Since 2016, The IllumiLab (formerly Insight Partners Consulting) has served dozens of nonprofit organizations including service providers, grant-makers, and intermediaries, including those below. Check out their stories to learn more about our work.
We had the pleasure of working with The IllumiLab on our strategic planning project, and their expertise was evident from the start. They masterfully managed discussions, ensuring every voice was heard and equity was prioritized throughout the process. Their respect for our audience and willingness to adapt to our needs was truly commendable. What could have been an overwhelming challenge was broken down into clear, manageable steps, making the entire process not only doable but highly effective. I highly recommend The IllumiLab for any organization looking to develop a thoughtful and inclusive strategic plan.
Denise Cross, Executive Director, Developmental Disabilities Resource Board of St. Charles County
Sarah has a unique ability to synthesize reams of information quickly and accurately, to clearly communicate complex ideas to broad audiences, and to diplomatically manage a variety of personalities and team cultures. She infused our project with energy, excitement and good humor, which helped keep us motivated and focused. Working with Sarah is the best investment an organization can make in itself.
Becky Herschbach, Executive Director, Productive Living Board
Having worked with Sarah Buek in the past and knowing the depth of her expertise and effectiveness, I was thrilled that we were able to engage IllumiLab in a Performance Management Plan for the specific needs of our organization and with the participation of all staff. The IllumiLab takes great care to understand the organizations they work with and really listen and learn from the project participants when formulating solutions. The result was an incredibly informed, comprehensive, cohesive, clear, and user-friendly roadmap for the future of our programs. The tools developed have both simplified and enhanced our ability to make an impact and evaluate its depth for those we serve. We felt that the value-add to our operations was more than worth it, and I doubt there are many consulting firms in the St. Louis area, or even in the country, that give you as much "bang for your buck" with their services - something infinitely valuable for nonprofits seeking to meaningfully and sustainably build their capacity. We are immensely grateful for IllumiLab's work!
Sarah Paradoski, Director of Grants, Immigrant Home English Learning Program
The IllumiLab clarified for our small ministry: who we can most impact, what we say no to (our strategy), and measurable, realistic finish lines for the clients in our care. The working rhythm with the firm is professional and well-paced. Sarah Buek is a high-impact person who does not leave you where she found you.
Cyra Lohman, Executive Director, Humanitri
Our data collection and evaluation systems were a mess. We didn't know if we were making an impact, we thought we were, but our surveys focused on all the wrong things. After working with Sarah, not only do we have a clear idea about our outcomes and how to collect them in an efficient and meaningful manner, but we have a clearer vision of our programs AND how they fit together to support our clients over the long-term.
Marjorie Moore, Executive Director, VOYCE St. Louis
I loved The IllumiLab's approach to working with clients. They were always flexible and accessible to our team. I liked the way they engaged team members and our stakeholders. Our organization received valuable feedback and tools from IllumiLab that will help us better serve our clients.
LaKricia Cox, Director of Programs, The Little Bit Foundation
What started as a "simple" data project became a multi-level project that helped guide my organization to greater clarity about our programming, strategic thinking, and how we can and should measure our success to tell our story. I appreciated The IllumiLab’s tenacity, organization, diligence, candor, and objective insights.
Amy Lottes, Grant Professional
The board and staff at Angels' Arms are all beyond pleased with our work with The IllumiLab. Sarah pushed us to ask "what, why and how" about our every day practices and beliefs that turned into procedures and habits and needed to be re-evaluated. The input The IllumiLab provided every step of the way was invaluable and guided us through some complex issues. We have refined our board. We have clarified our roles. We have defined our programs. We now can explain and measure what we do, how we do it, and why it's important. We are 100% glad that we embarked on this journey with The IllumiLab.
Bess Wilfong, Executive Director, Angels' Arms
Sarah’s work has deeply and positively impacted our organization. Her keen insight, her ability to ask thought-provoking questions, and her engaging facilitation have moved Diversity Awareness Partnership and our mission to a stronger, more sustainable place. She readily invites people into conversation and dialogue, where she skillfully challenges folks to think broader and deeper. She is a joy to work with – funny, interesting, and enthusiastic for mission-driven work.
Melissa Brickey, Executive Director, Diversity Awareness Partnership
The IllumiLab led my team through a project to redesign our client services. This project included defining our theory of change, designing outcome statements, and developing relevant measurements to help us tell our story. Sarah has a gift for making sense out of chaos. She respects everyone's input, keeps a project on track, and ensures everyone has the opportunity to contribute.
Karen Schuster, Executive Director, LifeBridge Partnership
Sarah provided great assistance to take our organization to the next level by helping us identify strategies to guide our decision making. She was a tremendous asset to and facilitator of this process.
Mark Keeley, Executive Director, The St. Louis Arc
We engaged The IllumiLab to help us identify a new data system that could meet our changing needs, and ensure a strong performance management culture focused on impact and continual learning. Sarah’s expertise and guidance have been fantastic through this process. She helped us clearly identify our needs, was a fantastic “translator” with data companies, and has brought a laser-like focus to ensuring we were set up for success. Sarah’s previous experience working at non-profit organizations means she understands the many client, organizational, and funding needs that a technology system must support. The IllumiLab will definitely stay on our short list of fantastic collaborators should another project arise.
Allison Williams, Sr. Vice President, Wyman Center
Sarah is extremely efficient and thorough. She makes a seemingly boring project fun, and a seemingly impossible project possible. Throughout our project, Sarah overturned my stereotypical views and opinions about evaluation, analysis, data ... the unexciting subjects become exciting when working with Sarah! And I learned and enjoyed very much.
Chien Hung, Director, VOYCE St. Louis
“Through our work with Sarah we have been able to view our work from a different lens and are in the process of creating a more streamlined and impactful service through our programs. Being able to make sometimes very small changes and opening our eyes to what we didn't see was such a learning experience and will have a ripple effect on other aspects of how we serve our populations”
Sarah Hall, Vice President, Faith through Fire
What sets The IllumiLab apart is that they put all their energy and effort into getting to know your organization so that their results reflect your organization's best interests. What I most appreciated about working with Abby is that she would take the time to break down each of her findings with me so that I always knew what was going on and had a basic understanding of so many moving parts. We cannot recommend them enough!
Allison Panasiewicz, Annual Fund and Events Associate, Wyman Center
ACLU of Missouri
Aging Ahead
Angels’ Arms
Almost Home
ALS Association of St. Louis
Assistance League of St. Louis
Care and Counseling
Care to Learn
Center for Community Health Partnership and Research,
Washington University in St. Louis
Community Hope Center
Cortex
Developmental Disabilities Advocates
(formerly Jefferson County Developmental Disabilities Resource Board)
Developmental Disabilities Resources Board
of St. Charles County
Diversity Awareness Partnership
Eastern Region Alliance (Story)
English Tutoring Project (Story)
Epilepsy Foundation of Missouri and Kansas
Episcopal City Mission
Faith Through Fire
Food Outreach
Funders’ Learning & Evaluation Group
Gateway Center for Giving
Gephardt Institute, Washington University in St. Louis
Girls in the Know
HEROES Care
Humanitri
iHELP (Immigrant Home English Learning Program)
International Institute
Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis
Jewish Community Center, St. Louis
Jewish Federation of St. Louis
LifeBridge Partnership
LifeWiseSTL
L’Arche St. Louis
Mental Health America
Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas (Story)
MindsEye Radio
Missouri Office of Refugee Administration
Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities
Pathways to Independence
Prison Performing Arts
Productive Living Board
Rung for Women
Send Me St. Louis
St. Francis Xavier College Church
St. Louis Arc
St. Louis City Office for Developmental Disability Resources
St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund
St. Louis Jewish Community Center
St. Louis Mental Health Board
St. Vincent Home for Children
Urban Harvest STL
Variety the Children’s Charity of St. Louis (Story)
Voices for Children/CASA of St. Louis
VOYCE
Wyman Center