Presentation

Wharton Community Consultants Information Session Fall, 2009 Agenda  WCC Overview  Project Descriptions  Applying What is Wharton Community Consultants? Wharton Community Consultants (WCC) provides free hands-on consulting and advisory services to nonprofit and community organizations throughout the Philadelphia area. Our goals are to: – Make a measurable impact on the success of promising non-profit organizations in Philadelphia – Serve Philadelphia’s underserved communities – Sustain relationships between Wharton and the nonprofit community – Provide a memorable career and community service experience to volunteer consultants. What services does WCC provide?  Cost Analysis  Business Improvement  Market Entry Strategy  Growth Strategy  Competitive Analysis  Fund Raising Strategy  Public Relations  Direct/Database Marketing  Financial Planning and Budgeting  Project Management Training/Planning  Marketing Strategy Why should you join WCC?  Work with a new team  Get to know classmates with similar interests  Be a part of one of the largest community service clubs at Wharton  Learn about the non-profit sector  Develop client management and project management skills  Help Philadelphia Why you SHOULD NOT join WCC!  Resume padding  Uncertainty makes you nervous  Your Schedule is already overbooked WCC Project Team structure WCC Advisors (As Needed) Project Manager WCC Board Team Members (4-5 MBAs, 0-1 Undergrads) Client Contact Client Organization WCC Mentor (As Needed) Roles Project Manager  Coordinates and manages team work  Sets up meetings  Tracks progress  Acts as primary client contact  Updates status with Mentor  Takes on tasks of a Team Member Team Member  Performs analysis  Conducts research  Takes on leadership roles  Develops hypotheses and recommendations Mentor (2nd year)  Provides guidance  Reports to Board Event Timeline  September – Club Social Tuesday 9/29 – Project Manager Training on Tuesday 9/29 @ 4:30 – 6:00pm  October – Club-wide Kickoff and Training on Friday 10/2 @ 10am – 3pm  Special non-profit consulting training led by The Boston Consulting Group  Helpful tips from last year’s projects – MBA Pub sponsored by WCC and the Wharton Alliance for Social Responsibility – Training sessions on topics relevant to your project, led by Wharton professors and WCC Advisors November – Project Midpoint Review Sessions on Saturday 11/7 – Town Hall club-wide lunch meeting December – Final deliverable and presentation to client   Deliverables  Signed Client Contract  Project plan and timeline  Mid project progress report to client and Board  Final project report and presentation:  Potential deliverables: - Business Plan - Marketing Plan - Strategic Plan - Financial models - Interview Lists, Summaries and Transcripts - Other Client Requested Documents Agenda  WCC Overview  Project Descriptions  Applying 2009 Clients & Project Descriptions  Project descriptions are accurate as of today  Due to the nature of non-profit organizations, project scopes may still change slightly  These descriptions will help you determine your project rankings on your applications How are Clients & Projects Selected?  Client sourcing – Returning clients – 1st Year TAP projects, FAP projects, NPBLP – Contacts, word of mouth, Philadelphia non-profit community  Client selection – In line with WCC mission – Organizational readiness – Organizational commitment  Project Scope – Sets Expectations – Confirms Timeline – Sets Projects Up for Success Arab American DC Project: Fund Raising Strategy Mission: The Arab American Development Corporation’s mission is to preserve the Arabic culture and language, to empower the ArabAmerican community and promote its economic development, and to combat racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination. Situation: Arab American DC currently receives funding from foundations through grants. The organization would like to explore other funding strategies including private donations, individual and corporate solicitation of funds, fundraising events, and even funding from a broader national level. Project: WCC would help develop a funding strategy as part of a strategic plan. The key deliverables for the project would be to provide a funding strategy or plan for 2010 that is realistic and can be implemented immediately. Arts & Spirituality Center Project: Pricing Strategy & Marketing Plan Mission: The Arts & Spirituality Center partners with multicultural groups in the Philadelphia area to empower and transform communities through spiritual and creative expression such as poetry, creative writing, music, dance, and other artistic media. Situation: Currently, the Arts & Spirituality Center is healthy financially but is quickly moving into a more mature phase of its lifecycle that requires new forms of income. The center sees curricula as a potential game changer for sustainability on a variety of levels. Project: The Center has valuable – yet untapped – intellectual property that could open up an entirely new funding stream while catalyzing growth. WCC would help develop the revenue model and channel strategy for two anchor programs. Clarke Pennsylvania Auditory/Oral Center Project: Marketing Strategy Mission: Clarke Pennsylvania is an early intervention preschool for deaf and hard of hearing children living in the Greater Philadelphia area. Clarke’s mission is to provide deaf and hard of hearing children with the listening, language and speaking skills necessary to be successful in mainstream school settings. Situation: Clark relies on a combination of public funding and fees for service which covers only about 33% of our tuition. Project: Clarke Pennsylvania would like to engage Wharton Community Consultants to assist us in developing a strategy for marketing the EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) program to the corporate community with the goal of increasing our Scholarship Funds through corporate donations. Clay Studio Project: Marketing Strategy Mission: Founded in 1974, The Clay Studio (TCS) is a non-profit educational arts organization dedicated to the promotion and development of the ceramic arts and the work of new clay artists. Situation: TCS launched a new interactive website almost three years ago, and have seen extraordinary results in online class and workshop registrations but have not seen similar results in online Shop sales. Ceramic Shop sales for the past fiscal year totaled approximately $110,000, but less than $3,000 came from the website. Project: WCC would develop a tactical growth & promotional strategy designed to increase earned income, particularly from the on-line Ceramic Shop (www.theclaystudio.org/shop/). Evoluer House Project: Marketing and Fundraising Strategy Mission: The Evoluer House (EH) is dedicated to nurturing at-risk girls to help them achieve their full potential and become productive members of their communities through the development of social and academic competence. Situation: The Evoluer House is currently suffering from a lack of identity in philanthropic, corporate communities and a lack of a branding model. Project: The WCC team would develop a short-term branding strategy, marketing, and corporate fundraising plan. The project will enable EH to raise a significant amount ($75,000) of funds that will be used for annual scholarships for these low-income girls. First Foundation Project: Marketing and Financial Strategy Mission: The First Foundation distributes street accessible food and primary medical care delivery Situation: First Foundation needs to generate excitement by aligning the profit structure concurrent to the nonprofit’s foundational launch. The promotional capabilities would enhance the Foundation’s long term initiatives by supplying an upfront vital prospective marketability capacity and streamlining current community based food/medical distribution/clinical research recruitment efforts. Project: WCC will perform a marketing analysis to identify ways to improve the Foundation’s marketing efforts and will perform a partnership profitability analysis to identify ways to pursue public and private funding partnerships. Learning Sandbox Project: Start-up planning Mission: The Learning Sandbox’s mission is the facilitation of learning globally by maximizing “Edutainment,” the combined potentials of technology and entertainment. Situation: The Learning Sandbox is currently in the early start-up conceptual stage. Learning Sandbox has ideas but needs help creating a non-profit company and a strategy plan to realize the initiatives. Project: The WCC team would develop a strategic plan to start and grow the business including an understanding cost, budgeting, marketing, and the financial outlays regarding the pursuit of product creation and distribution Main Line Arts Project: Marketing Strategy Mission: The mission of Main Line Art Center is to inspire and engage artistic creativity for individuals of all ages and abilities and to celebrate and strengthen the essential role of visual art in community life. Situation: Main Line Arts would like to expand upon previous marketing studies conducted in 1994 and 2006 that indicated a potentially broader audience in our community for the visual arts. Project: The WCC team would conduct marketing research and develop a marketing plan in preparation of opening a new satellite facility at Ashbridge Park in Lower Merion County. National Cristina Foundation Project: Product Strategy Mission: For the past 24 years the National Cristina Foundation (NCF) has led the national effort to promote the reuse of technology from its first life to productive reuse with non-profit organizations and public agencies. Situation: NCF is preparing for the launch of a social networking system called the Cristina Network where open communication and the sharing of best practices and lessons learned can be tracked and promoted. Project: The use of social networking is relatively new within the nonprofit sector. The WCC would examine and ascertain what might be the best methodologies to consider for the structure of the site. Non-Profit Finance Fund Project: Reorganization Mission: The Non-Profit Finance Fund (NFF) works to create a strong, well-capitalized and durable nonprofit sector that connects money to mission effectively, supporting the highest aspirations and most generous impulses of people and communities. Situation: The Philadelphia office employs nine staff and the current organization structure is based on a business model from at least six years ago. During this time the market has shifted and the nature of NFF delivery of services has attempted to manage the shift within an outmoded organization structure. Project: The proposed project for the WCC team is to evaluate the work flow and processes of the Philadelphia office as it fits within the Mid-Atlantic Region in an effort to identify the most effective organization structure. Rock School Project: Strategic Planning Mission: The Rock School is dedicated to enriching the lives of all students and preparing those students who are specially gifted for careers as professional artists. Situation: The Rock School needs help in the development of the School’s strategic plan, which is being recast starting in the summer of 2009. Project: First, the WCC team could gather information on the activities of other top-level dance schools. Second, the WCC team would gather information from board members regarding the development of strategic objectives and plans. Third, the WCC team would help to develop ideas for new sources of revenue. Ronald McDonald House Project: Finance Strategy Mission: The Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House provides a home away from home to families traveling to Philadelphia to seek medical treatment for their critically ill children. Situation: In the last 3 years, the Ronald McDonald House has gone through a 7.5 million capital project to build a second House. The second House has added an additional $500,000 to the operating budget. The expansion has affected the organization’s financial position significantly, along with the unstable economy. Project: The WCC team would determine the best way to conduct a 5 year projection on the capital and operating needs of the organization, incorporating the investments and assets into the analysis. White-Williams Scholars Project: Product Management Mission: White-Williams Scholars' mission is to support high academic achievement in Philadelphia public high school students of limited financial resources in order to increase their opportunities for success in the future. Situation: The organization is now facing the problem of essentially operating three lines of business: stipends, Back on Track, and College Connection. Project: The WCC project will focus on Back on Track. WhiteWilliams piloted this program with 26 students, a part-time consultant, and 15 volunteer and work-study tutors. The deliverable would be a rollout plan, including a 3-year budget for the program’s growth. Women’s Therapy Center Project: Pricing Strategy Mission: Rooted in the empowerment of women, Women's Therapy Center (WTC) provides individual, couples, and group psychotherapy based on a sliding fee scale to adult women who can neither afford mainstream mental health services nor are eligible for subsidized care. Situation: WTC currently earns 75% of its income each year through fees charged to clients for therapy services. The organization operates on a sliding scale that was developed based on the clients’ ability to pay; this fee schedule bears no relationship to what it costs the center to deliver services. Project: WTC would like WCC to evaluate its business model to better understand the true costs of delivering services, and considering new methods of increasing the earned income without compromising client access. Agenda  WCC Overview  Project Descriptions  Applying What our Clients say about us  What do clients like most about working with WCC? – New insights to long standing problems – Thoughtful approaches to problem solving – Professionalism and attentive nature of the teams – Excitement and fun that the teams bring to the nonprofit – A results oriented focus that leads to tangible results What are we looking for?  Passion for serving the community  Commitment – Approximately 3-5 hours per week – September through December  Interest in building consulting and non-profit skills  Functional skills  Project management and client experience Application Process  Applications will be sent to you via email tonight. Make sure to sign-in!  Applications due September 22nd at 5:00 pm (see application for details)  Applications should be turned into the 2nd year mail folder labeled “Gomez,Courtney” outside the MBA Cafe  Project Managers notified for Interviews on Sept. 23rd  Project Manager interviews Sept. 24th - 25th  Teams selections made and emailed to you on Sept. 28th  Mandatory Training Session for Project Managers on Sept. 29th  Mandatory Club-wide Training Session on Oct. 2nd Questions? Questions for any of us? Thank you for your interest in Wharton Community Consultants! If you have questions or concerns about the application process please contact Courtney Gomez at cogomez@wharton.upenn.edu