Orchestra Expands Public Affairs and Social Impact Capabilities with Acquisition of Civitas Public Affairs Group

Orchestra Expands Public Affairs and Social Impact Capabilities with Acquisition of Civitas Public Affairs Group

O2 Investment Partners
Shyam Shah
sshah@o2investment.com

O2 Investment Partners (www.o2investment.com), through Orchestra (www.orchestraco.com), has made an investment in and partnered with Civitas Public Affairs Group (“Civitas”) (www.civitaspublicaffairs.com). Civitas is a leading bipartisan policy and strategy advisory firm that works with many of the nation’s largest philanthropies and advocacy organizations. This acquisition expands Orchestra’s growing public affairs portfolio, which also includes BerlinRosen and Glen Echo Group. The Civitas acquisition marks the group’s seventh major investment, as Orchestra continues to build an integrated platform to provide clients with unparalleled global full-service communications and marketing services. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Founded in 2011, Civitas focuses on the intersection of philanthropy, politics and policy to build and manage large bipartisan campaigns on a diverse range of issues. The team of strategic consultants is led by Founding Partner Patrick Guerriero and Managing Partner Katherine Grainger. Civitas has offices in Washington, D.C., Boston and New York City and it has served clients such as Autism Speaks, the Ford Foundation, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

“Clients face an enormous range of issues today and need the ability to navigate an extraordinarily divided political environment in order to build consensus and get things done. Civitas is a team of extremely senior strategists who advise many of the country’s largest philanthropies on how to do just that. They played a key role in many of the biggest bipartisan legislative successes such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Respect for Marriage Act,” said Jonathan Rosen, CEO of Orchestra. “Their expertise is unmatched and will allow us to offer clients deep expertise in policy strategy, political intelligence and campaign design in addition to our existing abilities in insights and analytics, content and strategic communications.”

“Civitas has a stellar reputation and track record for creating impactful, lasting change,” said Valerie Berlin, Executive Chair of Orchestra. “We’ve always enjoyed collaborating with Civitas, and now, we can accomplish more together as a team.”

Civitas will continue to retain its brand and operate under its existing leadership. The agency will immediately have access to the expanded resources and talent of Orchestra, which includes earned media, thought leadership, branding, content creation, data analytics, search engine optimization, crisis management, paid promotion and more.

“Values are at the heart of all we do—both in how we serve our clients and the causes we choose to work on. Joining Orchestra will empower us to expand our reach, grow our impact and partner with values-aligned experts to tackle the most pressing issues of our time,” said Katherine Grainger, Managing Partner of Civitas.

“Our extraordinary philanthropic and advocacy clients are determined to change the world for the better. With today’s rapidly evolving cultural and political landscape, we are deepening our investment and expanding our network to achieve even more impactful wins,” said Patrick Guerriero, Founding Partner of Civitas.

The Civitas team brings a wealth of senior experience to Orchestra, including:

• Designing and executing multi-faceted advocacy campaigns across all government levels
• Advising top-tier philanthropic and political donors
• Developing innovative blueprints to tackle society's most pressing challenges
• Conducting comprehensive research to create opportunity maps and winning campaign strategies
• Delivering unmatched policy and legislative expertise

Shyam Shah at O2 commented, “Partnering with Civitas further positions Orchestra as the preeminent C-suite advisor and underscores our value proposition across the strategic communications landscape. We are excited to welcome Patrick, Katherine, and the entire Civitas team to the platform.”

About Civitas
Civitas works with leaders from across the political spectrum to build and execute bold advocacy initiatives. We support the country's leading philanthropists, thought leaders, not-for-profits, and centers of influence in shaping public policy at the local, state, and federal levels – and we have the winning record to prove it. Additional information is available at www.civitaspublicaffairs.com.

About Orchestra
Orchestra is a new communications company built for the future, helping leaders and brands navigate the most complex businesses, cultural and political issues. Since 2022, it’s grown into a team of 600+ storytellers and strategists from 12 cities across North America and Europe. Additional information is available at www.orchestraco.com.

About O2 Investment Partners
O2 Investment Partners is a Midwestern based private equity firm that seeks to acquire majority interests in lower middle market B2B services, technology, and select industrial companies. The firm invests in businesses with earnings growth potential and a clear path to the creation of shareholder value. O2 invests with a view toward partnering with management to build and grow the business and take it to its next stage of development. This requires not only a clear vision and strategic plan to create shareholder value, but a close partnership and alignment of interest with management. Additional information is available at www.o2investment.com.

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