Roots and Wings Team Wins Tenth Annual U.S. Strategy Challenge

NEW YORK, May 24, 2018 /3BL Media/ – Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced the completion of the tenth annual U.S. Strategy Challenge, a ten-week program in which top-performing Morgan Stanley employees provide pro-bono strategic advice to nonprofit organizations on mission critical challenges. This year, nine nonprofits participated in the program, and Morgan Stanley teams presented final strategic recommendations for each nonprofit in a competition at Morgan Stanley’s New York headquarters on May 23.

The winner of the tenth annual U.S. Strategy Challenge was the team assigned to Roots and Wings, a charity that provides young adults who age out of the New Jersey Foster Care system with safe housing, educational support, case management, counselling and skills. The New Jersey-based charity challenged its Morgan Stanley team to identify a new urban location to expand their current operations in several suburbs. After performing extensive analysis and building a proprietary model to factor in considerations such as safety, transportation, education and housing, the Morgan Stanley team recommended the organization open a location in Jersey City.

“The experience working with the Morgan Stanley team went far outside the scope of my expectations,” said Emily Marchese, Executive Director of Roots and Wings. “The proprietary model the team built for this assignment will be used every time we expand. We are a small organization and everything we do needs to be as efficient and effective as possible, and this tool will help us serve more kids.”

The Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge was developed to tap into the experience and skills of Morgan Stanley employees and put their analytical and strategic thinking to work in local communities through pro-bono volunteering. Since its launch in 2009, the program has cumulatively delivered more than 94,000 hours of service to 128 non-profit organizations, providing charities with significant assistance in bringing true value and lasting change to the community and offering personal and professional enrichment to 700 Morgan Stanley employees. These figures also include outcomes from the fifth annual U.K. Strategy Challenge.

“At Morgan Stanley, our people and their ideas are our greatest asset, so we see real impact in our communities when employees put their skills towards local non-profits,” said Joan Steinberg, Global Head of Philanthropy at Morgan Stanley. “By addressing non-profits’ mission critical challenges over the past ten weeks, our employees get to create real positive change while building out their skill sets and networks.”

At the Strategy Challenge final event, each team had 15 minutes to present, followed by 12 minutes of Q&A from a panel of senior leaders and closed with a three-minute testimonial from the nonprofit.The team for YMCA of Greater NY was the runner up and the BronxConnect team received third place.

The nine nonprofit organizations who took part in this year’s U.S. Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge include:

New York:

• BronxConnect – BronxConnect's mission is to renew the mindset of the urban youth, empowering them to transform their communities from within and stay out of jail for life.
• New York Council on Adoptable Children (COAC) – COAC proactively identifies, develops, recruits, stabilizes and strengthens family systems to provide permanent, loving and nurturing homes to children.
• Education Through Music (ETM) – Education Through Music (ETM®) partners with inner-city schools to provide music as a core subject for all children and utilizes music education as a catalyst to improve academic achievement, motivation for school and self-confidence.
• Eva’s Village – The mission of Eva’s Village is to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, treat the addicted and provide medical care to those in need.
• New Alternatives for Children (NAC) – NAC provides comprehensive healthcare and social services to children living in poverty who have special medical and behavioral needs.
• Per Scholas – Per Scholas opens doors to technology careers for individuals from often overlooked communities.
• Roots & Wings (R&W) – The mission of Roots & Wings is to provide young adults who age out of the New Jersey foster care system with safe housing, educational support, case management, counseling, and life skills in order to empower motivated individuals toward self-sufficiency.
• Save the Children – In the U.S. and around the world, Save the Children gives children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. 
• YMCA of Greater New York – YMCA of Greater New York is a community service organization with three core goals: empowering youth, improving health and strengthening community for all New Yorkers.

Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley also concluded the fifth annual Strategy Challenge in the U.K., benefiting five London-based charities. The team serving Teens and Toddlers won the competition, which took place at Morgan Stanley’s Canary Wharf offices in London.

For more on the Strategy Challenge programs in the U.S. and the U.K., visit the Strategy Challenge landing page and follow #StrategyChallenge on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.