Current Projects
Brainstorming Sessions
Brainstorming sessions are 90-min meetings focused on solving a specific issue or generating ideas involving 4-8 HBS alumni with targeted skills and interests who can help the nonprofit organization.
Thursday, Nov. 6 - Virtual
1:00pm - 2:30pm Pacific
Southeast Asian Community Development Center
Established in 1977, the Southeast Asian Development Center (SEADC) empowers low-income Southeast Asian American youth and families in San Francisco to achieve educational success, economic stability, and community well-being. The organization offers a holistic suite of programs—including academic support, workforce development, health and wellness education, and cultural enrichment—that address barriers to opportunity while honoring cultural identity. As a trusted, community-rooted organization, SEADC helps young people graduate from high school, access higher education, secure employment, and lead healthy, self-sufficient lives. Its work strengthens both individual resilience and collective capacity across generations of Southeast Asian families in San Francisco.
Focus Question: How can SEADC refine its “case for support” to better resonate with foundations and demonstrate long-term sustainability beyond government funding?
Thursday, Nov. 13 - Virtual
12:00pm - 1:30pm Pacific
American River Conservancy (ARC)
Founded in 1989, the American River Conservancy (ARC) is a nonprofit land trust dedicated to conserving the natural habitats and cultural heritage of the Upper American and Upper Cosumnes River watersheds in the Sierra Foothills. Through strategic land acquisition, conservation easements, and community stewardship, ARC has permanently protected over 31,000 acres and manages more than 15,000 acres of wildlands. In addition to protecting critical ecosystems, ARC provides environmental education programs that engage thousands of students and residents each year, fostering a deeper understanding of watershed resilience, climate adaptation, and the importance of connecting people with nature.
Focus Question: How can ARC develop, implement, and maintain an effective, long-lasting endowment fund? What key questions, factors, and considerations should staff and board address as endowment planning proceeds?
Thursday, Nov. 20 - Virtual
11:00am - 12:30pm Pacific
Hui international
Founded in 2021, Hui International creates safe, stable, nurturing, and empowering relationships and environments where all can thrive. The organization delivers culturally responsive parent empowerment and child abuse prevention programs for parents of children ages 0–5 and 10–18. Initially launched through a contract with the State of California to serve parents and caregivers of unaccompanied, undocumented minors, Hui has since expanded to partnerships with schools across California and Florida. Programs are offered in English, Spanish, and Dari, and Hui’s model has reached over a hundred parents and more than a million households, earning recognition from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a model program for national replication.
Focus Question: Hui’s core challenge is scaling the family support program in a sustainable and cost-effective way. In February 2024, HBS Community Partners suggested forming partnerships. After some efforts, Open University, based in the UK and with services around the world, has agreed to have a discussion. In the best-case scenario, how can Hui International structure a collaboration with The Open University?
Thursday, Dec. 4 - Virtual
12:00pm - 1:30pm Pacific
HBS Community Partners
HBS Community Partners (HBSCP) of Northern California harnesses the talent and expertise of Harvard Business School alumni to provide pro bono consulting services that strengthen nonprofit organizations and amplify community impact. Through strategic consulting projects, brainstorming sessions, Social Enterprise Scholarships, and board development initiatives, HBSCP connects business leaders with mission-driven organizations to solve critical strategic challenges. Each year, hundreds of alumni contribute their time and skills to advance nonprofit effectiveness across sectors.
Focus Question: How can HBS Community Partners of Northern California strengthen its volunteer pipeline by reimagining recruitment, engagement, and recognition strategies—so that more alumni take part of our programming?
Consulting Projects
Consulting Projects are three-four month strategic consulting engagements with a group of 3-5 alumni who conducts a deep dive to tackle a broad challenge or opportunity. Meeting dates and formats are decided by the team throughout the engagement.
Kickoff: September
Duration: 4 month consulting project
Format: remote
Canal Alliance
Canal Alliance is the leading service provider and advocate for Marin County’s low-income Latino immigrant community. Based in San Rafael, the organization delivers a powerful combination of direct services—including immigration legal assistance, education, workforce training, small business support, and behavioral health—alongside long-term community development strategies like affordable housing, infrastructure improvement, and civic engagement. Canal Alliance serves more than 4,850 clients annually, with a deep focus on culturally responsive, bilingual programming. With four decades of community trust, a diverse and representative leadership team, and a growing footprint, the organization has been recognized for its excellence with multiple regional and national awards.
Project with Community Partners: Canal Alliance seeks support in conducting a feasibility study for a mission-aligned Spanish Language Academy—a potential social enterprise that would provide high-quality Spanish language and cultural immersion training to local businesses and government agencies. The program would generate earned income, create employment for bilingual immigrants, and strengthen social cohesion in Marin County. The HBSCP team would help assess market demand, evaluate the competitive landscape, explore governance options (nonprofit vs. for-profit), and deliver a go/no-go recommendation. This initiative is part of a broader strategic effort to diversify revenue and protect mission-critical services in a changing funding landscape.
Kickoff: September
Duration: 4 month consulting project
Format: team to decide
Cancer Support Community
Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area (CSC) is a nonprofit that provides free emotional, social, and practical support to individuals and families impacted by cancer. Their services include support groups, individual counseling, wellness classes, financial assistance, and resource navigation—all offered at no cost to ensure accessibility. With a new, state-of-the-art center underway, CSC will soon become the largest cancer support hub of its kind in the Western U.S. The organization serves 2,000 participants annually, primarily from Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, and has been recognized with numerous honors, including a Nonprofit of the Year award and a platinum seal from Guidestar.
Project with Community Partners: CSC seeks help developing an outreach and growth strategy to increase service awareness and usage—particularly among communities of color. The project will unfold in two phases. Phase 1 involves a targeted survey to understand why current communities of color participants engage with CSC, what services they value most, and how they discovered the organization. Phase 2 will use those insights to develop a comprehensive outreach strategy aimed at increasing visibility and utilization of services across the Bay Area. This work is especially timely as CSC prepares to expand into a larger facility to serve even more families.
Kickoff: September
Duration: 4 month consulting project
Format: team to decide
Foundation for Hearing Research
Foundation for Hearing Research (FHR) is dedicated to helping children who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) learn to listen and speak. Through its school in Redwood City, CA, and tele-intervention programs like BabyTalk and TeachLSL™, FHR delivers expert early intervention services to children across California. Now, with the development of Talk2Me™, a mobile app offering coach-assisted lessons for parents of D/HH children ages 0–3, FHR has the potential to scale its proven curriculum to families across the U.S. and globally.
Project with Community Partners: FHR seeks support in developing a go-to-market plan for the Talk2Me™ app. The HBSCP team will help define strategies for lead generation (via audiologists, hearing centers, and counties), identify effective messaging to inform and support families, assess resource and staffing needs, and evaluate pricing models. With 63 lessons already built and being tested, the organization is ready to transition from product development to a scalable delivery model. This initiative is critical to expanding access to high-quality listening and spoken language (LSL) instruction and addressing the urgent need for language support among the 90% of D/HH children who currently lack access to early, specialized intervention.
Kickoff: September
Duration: 4 month consulting project
Format: team to decide
Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley
Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley (HFSV) is a high-impact nonprofit dedicated to advancing Latino representation in STEM careers and improving the economic mobility of Latino families across Silicon Valley. Through its flagship Latinos in Technology Initiative and Parent Education Academies, HFSV supports more than 4,000 families annually across 64 public schools. Its programs follow a three-phase model: Seed (K–12 STEM and parent engagement), Cultivate(college scholarships and career development), and Harvest (early-career mentorship and leadership). To date, over 595 Latino college students have received scholarships, 452 have completed STEM degrees, and many continue receiving support into their professional journeys.
Project with Community Partners: HFSV recently completed a comprehensive strategic planning process and is now entering a critical implementation phase. The organization seeks support in designing a Development Roadmap and a multi-year budget aligned with its new Theory of Change and strategic goals. These tools will guide the organization’s fundraising strategy and long-term financial planning, helping ensure sustainable growth and enabling HFSV to scale its impact across Silicon Valley’s Latino STEM workforce pipeline.
Kickoff: September
Duration: 4 month consulting project
Format: hybrid
Marin County
Marin County is a public agency serving over 260,000 residents across 11 cities, towns, and unincorporated areas in the Bay Area. With a $900 million operating budget and 2,400 full-time staff, the County delivers a wide range of essential services, including health and human services, housing, environmental protection, public safety, emergency response, and digital innovation. Marin is widely recognized for its leadership in sustainability, equity, and digital transformation, and is currently undergoing the most significant organizational restructuring in 70 years—shifting to a centralized “County Executive” model under a unified “One Marin” vision.
Project with Community Partners: Marin County seeks support from HBS Community Partners to assess and optimize its enterprise software strategy. Due to years of decentralized operations, County departments have independently purchased and managed software platforms—resulting in redundant costs, inconsistent usage, and increased cybersecurity risks. The project will focus on three key deliverables: (1) A baseline inventory of software platforms—especially large, potentially enterprise platforms—by spend, usage, and departmental ownership; (2) Identification of cost-saving opportunities through enterprise licensing; and (3) Identifying where existing platforms used by certain agencies could be used to solve agency problems in others (i.e., where might we have procured software that can solve existing solutions). This effort will strengthen fiscal efficiency, improve service delivery, and serve as a scalable model for enterprise software governance across the County.
Kickoff: September
Duration: 4 month consulting project
Format: remote
One Life Counseling Center
One Life Counseling Center is dedicated to providing culturally responsive, affordable mental health services for individuals and families, regardless of income, insurance status, or language. Serving over 10,000 clients annually, One Life offers therapy in nine languages—including Spanish—across nine sites and 29 public schools. Their holistic model integrates clinical care with wellness programs, basic needs support (like food and diapers), and deep-rooted community partnerships. Specialized programs include Una Vida for Spanish-speaking families and Music for the Mind for isolated seniors. Their innovative, wraparound services have earned recognition from county agencies, healthcare districts, and school boards.
Project with Community Partners: As One Life experiences rapid growth, they seek support in building a program-level profit & loss (P&L) framework to understand the financial sustainability and return on investment (ROI) across their services. With multiple locations, funding streams, and service models, leadership needs clearer data to make informed strategic decisions. In addition, One Life is exploring the creation of a new Business Operations or Compliance Officer role. The HBSCP team will help define the responsibilities, integration, and investment required for this role. The ultimate goal is to strengthen infrastructure and ensure long-term sustainability without compromising their mission of equitable mental health access.
Kickoff: September
Duration: 4 month consulting project
Format: remote
PhET Interactive Simulations
PhET Interactive Simulations, based at the University of Colorado Boulder, is a pioneering nonprofit that develops free, research-based interactive simulations to improve science and math education worldwide. Founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. Carl Wieman, PhET’s 170+ simulations have been used over 1.8 billion times in 129 languages, reaching communities ranging from under-resourced classrooms in the U.S. to conflict-affected regions like Ukraine and Ethiopia. PhET’s tools foster student engagement, agency, and inclusion, and their global impact has earned them international recognition, including awards from the American Physical Society, Open Education Global, and the WISE Awards.
Project with Community Partners: PhET is seeking support from HBS Community Partners to advance its long-term financial and organizational sustainability. The team aims to diversify and grow earned revenue streams, including partnerships with education ministries, expansion of their new SaaS platform PhET Studio, increased mobile app sales, and potential freemium models. Deliverables include a portfolio of mission-aligned revenue strategies with staffing/resource implications
Kickoff: September
Duration: 4 month consulting project
Format: team decision
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Project (REC)
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center is a Bay Area nonprofit dedicated to empowering socially and economically diverse entrepreneurs—especially women and people of color—through small business training, consulting, and support. With multiple locations and a $6.7M budget, Renaissance has helped thousands of lower-income individuals start and grow businesses that promote financial independence and community vitality. In their latest survey, 85% of participants achieved their goals, household incomes rose 54%, and their programs earned a net promoter score of 92. The organization was also named 2024 Nonprofit of the Year by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
Project with Community Partners: Renaissance seeks support in developing a revitalization strategy for the 3rd Street Corridor in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood—an area that has struggled for decades with limited foot traffic, retail gaps, safety concerns, and changing demographics. Despite these challenges, the corridor has substantial potential due to its waterfront location, nearby attractions like Oracle Park and Chase Center, and future development projects. The HBSCP team will research best practices from other revitalized urban commercial corridors and recommend strategies tailored to 3rd Street’s unique assets. The final deliverable will be a revitalization plan that includes community input and offers an actionable path forward to stabilize existing businesses and attract new investments.