CBS Boston Gives Back Program - ICA-Group Fall 2011
CBS Boston Gives Back Program Project Report - February 2012On behalf of the CBS Alumni Club of Boston and the CBS Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board, I would like to thank and recognize the following alumni volunteers for participating in the FIFTH pro bono consulting project of the CBS Gives Back to Boston initiative. Collectively, they dedicated 800+ hours of their time during this 12-week project in the Fall of 2011.
Thank you also to fellow CBS alum Susan Clare '75, Board Chair of ICA Group, for bringing her non-profit organization to our attention. In a milestone for CBS Gives Back, this was the first consulting project that was not led or co-led by myself or another CBS Gives Back to Boston advisory board member. Thank you so much to Alberto Chang and Marcia Guzy for being the first to walk this uncharted territory, and doing it so successfully! And thank you so much as well to the CBS Gives Back Advisory Board for ensuring the client and volunteers were well initiated into the process and continuing to streamline and improve this initiative.
Please find attached a letter of appreciation from the Executive Director and Board Chair.
The Project
The ICA Group (www.ica-group.org) is a national not-for-profit consultancy focused on improving job quality and building economic security in low-income communities. Their clients include individuals, not-for-profits, public sector agencies, and for-profit firms that are working to create economic opportunity and effect positive change. Specific program areas include Alternative Staffing Organizations, social enterprise development, employee ownership consulting and planning and evaluation services. ICA's mission is to promote human and economic development through the creation of employee-owned and community based business that save and create jobs.
This CBS Gives Back project focused specifically on their Alternative Staffing initiative whose goals are to develop and provide technical assistance to alternative staffing organizations (ASOs) and manage the Alternative Staffing Alliance, a national trade association of ASOs managed by ICA Group. This Alternative Staffing Alliance (www.altstaffing.org) provides services and support to social enterprises that use a temporary staffing business model to connect low-income job seekers to employment opportunities. Combining the worker focus and support of a not-for-profit job developer with the market orientation of a conventional staffing firm, alternative staffing is an effective strategy to help individuals with barriers to employment achieve their job goals, while satisfying employer needs and generating fee income that leverages charitable support. In its four years of operation, the Alliance has accomplished a great deal but there is still tremendous untapped potential in this innovative, market-based approach to workforce development.
The Project
The 7-person volunteer team spent over 800 hours on this project over a 12-week period in the Fall of 2011. The objectives were to identify opportunities for the alliance to better meet the needs of its members, and to identify key success drivers for the alliance in fulfilling its role as a trade association for the alternative staffing sector. The CBS alumni team formulated and recommended strategies to extend the Alliance's reach and enhance the stature and prominence of its work and the Alliance brand.
"I am very appreciative of the opportunity to have worked on the project, and I am proud to be part of a CBS Club that is so visionary," said Marcia Guzy '82. Christian Collins '02 added, "I think the fact that we worked on a real situation with a specific focus and time frame helped us to feel that we made a difference."
"Our group got along famously and we were extremely supportive and encouraging of each other." said Ann Greenwalt '90.
The Gives Back volunteers performed an extensive set of interviews with a wide range of parties. They worked closely with ICA Group and dissected the current business model. Nearly 40 members of the Alternate Staffing Organization were surveyed online AND interviewed in person during the annual conference in Arizona (thanks to our fellow alumni Tony Battaglia '69 who resides in Arizona and was able to attend the conference - thanks Susan Teperow from CBS Alumni Relations in NYC for tracking him down for us!).
Additionally, various third parties were also interviewed such as non members, competitors, sector partners, etc. Based on this as well as primary research, findings were presented to the Board on December 6, and strategic and operational initiatives identified as well as strategic planning recommendations made. According to one of the ICA Group board members Joe Kriesberg, "I thought the team did a really outstanding job. As a director of a non-profit association myself, it was very helpful to me in both of my roles. I have seen many such projects by teams of volunteers and I don't think I have ever seen one as professional, high quality, on-point or as quick as this one. Well done! Go lions!"
In an update provided by the client in January 2012, the client has informed us that they have already begun to implement some of the team's recommendations. Based on the volunteer's findings, they have implemented a popular certification and training program for the members and have also begun to redesign the Alliance's website.
CBS Gives Back to Boston Moves Forward
We are proud that after 5 separate consulting projects since Fall 2008, CBS alumni in Boston have given over 3,000 hours of pro-bono consulting to non profits in the New England region. This excludes the hours spent by the CBS Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board who have continued to find new ways to improve this initiative and their process for both client and volunteer selection to ensure a successful experience for everyone.
Thank you to everyone involved and to the board of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston for their on-going support and encouragement!
Stay tuned for our SIXTH pro-bono consulting project to begin in Fall of 2012. We will be seeking new client requests by late Spring, and new CBS alumni volunteers in the summer. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best Regards,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
Founder & Chair, CBS Gives Back to Boston
CBS Boston Thompson Island Pro-Bono Project Report
On behalf of the CBS Alumni Club of Boston and the CBS Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board, I would like to thank and recognize the following alumni volunteers for participating in the FOURTH pro bono consulting project of the CBS Gives Back to Boston initiative. Collectively, they dedicated 900 hours of their time during this 12-week project in the Fall of 2010:
Please find attached a letter of appreciation from the President of Thompson Island.
The Client
Thompson Island is a beautiful and unique private island that is part of the Boston Harbor National Park. It houses the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center (TIOBEC) that facilitates the teaching of over 6,000 youth each year and also hosts a range of events and outings.
The island has worked with and benefited Boston-area youth during its long and varied history. It was established as a farm school in 1833 but has since served as a home for neglected children, an Academy, a trade school and most recently as an Outward Bound school. Most of the 6,000 youth TIOBEC serves each year are Boston-area public school students who come to Thompson Island for a hands-on introduction to island-based environmental training. The curriculum for these one-day to two-week classes has been developed to integrate the Massachusetts MCAS curriculum. Thompson Island is regarded as Boston’s "island classroom." For the past 10 years, Thompson Island has very successfully administered youth programs on behalf of the National Park Service. The Green Corps summer program employs 14-16 year olds to work in and learn about the islands and coastal environment. The island is the perfect location due to its proximity to Boston and its safe and manageable size.
The Project
Members of Thompson Island’s Board asked CBS Gives Back to design a green-collar apprenticeship program. Given the island’s deep history in vocational training and environmental awareness, they felt they were uniquely positioned to offer a hands-on jobs training experience to prepare youth for the growing opportunities in the green community. The Gives Back volunteers performed an extensive set of interviews with a wide range of parties. They met with Thompson Island personnel to understand the existing program offerings and the organization’s capabilities and capacities, conducted interviews with organizations active in the Boston Harbor Islands and Boston youth jobs arena to understand funding and placement options, and explored comparative organizations that provide jobs, job skills development, and job placement programs. They also relied on the team’s expertise in the Boston region non-profit and youth development area. Mary Yntema ’96 said "It was a good opportunity to learn more about a fine youth serving organization."
Ron Brumback '76, project co-leader, said: "It was especially gratifying to see that in a limited amount of time ten CBS team members could generate a result that the client seemed to genuinely appreciate and stated they would also make use of beyond our immediate project. Especially instructive to me was the fact that many of the issues and the organizational and management challenges in a not-for-profit organization bear a strong resemblance to those faced by for-profit companies. There are, of course, important differences as well that those of us with for-profit backgrounds need to recognize and respect. Fortunately, our team had several people with not-for-profit experience as well who helped us all appreciate the critical differences. All things considered, the project was a personally rewarding and instructive experience.” Barbara Wipf '00, co-leader and CBS Gives Back to Boston Board Advisor who also volunteered on the Asperger’s Association of New England project, said, "It allowed me to donate something very precious to an organization that appreciated it far more than a simple financial donation."
After extensive discussions internally and externally, the Gives Back team developed a list of criteria against which TIOBEC could apply new programs under consideration and provided their overall recommendations for the project:
After the 12-week project, the 10 volunteer consultants completed a successful final presentation to the full board of directors on December 8, 2010. "We held Columbia’s name high and worked very nicely as a team” said Amit Arora '10. Victoria Coe '85 added, "I feel more connected to the Columbia B-School Alumni and that was a real benefit."
Once again, thank you to Thompson Island and all the volunteers who gave so much of their time, skills and enthusiasm to this successful project. Stay tuned for our FIFTH pro-bono consulting project. We will be seeking new client requests by late Spring.
Sincerely,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
Chair, Columbia Business School Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board
Exciting Update on CBS Boston Gives Back Program - February 2010
Please read below for an update on our Gives Back Program. Highlights include our search for new non-profit clients, as well as us formalizing the program through a newly-created advisory board
We Are Expanding (a newly-created advisory board)
After completing 3 successful pro-bono consulting projects to non-profits in the Boston area, it is time to formalize this valuable initiative of the CBS Alumni Club of Boston. We are the only CBS alumni club in the world to have instituted pro-bono consulting services to non-profits. We are proud to be the first, and hope other clubs around the world will follow suit and use their MBA skills for volunteering in the communities in which they live while fostering closer ties amongst their fellow CBS alumni. In order to institutionalize our services, we have created a CBS Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board consisting of former alumni volunteers who have been champions of this initiative. Together, they will vote on the selection of future projects, choose the project managers responsible for the success of each project, and provide advice and help solve large issues if they come up. We will also continue to count on the board of the CBS Club of Boston for their continued advice and sponsorship.
The new advisory board members are all former participants of CBS Gives Back to Boston:
1. Supriyo Dey '07
2. Vincent Fung '09
3. Rusty Hartley '94
4. Evan Jacobs '07
5. Cathy McCarthy '79
6. Lei-Choon Ong '97
7. Yvonne Tai '04
8. Gary Westermark '91
9. Barbara Wipf '00
How We Started
I started the CBS Gives Back to Boston pro-bono management consulting to non-profits initiative in the Fall of 2008. As a a wealth advisor at Merrill Lynch and former management consultant at Booz Allen, I felt like it was the perfect time to launch the program. I was a board member of the YWCA Boston, there was so much uncertainty in the economy, and they had some strategic planning needs but no budget for it. I had consulting and project management skills, but needed talented people to work with me on this. I was also on the board of the CBS Alumni Club of Boston, and club president Ben Grossman '06 and I decided to send out a mass email to alumni to see if they would be interested in participating in a pro-bono consulting project specifically for the YWCA Boston. We had a terrific response from volunteers, and internal support from the club as well.
Evan Jacobs '07, a CBS Boston Club board member and management consultant at Capgemini, was the first to sign up, and it turned out to be a successful initial project, with many lessons learned. I was proud and impressed by the caliber of the alumni volunteers and how everyone worked as a team. I thought it would be the only project, but within weeks, 2 more project opportunities were presented to us by Columbia alums. Once again, we sent out feelers to the CBS Boston community and got a great group of people together, and 2 more projects were completed in 2009. In total, these CBS alumni (and some spouses) have donated over 1,000 hours in management consulting services since 2008, and we hope to keep this going. It will depend entirely on the dedicated participation of the small number of alums here in the greater Boston area who are willing to use their MBA skills to help local charities in a meaningful way beyond opening their wallets. Some are already consulting practitioners, and some are repeat volunteers, which speaks very highly to the value of the program in terms of what they feel they get in return for their efforts.
There is a lot of camaraderie and friendship building as you can imagine from working in a team setting. It is also a fantastic way for alums looking to try consulting to see what it is like and to participate in thought-provoking activities well past graduating from CBS. Finally, by working on projects near and dear to the hearts of Columbia alums, we are strengthening our alumni community as well.
New Projects:
We are looking for new non-profit clients who need our help. The requirements are simple: 1) Ideally, it is a non-profit in which a CBS alum is strongly involved, 2) All projects should last up to 12 weeks only and have a clear and agreed upon scope and deliverable, 3) All projects should culminate in a final presentation to the FULL board of directors on a pre-determined date at the start of the project, 4) Our key client contact must be a key board member and the CEO or COO of the organization. Please send us your requests to: [email protected]
Former Projects:
Once again, our deepest gratitude and thanks to the following 14 individuals who participated in the first 3 projects with intelligence, dedication and respect for the clients they served. The alums are listed below along with the clients they served. Details of each project can be found on our website - see below.
1. Hamid Benbrahim '07 - YWCA Boston
2. Niki Brinkman (spouse of Todd Ofenloch '07) - YWCA Boston
3. Victor Chin '94 - Kwong Kow Chinese School
4. Supriyo Dey '07 - YWCA Boston & Aspergers Association of New England
5. Vincent Fung '09 - Aspergers Association of New England
6. John F. Hartley Jr. (Rusty) '92 - Kwong Kow Chinese School
7. Evan Jacobs '07 - YWCA Boston & Aspergers Association of New England
8. Cathy McCarthy '79 - Aspergers Association of New England
9. Greta Meszoely (spouse of Hamid Benbrahim '07): YWCA Boston
10. Naomi Nuta (spouse of Evan Jacobs '07 and Columbia B.A. '01) - Aspergers Association of New England
11. Lei-Choon Ong '97 - YWCA Boston, Kwong Kow Chinese School, Aspergers Association of New England
12. Yvonne Tai '04 - Kwong Kow Chinese School
13. Gary Westermark '91 - YWCA Boston
14. Barbara Wipf '00 - Aspergers Association of New England
Many thanks for your encouragement and support. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
Chair, Columbia Business School Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board
CBS Alumni Club of Boston Gives Back - Fall 2009On behalf of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston, we would like to thank and recognize the following volunteers for participating in the third pro bono project of the CBS Alumni Club of Boston Gives Back initiative this past fall. Collectively, they dedicated approximately 500 hours of their time during this 12-week project:
Supriyo Dey, Class of 2007
Vincent Fung, Class of 2009
Evan Jacobs, Class of 2007
Cathy McCarthy, Class of 1979
Naomi Nuta (spouse of Evan Jacobs ’07 and Columbia B.A. 2001)
Lei-Choon Ong, Class of 1997
Barbara Wipf, Class of 2000
Please find attached a letter of appreciation from the Executive Director and Board Chair.
The Client: The Asperger's Association of New England is a rapidly-growing 13-year-old non-profit organization with the mission of improving the quality of life for those with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Their mission is to foster awareness, respect, acceptance, and support for individuals with AS and related conditions and their families. AS is a neurological condition - people who have AS are born with it, and have it for life, although as they mature they may gain new skills, outgrow some of their AS traits, or use their strengths to compensate for their areas of disability. AS is generally considered a form of autism, an autism spectrum disorder.
AANE’s key objective for this project was to improve the organizational structure (and they were open to all ideas), specifically between Watertown (the HQ) and the organization's 7 chapters. Their goal is to take their "start-up" non-profit to "the next level," and requested that the CBS team explore the current organizational relationships within AANE.
The Project: Barbara Wipf '00, a member of the team, said, "Working on the CBS Gives Back program this fall was an extremely rewarding experience for me. I was hoping to keep my resume fresh while doing some good for a local charity, but what I got out of it (and put in!) far surpassed my expectations. The charity was dear to my heart because of how Asperger's Syndrome has touched those around me, but I never realized how fulfilling it would be to know that our group was truly making a difference for those in the AS community. Working with folks in the non-profit community was an eye-opener for me as I witnessed a level of dedication and selflessness that I hadn't experienced in my professional career. And I learned so much from the other 6 CBS alums in our project group as each of us brought different expertise to the table: project management, presentation skills, strategic planning. Their level of commitment and zeal was very inspiring. The project was a lot of hard work but the personal payoff was tremendous."
After a 12-week project, the 7 volunteer consultants completed a successful final presentation to the full board of directors on December 8, 2009. "I am grateful that this project offered me a unique opportunity to leverage different skill sets to solve an organization problem. The direct interactions made me feel that I learned a lot more about Asperger Syndrome and how I can make a bigger impact in the community," Vincent Fung '09 remarked.
38 people were interviewed individually for this project, including board members, key staff, management, and chapter directors. Research was conducted on AANE programs as well as similar Asperger's organizations nationally, and the competitive landscape in the New England area and other non-profit business models were analyzed as well. In the end, this information was synthesized and presented, including 4 potential recommendations for AANE’s future organizational structure and role in New England. AANE will use the group's presentation as a starting point to begin the rigorous discussion on how to grow and excel moving forward.
Based on a typical billable hours measurement, the 7 volunteers spent approximately 500 hours on this project. Our CBS pro-bono consultants visited the Watertown HQ a couple of times, had several breakout meetings with the Strategic Planning Committee as well as the organization's board chair and executive director, and met as a team frequently. The results were vetted with AANE and understood prior to the final presentation to the full board.
"I thought the presentation was amazingly well-received. The remarks I heard after were thoughtful as well as appreciative. I felt we delivered some extremely useful information and perspective that they can act on going forward. It was definitely worth the time!" Cathy McCarthy '75 said.
A special thank you to the volunteers! Please stay tuned for 2010 news on exciting CBS Alumni Club of Boston Gives Back initiatives. We hope to have repeat volunteers and gather some new ones too!
Sincerely,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
CBS Alumni Club of Boston Gives Back - Spring 2009On behalf of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston, I would like to thank and recognize the following volunteers for participating in the second pro bono project of the CBS Boston Gives Back initiative this past spring:
Victor Chin, Class of 1994
John F. Hartley Jr. (Rusty), Class of 1992
Lei-Choon Ong, Class of 1997
Yvonne Tai, Class of 2004
The Client: The client was the Kwong Kow Chinese School on 87 Tyler Street in Boston (KKCS). KKCS was established in 1916 for the purpose of helping immigrant families to obtain their education while maintaining their Chinese language and heritage. Its mission is to disseminate Chinese language and culture to Chinese and non-Chinese learners through formal and informal learning opportunities. Its main programs are after-school programs, weekend Chinese programs, English/Math tutoring, Summer School, Martial Arts and Chinese Painting for children. Approximately 850 children are served each year.
The Project: The KKCS board was looking for opportunities to generate revenue from renting its building space to the Boston community when not occupied by its programs in order to supplement its tuition income. The board was also looking to identify best practices and potential pitfalls as well as other creative ways to monetize their real estate assets. "I thoroughly enjoyed working with the team and look forward to doing it again. It was especially gratifying for me in that it enabled me to work with the Chinese-Asian international community, an area which continues to hold my interest and fascination," John F. Hartley Jr. (Rusty) said of the program.
Based on a typical billable hours measurement, each team member spent approximately 50-100 hours on this project. Our CBS pro-bono consultants presented their findings twice to the board and management of KKCS. The project involved identifying potential revenue streams to supplement KKCS income, conducting real estate rental market research in order to understand the competition and market rates, and identifying actual potential tenants.
The team segmented the rental market into 7 potential revenue sources and interviewed approximately 80 organizations over the course of 3 months including several follow up calls per organization. The team narrowed the search to focus on the most likely candidates and completed the project by leaving behind a database of potential clients, best practices needed for a successful rental strategy, and a marketing plan.
Please find attached a letter of appreciation from KKCS’s Vice Chair of the Board, Theresa Tsoi.
Sincerely,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
CBS Boston Gives Back in the News
Columbia Business School wrote a nice piece on the Gives Back initiative. Here's a link!
CBS Alumni Club of Boston Gives Back - Fall 2008
On behalf of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston, I would like to thank and recognize the following volunteers for participating in the first pro bono project of the CBS Boston Gives Back initiative this past fall:
Hamid Benbrahim, Class of 2007
Niki Brinkman (spouse of Todd Ofenloch, Class of 2007)
Supriyo Dey, Class of 2007
Evan Jacobs, Class of 2007
Greta Meszoely (spouse of Hamid Benbrahim, Class of 2007)
Lei-Choon Ong, Class of 1997
Gary Westermark, Class of 1991
Project: The client was the YWCA of Boston (www.ywcaboston.org). Faced with significant financial challenges in recent years, the organization’s leadership is planning to launch an extensive strategic planning process within the next twelve months. In preparation and under the rubric of “you can’t know where you are going if you don’t know where you are,” the organization critically needed to document its current health education and youth development programs which have organically evolved over time. Specifically the YWCA sought the support of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston in mapping the service delivery model of its two programmatic areas, articulating their underlying theories of change, identifying the intended and actual community impact of the programs, and making recommendations on how the programs could work more effectively to achieve their intended outcomes
“It's very satisfying knowing that I could put some of my skills developed at CBS to good use in the community helping an organization like the Boston YWCA. The adage, 'it is better to give than to receive' was true here. I got more in return as I was able to connect with fellow alums that cared to make a difference,” Gary Westermark, '91, said of the program.
Based on a typical billable hours measurement, each team member spent approximately 50-100 hours on this project. Our pro-bono consultants took time off their full-time jobs to interview every staff member involved in social programs at the YWCA Boston. A half dozen conference calls between the team members, a few after work meetings, and a couple of Sunday afternoons were spent preparing our report, and it culminated in a successful presentation to the CEO, COO, and some key board members.
Here's a link to a letter of appreciation from the CEO of the YWCA Boston.
Sincerely,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
- Tony Battaglia '69
- Alberto Chang '01
- Suzanne Cherenson '84
- L. Christian Collins '02
- Ayumi Furui '11
- Ann Greenwalt '90
- Marcia Guzy '82
Thank you also to fellow CBS alum Susan Clare '75, Board Chair of ICA Group, for bringing her non-profit organization to our attention. In a milestone for CBS Gives Back, this was the first consulting project that was not led or co-led by myself or another CBS Gives Back to Boston advisory board member. Thank you so much to Alberto Chang and Marcia Guzy for being the first to walk this uncharted territory, and doing it so successfully! And thank you so much as well to the CBS Gives Back Advisory Board for ensuring the client and volunteers were well initiated into the process and continuing to streamline and improve this initiative.
Please find attached a letter of appreciation from the Executive Director and Board Chair.
The Project
The ICA Group (www.ica-group.org) is a national not-for-profit consultancy focused on improving job quality and building economic security in low-income communities. Their clients include individuals, not-for-profits, public sector agencies, and for-profit firms that are working to create economic opportunity and effect positive change. Specific program areas include Alternative Staffing Organizations, social enterprise development, employee ownership consulting and planning and evaluation services. ICA's mission is to promote human and economic development through the creation of employee-owned and community based business that save and create jobs.
This CBS Gives Back project focused specifically on their Alternative Staffing initiative whose goals are to develop and provide technical assistance to alternative staffing organizations (ASOs) and manage the Alternative Staffing Alliance, a national trade association of ASOs managed by ICA Group. This Alternative Staffing Alliance (www.altstaffing.org) provides services and support to social enterprises that use a temporary staffing business model to connect low-income job seekers to employment opportunities. Combining the worker focus and support of a not-for-profit job developer with the market orientation of a conventional staffing firm, alternative staffing is an effective strategy to help individuals with barriers to employment achieve their job goals, while satisfying employer needs and generating fee income that leverages charitable support. In its four years of operation, the Alliance has accomplished a great deal but there is still tremendous untapped potential in this innovative, market-based approach to workforce development.
The Project
The 7-person volunteer team spent over 800 hours on this project over a 12-week period in the Fall of 2011. The objectives were to identify opportunities for the alliance to better meet the needs of its members, and to identify key success drivers for the alliance in fulfilling its role as a trade association for the alternative staffing sector. The CBS alumni team formulated and recommended strategies to extend the Alliance's reach and enhance the stature and prominence of its work and the Alliance brand.
"I am very appreciative of the opportunity to have worked on the project, and I am proud to be part of a CBS Club that is so visionary," said Marcia Guzy '82. Christian Collins '02 added, "I think the fact that we worked on a real situation with a specific focus and time frame helped us to feel that we made a difference."
"Our group got along famously and we were extremely supportive and encouraging of each other." said Ann Greenwalt '90.
The Gives Back volunteers performed an extensive set of interviews with a wide range of parties. They worked closely with ICA Group and dissected the current business model. Nearly 40 members of the Alternate Staffing Organization were surveyed online AND interviewed in person during the annual conference in Arizona (thanks to our fellow alumni Tony Battaglia '69 who resides in Arizona and was able to attend the conference - thanks Susan Teperow from CBS Alumni Relations in NYC for tracking him down for us!).
Additionally, various third parties were also interviewed such as non members, competitors, sector partners, etc. Based on this as well as primary research, findings were presented to the Board on December 6, and strategic and operational initiatives identified as well as strategic planning recommendations made. According to one of the ICA Group board members Joe Kriesberg, "I thought the team did a really outstanding job. As a director of a non-profit association myself, it was very helpful to me in both of my roles. I have seen many such projects by teams of volunteers and I don't think I have ever seen one as professional, high quality, on-point or as quick as this one. Well done! Go lions!"
In an update provided by the client in January 2012, the client has informed us that they have already begun to implement some of the team's recommendations. Based on the volunteer's findings, they have implemented a popular certification and training program for the members and have also begun to redesign the Alliance's website.
CBS Gives Back to Boston Moves Forward
We are proud that after 5 separate consulting projects since Fall 2008, CBS alumni in Boston have given over 3,000 hours of pro-bono consulting to non profits in the New England region. This excludes the hours spent by the CBS Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board who have continued to find new ways to improve this initiative and their process for both client and volunteer selection to ensure a successful experience for everyone.
Thank you to everyone involved and to the board of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston for their on-going support and encouragement!
Stay tuned for our SIXTH pro-bono consulting project to begin in Fall of 2012. We will be seeking new client requests by late Spring, and new CBS alumni volunteers in the summer. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best Regards,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
Founder & Chair, CBS Gives Back to Boston
CBS Boston Thompson Island Pro-Bono Project Report
On behalf of the CBS Alumni Club of Boston and the CBS Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board, I would like to thank and recognize the following alumni volunteers for participating in the FOURTH pro bono consulting project of the CBS Gives Back to Boston initiative. Collectively, they dedicated 900 hours of their time during this 12-week project in the Fall of 2010:
- Amit Arora, Class of 2010
- Ron Brumback, Class of 1976
- Victoria J. Coe, Class of 1985
- Marilyn Farley, Class of 1989
- Karen Gage, Class of 1997
- Rohit Khettry, Class of 2009
- Deepak Mittal, Class of 2011
- Dale R. Smith, Class of 1984
- Barbara Wipf, Class of 2000
- Mary Yntema, Class of 1996
Please find attached a letter of appreciation from the President of Thompson Island.
The Client
Thompson Island is a beautiful and unique private island that is part of the Boston Harbor National Park. It houses the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center (TIOBEC) that facilitates the teaching of over 6,000 youth each year and also hosts a range of events and outings.
The island has worked with and benefited Boston-area youth during its long and varied history. It was established as a farm school in 1833 but has since served as a home for neglected children, an Academy, a trade school and most recently as an Outward Bound school. Most of the 6,000 youth TIOBEC serves each year are Boston-area public school students who come to Thompson Island for a hands-on introduction to island-based environmental training. The curriculum for these one-day to two-week classes has been developed to integrate the Massachusetts MCAS curriculum. Thompson Island is regarded as Boston’s "island classroom." For the past 10 years, Thompson Island has very successfully administered youth programs on behalf of the National Park Service. The Green Corps summer program employs 14-16 year olds to work in and learn about the islands and coastal environment. The island is the perfect location due to its proximity to Boston and its safe and manageable size.
The Project
Members of Thompson Island’s Board asked CBS Gives Back to design a green-collar apprenticeship program. Given the island’s deep history in vocational training and environmental awareness, they felt they were uniquely positioned to offer a hands-on jobs training experience to prepare youth for the growing opportunities in the green community. The Gives Back volunteers performed an extensive set of interviews with a wide range of parties. They met with Thompson Island personnel to understand the existing program offerings and the organization’s capabilities and capacities, conducted interviews with organizations active in the Boston Harbor Islands and Boston youth jobs arena to understand funding and placement options, and explored comparative organizations that provide jobs, job skills development, and job placement programs. They also relied on the team’s expertise in the Boston region non-profit and youth development area. Mary Yntema ’96 said "It was a good opportunity to learn more about a fine youth serving organization."
Ron Brumback '76, project co-leader, said: "It was especially gratifying to see that in a limited amount of time ten CBS team members could generate a result that the client seemed to genuinely appreciate and stated they would also make use of beyond our immediate project. Especially instructive to me was the fact that many of the issues and the organizational and management challenges in a not-for-profit organization bear a strong resemblance to those faced by for-profit companies. There are, of course, important differences as well that those of us with for-profit backgrounds need to recognize and respect. Fortunately, our team had several people with not-for-profit experience as well who helped us all appreciate the critical differences. All things considered, the project was a personally rewarding and instructive experience.” Barbara Wipf '00, co-leader and CBS Gives Back to Boston Board Advisor who also volunteered on the Asperger’s Association of New England project, said, "It allowed me to donate something very precious to an organization that appreciated it far more than a simple financial donation."
After extensive discussions internally and externally, the Gives Back team developed a list of criteria against which TIOBEC could apply new programs under consideration and provided their overall recommendations for the project:
- Community need
- Clear strategic rationale (brand enhancing, quality enhancing, capacity expansion, offers diversification, improves financial condition)
- Consistency with mission (either mission-based or mission-supporting)
- Matches the organization’s core capabilities
- Matches the organization’s key differentiating attributes
- Manageable cost impact on the organization (financial and management resources)
After the 12-week project, the 10 volunteer consultants completed a successful final presentation to the full board of directors on December 8, 2010. "We held Columbia’s name high and worked very nicely as a team” said Amit Arora '10. Victoria Coe '85 added, "I feel more connected to the Columbia B-School Alumni and that was a real benefit."
Once again, thank you to Thompson Island and all the volunteers who gave so much of their time, skills and enthusiasm to this successful project. Stay tuned for our FIFTH pro-bono consulting project. We will be seeking new client requests by late Spring.
Sincerely,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
Chair, Columbia Business School Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board
Exciting Update on CBS Boston Gives Back Program - February 2010
Please read below for an update on our Gives Back Program. Highlights include our search for new non-profit clients, as well as us formalizing the program through a newly-created advisory board
We Are Expanding (a newly-created advisory board)
After completing 3 successful pro-bono consulting projects to non-profits in the Boston area, it is time to formalize this valuable initiative of the CBS Alumni Club of Boston. We are the only CBS alumni club in the world to have instituted pro-bono consulting services to non-profits. We are proud to be the first, and hope other clubs around the world will follow suit and use their MBA skills for volunteering in the communities in which they live while fostering closer ties amongst their fellow CBS alumni. In order to institutionalize our services, we have created a CBS Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board consisting of former alumni volunteers who have been champions of this initiative. Together, they will vote on the selection of future projects, choose the project managers responsible for the success of each project, and provide advice and help solve large issues if they come up. We will also continue to count on the board of the CBS Club of Boston for their continued advice and sponsorship.
The new advisory board members are all former participants of CBS Gives Back to Boston:
1. Supriyo Dey '07
2. Vincent Fung '09
3. Rusty Hartley '94
4. Evan Jacobs '07
5. Cathy McCarthy '79
6. Lei-Choon Ong '97
7. Yvonne Tai '04
8. Gary Westermark '91
9. Barbara Wipf '00
How We Started
I started the CBS Gives Back to Boston pro-bono management consulting to non-profits initiative in the Fall of 2008. As a a wealth advisor at Merrill Lynch and former management consultant at Booz Allen, I felt like it was the perfect time to launch the program. I was a board member of the YWCA Boston, there was so much uncertainty in the economy, and they had some strategic planning needs but no budget for it. I had consulting and project management skills, but needed talented people to work with me on this. I was also on the board of the CBS Alumni Club of Boston, and club president Ben Grossman '06 and I decided to send out a mass email to alumni to see if they would be interested in participating in a pro-bono consulting project specifically for the YWCA Boston. We had a terrific response from volunteers, and internal support from the club as well.
Evan Jacobs '07, a CBS Boston Club board member and management consultant at Capgemini, was the first to sign up, and it turned out to be a successful initial project, with many lessons learned. I was proud and impressed by the caliber of the alumni volunteers and how everyone worked as a team. I thought it would be the only project, but within weeks, 2 more project opportunities were presented to us by Columbia alums. Once again, we sent out feelers to the CBS Boston community and got a great group of people together, and 2 more projects were completed in 2009. In total, these CBS alumni (and some spouses) have donated over 1,000 hours in management consulting services since 2008, and we hope to keep this going. It will depend entirely on the dedicated participation of the small number of alums here in the greater Boston area who are willing to use their MBA skills to help local charities in a meaningful way beyond opening their wallets. Some are already consulting practitioners, and some are repeat volunteers, which speaks very highly to the value of the program in terms of what they feel they get in return for their efforts.
There is a lot of camaraderie and friendship building as you can imagine from working in a team setting. It is also a fantastic way for alums looking to try consulting to see what it is like and to participate in thought-provoking activities well past graduating from CBS. Finally, by working on projects near and dear to the hearts of Columbia alums, we are strengthening our alumni community as well.
New Projects:
We are looking for new non-profit clients who need our help. The requirements are simple: 1) Ideally, it is a non-profit in which a CBS alum is strongly involved, 2) All projects should last up to 12 weeks only and have a clear and agreed upon scope and deliverable, 3) All projects should culminate in a final presentation to the FULL board of directors on a pre-determined date at the start of the project, 4) Our key client contact must be a key board member and the CEO or COO of the organization. Please send us your requests to: [email protected]
Former Projects:
Once again, our deepest gratitude and thanks to the following 14 individuals who participated in the first 3 projects with intelligence, dedication and respect for the clients they served. The alums are listed below along with the clients they served. Details of each project can be found on our website - see below.
1. Hamid Benbrahim '07 - YWCA Boston
2. Niki Brinkman (spouse of Todd Ofenloch '07) - YWCA Boston
3. Victor Chin '94 - Kwong Kow Chinese School
4. Supriyo Dey '07 - YWCA Boston & Aspergers Association of New England
5. Vincent Fung '09 - Aspergers Association of New England
6. John F. Hartley Jr. (Rusty) '92 - Kwong Kow Chinese School
7. Evan Jacobs '07 - YWCA Boston & Aspergers Association of New England
8. Cathy McCarthy '79 - Aspergers Association of New England
9. Greta Meszoely (spouse of Hamid Benbrahim '07): YWCA Boston
10. Naomi Nuta (spouse of Evan Jacobs '07 and Columbia B.A. '01) - Aspergers Association of New England
11. Lei-Choon Ong '97 - YWCA Boston, Kwong Kow Chinese School, Aspergers Association of New England
12. Yvonne Tai '04 - Kwong Kow Chinese School
13. Gary Westermark '91 - YWCA Boston
14. Barbara Wipf '00 - Aspergers Association of New England
Many thanks for your encouragement and support. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
Chair, Columbia Business School Gives Back to Boston Advisory Board
CBS Alumni Club of Boston Gives Back - Fall 2009On behalf of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston, we would like to thank and recognize the following volunteers for participating in the third pro bono project of the CBS Alumni Club of Boston Gives Back initiative this past fall. Collectively, they dedicated approximately 500 hours of their time during this 12-week project:
Supriyo Dey, Class of 2007
Vincent Fung, Class of 2009
Evan Jacobs, Class of 2007
Cathy McCarthy, Class of 1979
Naomi Nuta (spouse of Evan Jacobs ’07 and Columbia B.A. 2001)
Lei-Choon Ong, Class of 1997
Barbara Wipf, Class of 2000
Please find attached a letter of appreciation from the Executive Director and Board Chair.
The Client: The Asperger's Association of New England is a rapidly-growing 13-year-old non-profit organization with the mission of improving the quality of life for those with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Their mission is to foster awareness, respect, acceptance, and support for individuals with AS and related conditions and their families. AS is a neurological condition - people who have AS are born with it, and have it for life, although as they mature they may gain new skills, outgrow some of their AS traits, or use their strengths to compensate for their areas of disability. AS is generally considered a form of autism, an autism spectrum disorder.
AANE’s key objective for this project was to improve the organizational structure (and they were open to all ideas), specifically between Watertown (the HQ) and the organization's 7 chapters. Their goal is to take their "start-up" non-profit to "the next level," and requested that the CBS team explore the current organizational relationships within AANE.
The Project: Barbara Wipf '00, a member of the team, said, "Working on the CBS Gives Back program this fall was an extremely rewarding experience for me. I was hoping to keep my resume fresh while doing some good for a local charity, but what I got out of it (and put in!) far surpassed my expectations. The charity was dear to my heart because of how Asperger's Syndrome has touched those around me, but I never realized how fulfilling it would be to know that our group was truly making a difference for those in the AS community. Working with folks in the non-profit community was an eye-opener for me as I witnessed a level of dedication and selflessness that I hadn't experienced in my professional career. And I learned so much from the other 6 CBS alums in our project group as each of us brought different expertise to the table: project management, presentation skills, strategic planning. Their level of commitment and zeal was very inspiring. The project was a lot of hard work but the personal payoff was tremendous."
After a 12-week project, the 7 volunteer consultants completed a successful final presentation to the full board of directors on December 8, 2009. "I am grateful that this project offered me a unique opportunity to leverage different skill sets to solve an organization problem. The direct interactions made me feel that I learned a lot more about Asperger Syndrome and how I can make a bigger impact in the community," Vincent Fung '09 remarked.
38 people were interviewed individually for this project, including board members, key staff, management, and chapter directors. Research was conducted on AANE programs as well as similar Asperger's organizations nationally, and the competitive landscape in the New England area and other non-profit business models were analyzed as well. In the end, this information was synthesized and presented, including 4 potential recommendations for AANE’s future organizational structure and role in New England. AANE will use the group's presentation as a starting point to begin the rigorous discussion on how to grow and excel moving forward.
Based on a typical billable hours measurement, the 7 volunteers spent approximately 500 hours on this project. Our CBS pro-bono consultants visited the Watertown HQ a couple of times, had several breakout meetings with the Strategic Planning Committee as well as the organization's board chair and executive director, and met as a team frequently. The results were vetted with AANE and understood prior to the final presentation to the full board.
"I thought the presentation was amazingly well-received. The remarks I heard after were thoughtful as well as appreciative. I felt we delivered some extremely useful information and perspective that they can act on going forward. It was definitely worth the time!" Cathy McCarthy '75 said.
A special thank you to the volunteers! Please stay tuned for 2010 news on exciting CBS Alumni Club of Boston Gives Back initiatives. We hope to have repeat volunteers and gather some new ones too!
Sincerely,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
CBS Alumni Club of Boston Gives Back - Spring 2009On behalf of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston, I would like to thank and recognize the following volunteers for participating in the second pro bono project of the CBS Boston Gives Back initiative this past spring:
Victor Chin, Class of 1994
John F. Hartley Jr. (Rusty), Class of 1992
Lei-Choon Ong, Class of 1997
Yvonne Tai, Class of 2004
The Client: The client was the Kwong Kow Chinese School on 87 Tyler Street in Boston (KKCS). KKCS was established in 1916 for the purpose of helping immigrant families to obtain their education while maintaining their Chinese language and heritage. Its mission is to disseminate Chinese language and culture to Chinese and non-Chinese learners through formal and informal learning opportunities. Its main programs are after-school programs, weekend Chinese programs, English/Math tutoring, Summer School, Martial Arts and Chinese Painting for children. Approximately 850 children are served each year.
The Project: The KKCS board was looking for opportunities to generate revenue from renting its building space to the Boston community when not occupied by its programs in order to supplement its tuition income. The board was also looking to identify best practices and potential pitfalls as well as other creative ways to monetize their real estate assets. "I thoroughly enjoyed working with the team and look forward to doing it again. It was especially gratifying for me in that it enabled me to work with the Chinese-Asian international community, an area which continues to hold my interest and fascination," John F. Hartley Jr. (Rusty) said of the program.
Based on a typical billable hours measurement, each team member spent approximately 50-100 hours on this project. Our CBS pro-bono consultants presented their findings twice to the board and management of KKCS. The project involved identifying potential revenue streams to supplement KKCS income, conducting real estate rental market research in order to understand the competition and market rates, and identifying actual potential tenants.
The team segmented the rental market into 7 potential revenue sources and interviewed approximately 80 organizations over the course of 3 months including several follow up calls per organization. The team narrowed the search to focus on the most likely candidates and completed the project by leaving behind a database of potential clients, best practices needed for a successful rental strategy, and a marketing plan.
Please find attached a letter of appreciation from KKCS’s Vice Chair of the Board, Theresa Tsoi.
Sincerely,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
CBS Boston Gives Back in the News
Columbia Business School wrote a nice piece on the Gives Back initiative. Here's a link!
CBS Alumni Club of Boston Gives Back - Fall 2008
On behalf of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston, I would like to thank and recognize the following volunteers for participating in the first pro bono project of the CBS Boston Gives Back initiative this past fall:
Hamid Benbrahim, Class of 2007
Niki Brinkman (spouse of Todd Ofenloch, Class of 2007)
Supriyo Dey, Class of 2007
Evan Jacobs, Class of 2007
Greta Meszoely (spouse of Hamid Benbrahim, Class of 2007)
Lei-Choon Ong, Class of 1997
Gary Westermark, Class of 1991
Project: The client was the YWCA of Boston (www.ywcaboston.org). Faced with significant financial challenges in recent years, the organization’s leadership is planning to launch an extensive strategic planning process within the next twelve months. In preparation and under the rubric of “you can’t know where you are going if you don’t know where you are,” the organization critically needed to document its current health education and youth development programs which have organically evolved over time. Specifically the YWCA sought the support of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston in mapping the service delivery model of its two programmatic areas, articulating their underlying theories of change, identifying the intended and actual community impact of the programs, and making recommendations on how the programs could work more effectively to achieve their intended outcomes
“It's very satisfying knowing that I could put some of my skills developed at CBS to good use in the community helping an organization like the Boston YWCA. The adage, 'it is better to give than to receive' was true here. I got more in return as I was able to connect with fellow alums that cared to make a difference,” Gary Westermark, '91, said of the program.
Based on a typical billable hours measurement, each team member spent approximately 50-100 hours on this project. Our pro-bono consultants took time off their full-time jobs to interview every staff member involved in social programs at the YWCA Boston. A half dozen conference calls between the team members, a few after work meetings, and a couple of Sunday afternoons were spent preparing our report, and it culminated in a successful presentation to the CEO, COO, and some key board members.
Here's a link to a letter of appreciation from the CEO of the YWCA Boston.
Sincerely,
Lei-Choon Ong '97
VP of Philanthropy, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of Boston
