We build momentum and buy-in that advance climate and regenerative goals.

For mission-driven organizations and coalitions building a more circular, regenerative and just future, constant change can make progress feel impossible. We help you turn good intentions into lasting change, through inclusive facilitation, co-design and systems insight.

Fresh green soybean plants with roots.jpg

The climate future we need requires everyday people to make changes.
Most people turn to trusted solutions that fit easily into their lives.

We hold the space,
focus the pace.

Reciprocal Consulting weaves inclusive facilitation, co-design, human centered design, service design with system insight grounded in living systems thinking that builds buy-in as it builds solutions.

Our approach, developed over 20 years of being embedded within and supporting mission-driven networks, creates structure and momentum when the path forward isn’t clear.

We use proven methods and have a track record of real results with our partners, including Feeding America, New Ecology, the State of Illinois and the Institute for Market Transformation.

Working Session Making sense of stakeholder data to pull out what matters most
Sharing about design in the social sector REFED Nonprofit Food Recovery Hackathon
Prototyping Making ideas tangible through low-fidelity prototypes
Public speaking Feeding America Annual Conference: Transforming the neighbor experience
Design coaching Northwestern EDI Service Design class 2019
Discovery Using design research to better understand context and needs
Digital platform development OrderAhead: A web app and service provided by the FA national office that enables people that experience food insecurity to access food and services in a dignified and discrete way.
Public speaking about foresight Feed Nourish Connect 2019: Applying foresight to the charitable food sector
Co-Design Creating opportunities for co-creation
Service prototyping Developing physical experience prototypes to envision and refine opportunities
Modeling services Using service blueprinting and other methods to defining how new or improved ideas work
Testing MVPs Creating and testing minimum viable products and services to de-risk, evaluate and refine potential service offerings
Testing operating models Using prototypes to test backend operations to co-create the optimal experience for staff

We help you build internal alignment on clear, impactful opportunities while co-designing programs that communities actually want to engage with and use. When market conditions shift or funding priorities change, you'll have the clarity and stakeholder buy-in to adapt without losing momentum.

For Mission-Driven Organizations

For Coalitions
and Networks

We help you build internal alignment around your highest-value role in complex systems and create the conditions for your diverse members to cohere and flourish. Your coalition becomes a space where competing priorities transform into reciprocal relationships that fosters resilience and belonging.

Let's talk about how we can support you

Find a time here for us to chat about your needs and ideas. It's OK if you don't know exactly what you need. We can figure that out together!

Schedule a call

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

- Buckminster Fuller

“All flourishing is mutual”

- Robin Wall Kimmerer

We are a collective

Reciprocal is led by Dan Butt and is a collaboration between trusted partners he's had the privilege of working with over the years. Like any healthy ecosystem, Reciprocal is stronger because of the rich collaboration with diverse professional designers, researchers, strategists in the food, health, social and energy sectors, each with their own unique lived experiences that they bring to the work.

Dan Butt

Principal

For over 15 years, Dan has worked alongside partners and networks to translate systems insight into programs, strategies, and systems that communities and coalitions adopt.

He has led innovation initiatives that brought circularity and dignity to Feeding America’s charitable food system, expanded healthcare accessibility with UnitedHealthcare, and improved government services with the State of Illinois. His work has driven critical mindset shifts, locally impactful solutions and nationally scaled programs.

Dan founded Reciprocal on the insight that impact initiatives succeed when they’re designed to fit meaningfully into people’s lives, closing the gap between ambition and what works on the ground. He brings inclusive facilitation, human-centered design, design futures and living systems thinking to every engagement, helping partners turn today's priorities into long-term impact.

Past
Partners

Feeding America

New Ecology

Elevate

Illinois Department of Human Rights

Houston Food Bank

Foodbank Dayton

Northern IL Food Bank

Feeding Tampa Bay

NW Indiana Food Bank

Central California Food Bank

Second Harvest of Central Florida Food Bank

San Antonio Food Bank

Akron Canton Food Bank

Gleaners Food Bank

We build momentum and buy-in that advance climate and regenerative goals.

The climate future we need requires everyday people to make changes. Most people turn to trusted solutions that fit easily into their lives.

We hold the space, focus the pace.

Working Session

Making sense of stakeholder data to pull out what matters most

Sharing about design in the social sector

REFED Nonprofit Food Recovery Hackathon

Prototyping

Making ideas tangible through low-fidelity prototypes

Public speaking

Feeding America Annual Conference: Transforming the neighbor experience

Design coaching

Northwestern EDI Service Design class 2019

Discovery

Using design research to better understand context and needs

Digital platform development

OrderAhead: A web app and service provided by the FA national office that enables people that experience food insecurity to access food and services in a dignified and discrete way.

Public speaking about foresight

Feed Nourish Connect 2019: Applying foresight to the charitable food sector

Co-Design

Creating opportunities for co-creation

Service prototyping

Developing physical experience prototypes to envision and refine opportunities

Modeling services

Using service blueprinting and other methods to defining how new or improved ideas work

Testing MVPs

Creating and testing minimum viable products and services to de-risk, evaluate and refine potential service offerings

Testing operating models

Using prototypes to test backend operations to co-create the optimal experience for staff