2010–11 Projects for Nonprofit Boards
Gillian Andres ’11 worked with Judy Vredenburgh , president and CEO of Girls Inc., a national nonprofit youth
organization providing educational programs to millions of American girls, particularly those in high-risk, underserved areas.
Gillian helped to develop
a new organizational chart — from the brainstorming of program needs to the
physical development of the document. She also developed a system to track cash
flow and manage financial data for the Girls Inc. national offices.
Benjamin Bahr ’12 worked with the Child Center of New York—with Board Member Dick Jay and Executive
Director Sandra Hagan—which provides support to at-risk children and
youth. Benjamin assessed the viability of a new
tutoring project that would test for learning disabilities and develop programs
for youth with learning disabilities. He conducted market analysis to assess
current market offerings, demand, and potential schools with which to partner,
and he developed a business plan for the project, should it prove a viable
option.
Ryan Bell ’12 worked with Bob
Houck, executive director, and Joan
Rosenthal, board member of the Friends
of the Children (FotC), an early intervention program in West Harlem that systematically screens and takes-on children in
Harlem who are at the greatest risk of dropping out of school, becoming
involved with gangs, and experiencing teen parenthood. Ryan analyzed
FotC’s strategic plan at both the organizational level and within fund
development, and he developed a strategy to create a junior board.
Jonathan Bonaiuto ’11 worked with Michael Boublik ’90, a board member at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM), and Andy Ackerman, the executive director of CMOM. Jonathan conducted a
feasibility study of converting CMOM’s existing space, if the museum moved to a
larger space, to a preschool. He calculated potential revenue streams and costs
associated with running a preschool and conducted a local market assessment and
preliminary analysis into the health and safety regulations required.
Guilia Christianson ’11 worked with SEP Advisory Board Member
Lise Strickler ’86, who also serves
on the board of Environmental Advocates
of New York (EANY), which dedicates itself to the protection of New York
State’s environment and the health of all New Yorkers. Guilia focused on EANY’s
strategy, assessing potential outreach and engagement opportunities for high
net worth individuals who can provide both financial and political support. She
evaluated target markets and strategic messaging to highlight issues relevant
to EANY’s mission. Guilia then created a report of her research, analysis, and
recommendations that she delivered to the Board.
Mark Foresi ’11 and Christopher Reynolds ’12 worked
with Creative Arts Workshop for Kids
(CAW) and its Executive Director and board member Brian Ricklin. CAW is an endeavor that uses the visual and
performing arts to teach life skills to children and teens while enriching
their communities. Christopher
researched potential sponsors and developed a recruitment
strategy to expand into architecture curriculum. Mark created a strategy to
recruit new board members.
Laura Hahn ’10 worked with Ronnie Planalp ’86, member of the SEP Advisory Board and of the Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) board.
Laura worked with the head of marketing and development on a variety of
initiatives, including researching and developing a corporate sponsorship
strategy.
Kristen Keating ’12 worked with Mary Jane Brock, board member of the Big Apple Circus, analyzing funding and development challenges and
opportunities. Kristen analyzed the
organization’s current text-to-donate campaign and studied benchmarks of similar
campaigns and potential vendors for the texting service, ultimately providing
recommendations of how to proceed. She also aggregated and analyzed programming
metrics to provide to potential grantmakers and conducted a macro-level
analysis of the Clown Care program, which provides matching funds from hospital
partners. Kristen
looked at the current income-tracking system and provided recommendations to
streamline data and better manage its finances.
Lori Kelehan ’12 worked with Wendy Hillard, founder and board member of The Wendy Hillard Foundation. Lori developed a strategic plan to support
the expansion of new and existing programs and identified existing and project
costs to support growth targets. She reviewed and evaluated the foundation’s
existing cost structure and assessed the impact and risk of discontinued city
and state funding.
Nathan Littlefield ’11 worked with the Kristin Krebs-Dick ’99 and the Riverside Park Fund, an organization
devoted to the preservation of the city’s four miles of park land along the
Hudson River. Nathan developed a strategy to drive regular monetary giving from
existing and potential corporate sponsors and raised awareness that the Fund aims
to deepen its relationships with select corporate sponsors. He worked with
senior corporate giving leaders to better understand their expectations from long-term
nonprofit partnerships and identified best practices from development leaders
at non-competitive nonprofits for securing corporate funding.
Matt Magenheim ’11 worked with Debbie Perelman ’00, a founding board
member for Child Mind Institute,
which is committed to finding more effective treatments for childhood
psychiatric and learning disorders, building the science of healthy brain
development, and empowering children and their families with the information
they need to get help, hope, and answers. Matt developed a financial model to project the
organization’s budget and calculate overall clinician compensation.
Israel Martinez ’11 worked with Jon Friedland ’97, board member for Streetwise Partners, which works with low-income individuals to
overcome employment barriers, obtain better jobs, and achieve economic
self-sufficiency by creating deep mentoring relationships with volunteer
business professionals. Israel used research results to develop marketing materials to better recruit target participants.
He analyzed and explored current and potential referral partners.
Daniel Merns ’12 worked with Lisa Canoura-Reid ’00, who serves on the board of the West Side YMCA, the largest
freestanding branch of the YMCA. Daniel analyzed current membership statistics to
identify a target audience and developed a strategy, including tangible growth
objectives, to grow membership to the WSY. He analyzed other YMCA and gym
membership attraction and retention strategies, identified actionable
strategies WSY can take to increase membership, and projected an attainable
growth goal.
Ariela Nathusius ’11 worked with Tess Mateo ’97, board member at the Global Summit of Women, and former NBLP participant Olivia Albrecht ’11, to
launch the event: “Building Leaders: Revolutionizing the Future.” The event convened
Columbia University’s brightest to take charge of the dialogue and brainstorm
the vision of the future with inspiring experts from academia, business,
government, and civil society. Participants discussed innovative solutions to
global problems — ranging from rural agriculture to capital market access; from
competitive investments for Fortune500 companies to financial regulation; and
from the use of innovative media tools to alternative energy technology.
Melissa O’Connor ’12 worked with Alison Lindland ’08, a board member for Brooklyn Kindergarten
Society (BKS), to create a robust database to better
understand past attendees and hosts at its annual Yuletide Ball, a fundraising event
used to build awareness about the organization. and
in order to further. Melissa organized this information into a database
and analyzed to identify how to diversify the funding base.
Stephanie Palmeri ’11 worked with Sylvia Kier ’80, board
member of the Iyengar Yoga Association of Greater New York (IYAGNY). Stephanie utilized an online survey to determine
members’ interest in involvement
opportunities with the Association, especially potential board members. She conducted
a competitive analysis of the market landscape for
yoga organizations in New York (brand identity, pricing, online presence,
number of classes, etc.) and determined opportunities for expansion.
Lisa Segal ’11 worked with Mimi Wohabe-Boublik ’90, a board member for Jericho Project. Lisa researched expansion efforts of
other organizations specializing in supportive housing initiatives and worked
with McKinsey consultants that were granted by the Robin Hood Foundation to
Jericho to develop a strategic plan for Jericho to expand either
geographically, in servicing offerings, or a combination of both.
Sandeep Wasan ’11 worked with Jay Ireland, a board member for the Damon Runyon Cancer Foundation, and Lorraine Egan, its executive director. Sandeep looked at
opportunities to increase sales through its Broadway tickets program, which supports most of
the foundation’s operational costs. He produced a report on market conditions that
preclude DRCF from increasing sales and developed recommendations to increase ticket sales.
Reza Watts ’11 worked with George Polsky, founder and a board member of Street Squash, a Harlem-based urban youth enrichment program that combines
academic tutoring, squash instruction, college preparation, community service,
and mentoring. Street Squash was looking to develop a leadership program with a fellowship for the training of future executive
directors at Urban Squash locations nationwide through an apprenticeship and an
academic component provided by constultants, academic institutions, etc. Reza canvassed
current executive directors to better understand essential skills for success, selected
appropriate location(s) for the apprenticeship, and suggested an academic
curriculum to be followed by the candidates.