US Strategy Challenge: Creating a Strategic Model for CPNYC's Success

Posted by Rovic, Morgan Stanley Team Member for Children of Promise, NYC

New York

It's hard to believe we are in week seven, finished with our analysis and moving closer to presenting our final strategic recommendation to Children of Promise. For my work stream, I have been focused on analyzing the partnership landscape for Children of Promise, NYC in Central Harlem. This work, and the Strategy Challenge overall, are very near to my heart. I live in Harlem, so I feel as if I'm giving back to my community in a direct way.

Across all of our team's efforts, our goal for this project is to provide CPNYC with a strategic model for expansion. We believe a strong framework will have a multiplier effect, increasing the organization's impact significantly over time, in New York and possibly across the country.

With that in mind, we're thinking about partnerships for Children of Promise, NYC in terms of three main "pillars" – financial, programmatic, as well as sourcing of mentors, volunteers and children. We're creating a strategy that CPNYC can use going forward to evaluate current partnerships and extract as much value as possible from new ones. This framework involves viewing partnerships as multi-dimensional and asking questions, such as: can a corporate donor also provide assistance with volunteers and mentorship?

In the last couple of weeks, I've also been working with my team member Michael on our financial analysis, helping to build a cost model to assess the organization's readiness to expand. The model is heavily focused on providing scenario analysis. For example, if the organization replicated a portion of its programs in a second site, how would the expansion impact CPNYC's finances? What if they wanted to offer all of their existing programs and services in Central Harlem – what would that look like from a financial perspective?

This has been unlike any volunteer project I've ever participated in, and it has certainly heightened my appreciation for all that nonprofit organizations accomplish with a limited bandwidth. Although the project will come to an end on June 11, I expect the relationships we've built within CPNYC to continue and grow. Our team forged a strong bond with both Sharon and Rebecca, whose passion for CPNYC's mission is inspiring and contagious. More than anything I want to see the organization reach new heights, impacting more children of incarcerated parents each year.

For more information about the Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge, please visit: www.morganstanley.com/strategychallenge/.