During the past school year, our project teams had the opportunity to work with a variety of startups and nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles and abroad. All the projects were led by students and our 180DC members took on the roles of Project Managers, Senior Consultants, and Junior Consultants. Take a look at the projects we worked on this year!
Our project teams for Fall Quarter!
Fall Quarter
During Fall Quarter, we had three clients — a startup creating sustainable backpacks for working women, a nonprofit promoting educational opportunities in underserved communities, and a nonprofit hosting civic action experiences in which young people can explore modern issues.
Business Model Transformation for an Educational Nonprofit
For the educational nonprofit organization, some of our objectives included revising their strategy, mission, and vision statements and evaluating their programs using an impact assessment framework. Our team analyzed the organization’s current offerings and provided recommendations for future expansion as well as key themes to include in their revised mission statements.
Expansion and Marketing Strategy for a Civic Action Nonprofit
Our objectives for the civic action nonprofit were to define the critical mass and develop a clear strategy to reach this quantifiable target audience in different areas they are expanding into. Our team narrowed down important demographic factors that aligned with the potential for civic engagement and analyzed brand saturation marketing strategies to be able to reach the target audience.
Winter Quarter
During Winter Quarter, we had four clients — a tech startup developing an app connecting students to short-term employment opportunities, a pro-bono law firm providing services to vulnerable populations, a social enterprise empowering women to break the cycle of chronic homelessness, and a training academy providing hands-on classes.
Consumer Insights for a Technology Startup
The technology startup wanted our team to develop an entry strategy into colleges and collect student data to identify their target audience. After analyzing survey results and marketing strategies, our team devised expansion and entry strategies into colleges like UCLA which included partnerships with other organizations.
Talent Acquisition and Retention Strategy for a Pro-Bono Law Firm
For the pro-bono law firm, our objectives included creating marketing and outreach efforts to potential volunteers in various departments such as the intake call center. Our team formulated a social media strategy and social media intern guide by analyzing volunteer recruitment channels and similar organizations.
Revenue and Cost Analysis for a Homeless Women Empowerment Enterprise
Our objectives for the homeless women empowerment enterprise was to form recommendations to increase revenue through sales and profit margins. Our team analyzed current sales, profits, and sales channels to provide insight into their strengths, weaknesses, and future recommendations.
Spring Quarter
During Spring Quarter, we had two clients — a sustainable fashion brand utilizing upcycled materials and a social financing company aiming to provide reskilling opportunities to tackle unemployment.
Branding and Marketing Strategy for a Sustainable Fashion Brand
For the sustainable fashion brand, our objectives were to provide recommendations to improve processes based on feedback from past clients and create templates for building stories to feature finished projects. Our team created a client feedback form template and B2C storytelling recommendations after analyzing past projects and media coverage.
UCLA 180DC’s Project teams have enjoyed working with these organizations throughout the past school year, and we are excited to welcome new clients next year. Want to work on these high-impact projects in a variety of sectors? Apply as a consultant to join our team during the next recruitment cycle!
*All client names and some project details are kept confidential.