Mission

campusCATALYST seeks to direct the innovation, ingenuity, and problem solving skills of America’s future leaders towards community development by cultivating a rich academic and social entrepreneurship experience for college students and tangible solutions for nonprofits.

Vision

By coordinating local nonprofits and student engagement teams, supported by academic and business mentors, campusCATALYST seeks to be a scalable, sustainable, catalytic agent of change. This systems-changing model seeks to break down the barriers between public and private, driving a more collaborative and cohesive community social service network.

What We Do

campusCATALYST is an independent 501(c)(3) that partners with universities to engage college and business school students in high-impact pro-bono consulting for nonprofit organizations.

Each quarter campusCATALYST

• Recruits undergraduate students to provide consulting services for local nonprofits. Students take a cC designed for-credit seminar where they learn about consulting, nonprofit management and the social sector.
• Selects local nonprofits that need assistance with strategic challenges.
• Recruits business school students to serve as mentors for the student engagement teams

Our Approach

campusCATALYST engagement teams are composed of 5 undergraduate student leaders who apply to work on 10-week consulting engagements with nonprofits. These students receive academic credit for their work and are supervised by a professor and MBA student from a partnering university. In a weekly seminar on nonprofit management, students learn about the nonprofit world from a professor and professional partners, utilizing case studies that reflect the issue area of the nonprofit in which they are consulting. The MBA mentor facilitates a separate weekly meeting at which students are trained in basic consulting practices and develop weekly goals. At the conclusion of the engagement, student teams present final recommendations to the nonprofit and campusCATALYST staff follows up with the nonprofit to assess its satisfaction with the student teams and the long-term results of the recommendations’ implementation.

Theory of Change

In the Chicago area alone, over 5,000 college students are pursuing degrees in business, economics, social policy and other related fields. In the classroom, these future leaders are honing their minds to address the social ills of tomorrow; however, campusCATALYST believes that they can and should take action today. With a support network of the country’s top professors, business school students, and professional consultants as mentors, students will not only be able to provide tangible solutions for nonprofits, but they will be able to take part in a rich social entrepreneurship experience. Through program participation, campusCATALYST hopes to demonstrate to students how career and commitment to community can be one and the same.

Our Impact

By the end of the 2009-2010 academic year, cC will have engaged nearly 400 college students, 85 MBA mentors and 75 nonprofit clients, generating nearly $600,000 worth of pro-bono investment in the Chicago area.

campusCATALYST’s aims are three-fold:

1. Provide student leaders with the tools and opportunity to drive organizational change
2. Improve nonprofits’ capacity and effectiveness
3. Create a more coherent social service network in communities

We will accomplish this by:

• Increasing student exposure to and engagement in the social sector
• Cultivating cross-sectoral leaders
• Empowering students to be agents of social change
• Building capacity of local nonprofits
• Bridging the gap between undergraduate students and MBA candidates
• Connecting students with professional community
• Connecting nonprofits to one another

Issue & Practice Areas

Issue Areas

With an innovative and strategic portfolio approach to impact, campusCATALYST focuses on five crucial issue areas:

1. Youth & Education
2. Employment
3. Housing
4. Health
5. Arts & Culture

From job training programs to affordable healthcare to activities that keep children engaged after school, this approach recognizes that addressing the root poverty-related issues requires a strategic and comprehensive approach that provides critical support and promotes community collaboration.

Practice Areas

campusCATALYST teams, supported by their academic and professional advisors, will provide service in three key areas:

1. Tactical Operations, focused on building capacity and strengthening infrastructure.
2. Partnership Building, in an effort to promote collaboration and create a more approachable social service safety net
3. Marketing, Communications and Development

The central goal of campusCATALYST engagements is to ensure that each nonprofit is left with tangible products and implementable recommendations that can be put into practice immediately.

FAQs

Why campusCATALYST?
In the past five years, Americans invested over $1.2 trillion, about 10% of the annual US GDP, in over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in an effort to address poverty issues and strengthen communities. Despite this staggering investment, over 37 million American families, including 12 million children, continue to experience the daily hardships of poverty.

With over 1.5 million nonprofit receiving these record inputs, the challenge is to coordinate efforts, strengthen operations, and create a more cohesive social service network capable of seamlessly collaborating to address the myriad of challenges facing our communities.

By mobilizing an elite student consulting corps of America’s top undergraduates, supported by the nation’s top academic and business advisors, campusCATALYST is changing the way college students are changing the world. Today, campusCATALYST participants provide critical support to and facilitate collaboration among a community’s nonprofit network, while campusCATALYST alumni leverage their social entrepreneurship experience in fields as diverse as business, government, and medicine to drive innovative solutions to community development.

Who are campusCATALYST members?
campusCATALYST engages top college undergraduates and MBA candidates ranging all academic majors, backgrounds, and career aspirations. Participant selection is highly competitive with rigorous application requirements and complimentary academic coursework to promote high-performing and knowledgeable teams. campusCATALYST selects members who exemplify leadership, teamwork, and dedication to strengthening our communities.

How are campusCATALYST participants trained?
campusCATALYST members enroll in a for-credit university class, supported by academic and professional advisors, to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully support a nonprofit in their community. In addition to this rigorous coursework and guidance by professionals in the field of business and social policy, each team is mentored by a MBA candidate in weekly sessions, ensuring proficiency in and development consultation best practices. campusCATALYST aims to leverage partnerships with community experts and institutions to provide access to the tools, resources, and professional support needed to foster a rich social entrepreneurship experience for students.

Are campusCATALYST participants paid?
campusCATALYST participants voluntarily commit to enhance their education and strengthen their community through their involvement. For their efforts, participants are awarded academic credit through their participating university and gain an invaluable social entrepreneurship experience. In addition, all campusCATALYST services are provided free of charge to nonprofits, ensuring that those organizations most in need of support are able to receive it.

What types of services do campusCATALYST teams provide?
campusCATALYST teams, supported by their academic and professional advisors, will provide service in three key areas: (1) Tactical Operations, focused on strengthening infrastructure (2) Marketing, Communications and Development, and (3) Partnership Building, in an effort to promote collaboration and create more approachable social service safety net.

What issues do campusCATALYST teams address?
With an innovative and strategic portfolio approach to impact, campusCATALYST will focus on five crucial issue areas: (1) Housing, (2) Youth & Education, (3) Jobs & Economic Security, (4) Health, and (5) Arts & Culture. From job training programs to affordable healthcare to activities that keep children engaged after school, this approach recognizes that addressing the root poverty-related issues requires a strategic and comprehensive approach that provides critical support and promotes community collaboration.

How does campusCATALYST promote diversity?
campusCATALYST engages participants, advisors, and supporters who bring a wealth of skills and experience to our mission of creating a more cohesive social service community. To achieve this goal, campusCATALYST enlists leaders spanning all socioeconomic backgrounds, academic majors, political and religious beliefs, and career aspirations. Overall, promoting diversity ensures that campusCATALYST maximizes opportunities for students and the wealth of talent, knowledge, and expertise in our communities.

What is an example of a campusCATALYST engagement?
Click here for examples of our engagements
Click here to read some of our case studies

Do you have a cool map with all of the nonprofits you have engaged?
Yes we do!