing Green discovers emerging social entrepreneurs and invests
deeply in the growth of their ideas and leadership. Upon engaging over
50 experts, investors, program participants, board members, and staff,
Groundwork guided the development of Echoing Green’s five-year
strategic plan to not only strengthen its premier fellowship program, but
also influence investor behavior and foster more diverse and inclusive
entrepreneurial ecosystems. (Echoing Green’s recent impact can be read
about here). Groundwork also coached the organization’s executive team
on strategies and behaviors for creating a more diverse, inclusive, and
equitable workforce and workplace.
Ms. Foundation for Women
Designed, launched, and ran a grant-making fund focused on gender
equity using equitable grantmaking practices
Our team helped launch the Activist Collaboration Fund, a $1M pilot fund
designed to strengthen community leader collaboration and galvanize
greater investment in social justice movements led by and for women
and girls of color, including trans and indigenous women and girls.