The 2024 Nonprofit Consulting Leadership Program

The Nonprofit Consulting Leadership Program (NCLP) was founded in 2019 as part of Credera’s philanthropic arm, Credera Community Impact (CCI). It is a nationwide initiative co-led by Alli (Miller) Meuret and Sierra Wagner, two senior consultants in our Management Consulting Practice, with sponsorship from Credera Partner Gail Stout Perry. NCLP provides an opportunity for junior practitioners at Credera to undertake short-term, comprehensive client projects with local nonprofit organizations. These engagements aim to enhance our partners' capabilities in achieving their organizational or community goals.

This year, Credera NCLP sponsored five teams across the United States, serving nonprofits in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, and Houston. The teams included 35 members from 7 of our physical markets (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York City, and Seattle), as well as members from our Remote market. Participants represented the Management Consulting (MC), Technology Solutions (TS), and Experience Design (XD) Practices within Credera. Each team was guided by mentors from Credera’s senior leadership, providing essential support in solving client challenges.

Through NCLP, we continue to demonstrate our dedication to community impact, using our expertise to support and uplift STEM-focused, nonprofit organizations across the nation. Across all 5 project teams, Credera invested 1,694 pro bono hours which amounted to an in-kind investment of $354,211. Here is an overview of each of the projects and how Credera was able to make an impact:

2024 Nonprofit Consulting Leadership Program projects

1. Chicago – Project SYNCERE:

The Chicago NCLP team partnered with Project SYNCERE (Supporting Youth’s Needs with Core Engineering Research Experiments) to develop a sustainable revenue strategy and enhance their marketing practices. Project SYNCERE is a nonprofit dedicated to creating pathways for underrepresented students in Chicago to pursue STEM careers by increasing exposure to STEM content while in school. Since its establishment in 2008, Project SYNCERE has exposed 20,000 students to STEM-related fields in over 50 local schools.

The challenge

Project SYNCERE was cognizant of its heavy reliance on grants and donations. To enhance financial stability, the organization sought diversification of its revenue streams—specifically, a heavier focus on earned income sources. Additionally, they hoped to transform their current marketing efforts and pricing strategies to more effectively support earned income generation.

How Credera helped

To address these challenges, the Chicago NLCP team:

• Analyzed current revenue structure: The Chicago NCLP team thoroughly analyzed Project SYNCERE's existing revenue streams and identified areas of vulnerability and potential for growth.

• Researched peer nonprofits: The Chicago NCLP team conducted extensive research on the revenue models and marketing practices of similar nonprofits and gathered insights and best practices.

• Developed pricing strategy: The Chicago NCLP team developed a competitive pricing strategy for Project SYNCERE's existing programs, tailored specifically for the Chicagoland area.

• Enhanced marketing practices: The Chicago NCLP team recommended updates to Project SYNCERE’s marketing strategies to significantly increase visibility and engagement with their target audience.

The results

As a result of the Chicago team’s collaboration, Project SYNCERE is now equipped with a pricing strategy to support financial stability and growth, marketing practices to increase visibility and engagement, and an activation plan to implement these strategies effectively to boost revenue from earned income sources.

Through our partnership, Project SYNCERE now has a clear and actionable plan to diversify its revenue streams and improve its marketing efforts. These strategic enhancements will enable Project SYNCERE to continue its mission of exposing more students to STEM opportunities, ensuring a brighter future for underrepresented youth in Chicago.

2. Dallas & Remote – Bold Idea:

The Dallas and Remote NCLP teams both partnered with Bold Idea to enrich their computer science curriculum, update participant surveys, and modernize their website. Bold Idea, a nonprofit organization located in Dallas, is dedicated to creating access to computer science in underresourced communities and preparing students for the technology careers of the future through project-based learning and mentoring from industry professionals. Their vision is to create a world where every student has an unobstructed path to access computer science education and can pursue fulfilling technological careers.

The challenge

Bold Idea was facing several challenges, including limited mentor capacity in a hybrid learning environment, outdated Python curriculum that needed updates for better delivery and depth, and feedback mechanisms lacking a necessary focus on actionable curriculum improvements. Additionally, their website required improvements in navigation, brand cohesion, content updates, and SEO performance.

How Credera helped

To address these challenges, the Dallas and Remote teams worked on four key initiatives:

• Research AI chatbot: The Dallas team explored various artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot implementation approaches, provided cost estimates for custom solutions, and offered guidance on integrating a chosen pre-built chatbot into the classroom.

• Enhance surveys: The Dallas team revamped Bold Idea's surveys to better capture feedback and drive curriculum improvements by incorporating curriculum-focused questions, tailoring them by grade level, and allowing respondents to explain their scaled responses.

• Assess Python curriculum: The Dallas team reviewed and updated the Python curriculum to address pain points, enhance content depth, transition to an online format, and introduce creative challenges for high achievers.

• Website updates and modernization: The Remote team updated Bold Idea’s website navigation, content, branding, and search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure it accurately reflected the nonprofit’s current state.

• Navigation: The Remote team upgraded from an outdated Squarespace version with a cumbersome navigation structure to the latest supported version featuring a streamlined navigation system that enhances the ease of locating core pages.

• Content: The Remote team transitioned from fragmented and outdated content to a well-organized site with updated information reflecting the new structure, including consolidating old sections and creating new content aligned with Bold Idea’s vision.

• Brand: The Remote team evolved from an inconsistent visual experience with outdated elements (navigation bar, hero image, footer, etc.) to a cohesive, unified look across the website, optimized for mobile friendliness.

• SEO: The Remote team improved from minimal SEO practices and issues with duplicated content to a fully optimized site by adding effective page titles/descriptions, including alt-image tags, and removing duplicate pages and content.

The results

The team’s dedication to Bold Idea initiatives resulted in several key achievements. The implementation research of an AI chatbot has the potential to significantly enhance remote learning by improving mentor guidance and increasing student engagement. Additionally, the introduction of five new surveys provides actionable feedback for curriculum updates, further boosting engagement for both students and mentors. The updated Python curriculum is enhancing student proficiency as well, ultimately expanding their comprehensive knowledge and increasing course enrollment. Lastly, the comprehensive website revamp significantly enhances user experience by streamlining navigation and ensuring content is both current and cohesive, making it easier for visitors to find relevant information quickly.

Our collaboration with Bold Idea has enabled updates to their curriculum, participant surveys, and website, enhancing their ability to provide accessible computer science education. These improvements bring Bold Idea closer to their vision of ensuring every student can pursue a fulfilling career in technology.

3. Houston – Children's Museum Houston:

The Houston NCLP team partnered with the Children’s Museum of Houston (CMH) to develop and refine their volunteer program engagement strategies. The CMH provides innovative learning experiences that spark curiosity and engagement in children across various subjects. CMH believes in the transformative power of education and is dedicated to creating an environment where children can explore, learn, and grow.

The challenge

The museum's ability to deliver enriching experiences for children heavily depends on the dedicated support of its volunteers. The CMH volunteer program struggles to maintain a high volunteer retention rate, which results in empty positions and unmet needs. Additionally, the volunteer manager is the sole person responsible for all operations, leading to capacity constraints and operational inefficiencies. Therefore, due to the museum’s reliance on volunteers to enable activities and initiatives, there is a need for consistent volunteer pools.

How Credera helped

To address these challenges, the Houston team partnered with CMH to refine their volunteer program's outreach and retention strategy. Credera's approach focused on three key areas:

• Standardized communication processes: The Houston team implemented standardized outreach and communication processes and materials to enhance the frequency and quality of volunteer engagement, ensuring all volunteers received consistent and timely information.

• Implemented feedback mechanisms: The Houston team established methods for volunteers to provide qualitative and quantitative feedback, allowing CMH to identify gaps and areas for improvement.

• Developed a leadership framework: The Houston team outlined a volunteer leadership framework for specified experienced volunteer positions to establish clear responsibilities and a reporting structure for all other volunteers.

The results

Credera established consistent communication between CMH and volunteers, encouraging volunteers to return by maintaining their interest and involvement with the museum through regular updates and interactions. The Houston team also sought to increase volunteer retention by implementing feedback methods. This allowed the CMH volunteer program to drive targeted improvements, enhancing the overall volunteer experience and increasing satisfaction. Additionally, the implementation of the volunteer leadership framework increased support for CMH operations, alleviated the burden on the volunteer manager, and increased buy-in and commitment to the program.

Through these efforts, Credera helped CMH build a stronger, more consistent volunteer program that supports the museum's mission of inspiring children through innovative learning experiences. The increased consistency in volunteer engagement and leadership support will equip CMH to support the high demand for volunteers to run their events.

4. Denver – Girls Inc. of Metro Denver

The Denver team partnered with Girls Inc. of Metro Denver to assess the viability and provide process improvements to their “Girls ThINC Outside the Box” (GTOB) program. Girls Inc. of Metro Denver is an affiliate of Girls Inc., a nonprofit with chapters across North America, dedicated to empowering girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers and enable them to foster an environment where they can grow into healthy, educated, and independent women.

The challenge

Girls Inc. of Metro Denver created the GTOB program, a quarterly STEM subscription box, in 2020 when they were unable to run in-person events to stay engaged with girls in the community and provide opportunities for girls to learn STEM content. Today, their team faces external cost limitations and internal process and staffing challenges that put the GTOB box program’s long-term viability at risk.

How Credera helped

To address these challenges, the Denver NLCP team:

• Assessed current state: The Denver team conducted stakeholder and customer (parent/child) interviews and analyzed program resources and feedback to better understand internal Girls Inc. and consumer perspectives, goals, and desires.

• Conducted viability assessment: The Denver team proposed a hybrid GTOB box to increase return on investment (ROI) and maintain alignment with consumer expectations based on their analysis of GTOB pricing, content and format, distribution systems, and competitors.

• Developed process improvements: The Denver team identified and recommended AI and Excel tools, such as DALL-E, to improve inventory management, customer communication response time, and content development speed.

• Created strategic roadmaps: To ensure sustainable success, the Denver team outlined key milestones to provide guidance on the successful and effective implementation of our viability assessment and process improvement recommendations.

The results

The Credera Denver team helped ensure the GTOB program’s long-term viability by providing recommendations to scale the program, increase ROI, and optimize resource, content, and communication management. Our recommended process changes and catalog to track materials will lead to more efficient use of resources and staff time, while our AI tools recommendations, such as DALL-E, ChatGPT, and Typebot, will improve content creation capabilities and customer response times, freeing time for administrative responsibilities. Additionally, our recommendations to scale the program through strategic partnerships and standardize content creation through a brand and style guide will ensure the program continues to have vital funding and girls receive a similar experience regardless of the GTOB hub from which they receive their box.

Through this initiative, the Denver team helped Girls Inc. ensure the viability of the GTOB program through strategic process improvements so Girls Inc. can continue to empower young women to be curious and “think outside the box.”

Interested in partnering with Credera?

If you're interested in learning more about how Credera can support your organization, contact us today, or learn more about why Credera values philanthropy opportunities here.

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