Classroom work with community impact through Social Sector Solutions

NCCLF team: Jeongwon, Navneet, Sherry Simmons (seated) Pablo, and Shaun (not pictured, Joe)

I applied to be a part of the spring 2013 Social Sector Solutions (S3) class, in partnership with McKinsey & Company.  I had the honor of working with a team of 4 MBA’s on a nonprofit consulting project with the Northern California Community Loan Fund (NCCLF), a phenomenal organization creating stronger communities in Northern California, one nonprofit at a time. The objective of our project was to help NCCLF develop a strategy to attract new individual investors.

In 15 short weeks we conducted 23 informational interviews with investors, NCCLF employees, and financial advisors; in addition, we sent out a survey to 800 potential investors in Northern California. Beyond this, we also collectively spent countless hours performing market research and compiling reports. While this project took a significant amount of time, it has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had at Berkeley-Haas.

Not many classes have perfected the art of “experiential learning,” so when I had the opportunity to learn about consulting in a classroom setting and then apply these skills to a real-world project, I was both excited and intimidated. Not only did the reports I was compiling have an impact on my grade, but more importantly they would help our client move one step closer to achieving their mission.

Overall, being a part of the S3 class gave me more than just consulting experience, it has also enabled me to build relationships with individuals throughout the Bay Area who are interested in social impact. I would highly recommend this program to both students and nonprofits; to learn more about this class, visit: http://bit.ly/socialsolutions.

-Navneet Singh

Berkeley-Haas Undergraduate, Class of 2014

Berkeley Board Fellows Award $30,000 to Three Nonprofits

Berkeley Board Fellow Nonprofit Winners

Berkeley MBA and other graduate students awarded $30,000 to three nonprofit boards of directors at the first annual Berkeley Board Fellow Excellence Awards on May 2, 2013. The organizations were nominated by the UC Berkeley graduate students serving on their boards as part of a social impact leadership program.

The three nonprofits—selected by a committee of students, staff, and funders—who received $10,000 each were:

• Jewish Family and Children Services of the East Bay, winner of the Dynamic Board Award. The organization helps promote and strengthen the social and emotional well-being of diverse individuals and families throughout the East Bay. The nominating fellows were Aaron Perez and Jessica Felts, both MBA 13.
• Lotus Bloom Child & Family Resource Center, winner of the Impact Project Award. The center is a multicultural organization in Oakland that provides innovative programs and child care for inner-city children, youth, and families. Alexandra Clarke, MPP 13, and Tim Morrison, MBA 15, nominated the center.

• Clinic by the Bay, winner of the Outstanding Mentor Award. The clinic is part of the national network of Volunteers in Medicine clinics, engaging retired and practicing doctors, nurses, and other volunteers to provide compassionate, high-quality health care free of charge to underserved residents in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its nominating fellows were Alana Tucker, MBA 14, and Molly Bode, MBA/MPH 14.

To be eligible for the awards, the nonprofits had to be participants in the 2012 Berkeley Board Fellows program and nominated by a student serving on their boards. Founded by Berkeley MBA students in 2003, the experiential learning program places MBA and other Berkeley graduate students on nonprofit boards of directors for an academic year. This year a record 92 fellows served on 49 nonprofit boards. Click here to read more

Ted Kuh’s Path to Lifelong Learning

Alumni Spotlight: Ted Kuh, Haas BS 82; Wharton MBA 87
Lecturer and Advisor-in-Residence, Haas School of Business
Advisory Board Member, Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership

 

“I left banking to pursue new passions such as teaching and getting involved in the start-up community. I am a firm believer in lifelong learning and am certainly learning a lot from my students, I hope to continue learning from different people and different cultures.”

Lifelong Learning: A Structured and Unstructured Path

There are times when the defined and well-lit path is worth following. My 24 year investment banking career offered excitement, world travel, exposure to new cultures, and the challenge of developing a new business.  I was entrepreneurial with the support and resources within a large organization. My best professional decision was to work abroad to lead Citi’s Global Retail investment banking effort, first from London then from Hong Kong.  All told I spent 10 years abroad and had an extraordinarily rich professional and personal experience.

In 2009, I relocated back to the Bay Area, where one of my goals was to re-engage with Haas and my community, as well as to

Encore Careers: Second Acts for the Greater Good

Community Partner Spotlight: Encore.org

Encore.org is building a movement to make it easier for millions of people to pursue “encore careers” that combine personal meaning, continued income and social impact in the second half of life. “This country’s 78 million boomers make up the largest, healthiest, best-educated population of Americans,” said Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Encore.org. “They represent a tremendous opportunity for society.” Research from Encore.org and MetLife Foundation shows that 9 million people ages 44 to 70 are in encore careers, work that is both personally meaningful and serves the greater good. Thirty-one million more are interested in encores.

By elevating, enabling and expanding encore careers as the new social norm in American culture, Encore.org ‘s goal is to help experienced workers use their passion and know-how to address society’s toughest challenges. While Encore.org is not a job placement service, it provides free, comprehensive information that helps people transition to jobs in the nonprofit world and the public sector.

Photos Courtesy of Encore.org

Many who seek encore careers need help making the transition to

Ernesto Dal Bó is Our New Faculty Research Director

Faculty Spotlight:  Ernesto Dal Bó, New Faculty Research Director, Haas Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership

Harold and Alice Furst Associate Professor of Management Philosophy and Values, Haas School of Business
Director, Berkeley Center for Political Economy (BCEP)
Associate Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley

“Thinking carefully about institutions and organizations in the realm of economics and politics is something that I am deeply passionate about. But teaching at Haas also means one has to put that thinking to the test of student challenge, in a way that improves our thinking, and pushes us to make it relevant for a world that needs changing.”

Ernesto Dal Bó teaches the core Ethics course in the full time and evening MBA programs at Haas, and doctoral courses on political institutions and governance. His research is in the intersection of economics and politics. He has done work on corruption, political influence, armed conflict, the self-perpetuation of political elites, as well as

New Director of Alumni Engagement

Alumni Engagements: Social Impact Programs for Alumni

Berkeley-Haas graduates continue learning beyond graduation. We nourish this tradition by providing opportunities for alumni to draw on the Center’s resources and contribute to the Haas community. We have a new Director of Alumni Engagement, Cathy Garza, Haas MBA ’89. Cathy joined the Center in November 2012. Previously she worked for the Haas Career Management Group and the Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics. Cathy will be organizing networking gatherings around the Bay Area for alumni working and/or volunteering in the social impact space. Click here to get on our invite list or contact Cathy if you would like to host a social impact gathering at your home or place of work.

Are you an alum interested in exploring nonprofit board service?  We will be piloting Berkeley Board Fellows for Alumni beginning Fall ’13.  The September–May commitment will parallel the student program and is a great way to experience nonprofit board membership.  Contact: Cathy Garza, Director of Alumni Engagement, 510.643.4359, cathy_garza@haas.berkeley.edu.

Click here for more information

Incredible Programs for Bay Area Nonprofits

Berkeley Board Fellows

Bay Area nonprofits are encouraged to apply for Berkeley Board Fellows. Board Fellows are UC Berkeley graduate students from business, law, public policy, and public health who participate in board meetings and contribute to nonprofit boards from October to May. In 2012, a record 93 fellows served on 50 Bay Area nonprofit boards. The goal of this experiential learning program is to develop students’ governance and leadership skills while they contribute their time and talent to select nonprofit organizations.  Apply by August 16th.

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Social Sector Solutions

“I was an Ernst & Young consultant. I would put [the students’] work up against the deliverables of the professional consultants any day. This is really good.” – Steve Janowsky, Wetherby Asset Management

In Social Sector Solutions, select nonprofit organizations work with Haas MBA students and consultants from McKinsey & Company on a 15-week strategy consultation to help clients achieve greater impact by addressing their most important strategic challenges.  Apply by August 31st or send questions to socailimpact@haas.berkeley.edu

Congratulations to the GSVC 2013 Winners!

CNPL would like to congratulate the winners of the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) for 2013!

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S3 Team Working with The Hispanic Foundation for Silicon Valley

Melissa Rawlins, Armando Munoz, Vibhu Singh, Estefania Hernandez, and Alma Rico are part of a Social Sector Solutions (S3) team for the Spring 2013 semester. The team, led by Alma, is working with the Hispanic Foundation for Silicon Valley to support the organization in developing their new three year strategic plan. Coming in to the class, the team members hoped to evolve their management consulting skill set for a social issue that was important to them. Many of the skills these students learned in the MBA curriculum were transferable to the nonprofit scenario while others had to be slightly adapted.

“A number of skills we learned [as MBAs], related to organizational structure, operational effectiveness, and fundraising were directly applicable. Some other skills such as performance appraisal, negotiations and impact assessment had to be applied in a slightly different way to fit the non-profit environment.” – Vibhu Singh (MBA 2014)

Alma shares with us her experience as a team lead – “While challenging, this experience has allowed me to build my leadership style and refine my project management skills as I’ve learned from my team, as well as our professors and McKinsey coach.”

S3 Team – Estefania, Alma, and Melissa

S3 Team leading a discussion with Hispanic Foundation’s staff and board