Upstream solutions for social impact
Evaluation results and impact data
for nonprofits, public agencies, and funders.
Clear evidence of outcomes builds trust with funders, boards, and communities.
We help mission-driven organizations measure what matters, strengthen their data, and report results with confidence.
Donors want to fund what works.
Can you show them?
Funders, donors, and boards are asking for evidence of results. Many organizations have strong programs but struggle to show what they achieve:
- Your reports describe what you did, not what changed.
- Program data lives in spreadsheets and systems that don’t connect.
- Surveys produce answers no one fully trusts.
- No one on staff has the time or the tools to fix it.
River City Research helps close that gap, turning the work you already do into evidence you can stand behind.
See how we help ↓
How we help
Research & Evaluation
Credible answers to the questions that matter. We design and deliver objective, evidence-based evaluations in partnership with you, producing findings that support better decisions, credible impact stories, and stronger results for the people you serve.
Explore servicesData & Evidence
Trusted data, ready to use and share. Good data shapes better conversations and better decisions. We connect information across programs and partners, then build the reports, dashboards, and tools that help boards see what’s working, funders understand results, and staff focus on the right priorities.
Explore servicesTechnology
Practical, time-saving tools that connect and protect your work. Technology should connect programs, partners, and communities. We work alongside organizations to design and build tools that support service delivery, integrate modern systems safely, and protect important information.
Explore servicesWhy River City
Evidence that sustains investment, year after year.
The most important work rarely happens in one program or one year. We help organizations and their partners measure progress together, use what they learn to improve, and build evidence that holds up from one funding cycle to the next.
Current work
Organizations we’re working with now, and the questions we’re helping them answer.
The ZONE
Economic Mobility Initiative
Spark Central
Inland Story Lab
ZEV Coop
Data Reporting
Who we work with
Nonprofits
Show funders and donors what your programs achieve.
Public Agencies
Evaluate programs and report results to the people you answer to.
Funders & Foundations
Understand what your grants and portfolios are accomplishing.
About River City Research
River City Research is led by Mason Burley, PhD, MPA. He has spent 25 years helping nonprofits, public agencies, and foundations answer a simple question: is this working? He has done that work as a foundation research director, a state policy analyst, and the head of a technology nonprofit, so he understands what funders look for and what it takes for organizations to deliver it.
He has taught in Eastern Washington University’s graduate program in evaluation, leads workshops for the Nonprofit Association of Washington, and is a Leap Ambassador.
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