This year, we had the opportunity to work with various nonprofits and startups, both in the Los Angeles area and abroad. The projects were entirely student-led, with our members taking on the roles of Project Managers, Senior Consultants, and Junior Consultants. Here is a look back at the projects we worked on throughout the past school year.
Fall/Winter Quarters
During these two quarters, we had two clients — a research institute based in Los Angeles and a global consultancy headquartered in Australia. Our members were divided into four different teams, two for each client.
Fundraising and Social Media Strategy for a Research Institute
Fundraising: For the research institute, one of our objectives was to increase the success of fundraising. Our team analyzed their current giving statistics, created a fundraising timeline, provided suggestions for fundraising methods and pages, and outlined ways to build a strong donor base.
Social Media: The other team’s objective was to find ways to increase the research institute’s social media presence. They conducted both internal and external market research by analyzing Google Analytics and researching competitors.
Value Proposition Design and Customer Research for a Consulting Agency
Value Proposition Design: Our project for the consulting agency was also split into two parts. One team worked on creating a standardized sponsorship structure for the consultancy to incorporate within each of its branches. They surveyed over 300 business owners and analyzed all responses to determine a fitting value proposition and pricing strategy.
Customer Research: The other team was tasked with determining the best cities for the consultancy to implement the aforementioned sponsorship structure. After narrowing the cities down to Los Angeles and San Francisco, they created a slide deck and 25-page report detailing the prospects of each city, as well as a comprehensive analysis of some target companies.
Spring Quarter
During Spring Quarter, we serviced three clients — a startup incubator with a focus in technology, a Seattle-based nonprofit aimed at improving education for the under-served, and a nonprofit benefiting the incarcerated.
Marketing Strategy for a Tech Startup Incubator
The startup incubator wanted us to zone in on one of its products, a customer relationship management (CRM) application that mainly serves to help nonprofits with fundraising. Our team researched potential integrations with existing CRMs and proposed various marketing strategies to attract more nonprofits to the application.
Fundraising Strategy for an Education-Focused Nonprofit
For the third-world education-focused nonprofit, our team identified key fundraising sources (namely individuals, corporations, foundations, and the government) and devised a fundraising plan for the organization. The plan included people/entities most relevant to the organization’s cause and strategies it may employ to reach them.
Analytics and Branding for a Social Justice Nonprofit
Lastly, we worked with the nonprofit helping the incarcerated by analyzing its Google Analytics and suggesting ways that it could improve its search engine optimization and online presence. After brainstorming ways to attract and retain donor attention, our team also designed a brand-new brochure for the organization to present to the public.
We have really enjoyed working with these companies throughout the past year, and we are also excited for the projects to come. Apply as a consultant to join our team in working on these high-impact projects!
*All client names are kept confidential.