Master Peace Community Farm

Semester: Fall 2008

The Engaged University’s Master Peace Community Farm, located at the Center for Educational Partnership in Riverdale, Maryland, provides healthy, affordable, and sustainably grown produce to its surrounding community. The SVC consultants objective for this organization was to develop and sustain the production of one or more healthy snacks that could be consumed by the local community, produced locally, and marketed sustainably. SVC Consultants: Ralph Su, Tim Lewis and Lindsey Cohen

Office of Sustainability - Climate Action Plan

Semester: Fall 2008

The University of Maryland Office of Sustainability (OS) is tasked with managing the development of the campus™ Climate Action Plan, a 40+ year strategic plan tasked with reducing campus-wide greenhouse gas emissions from all operations and activities, and setting the stage for movement toward the goal of carbon neutrality. The SVC consultants worked to define a methodology to measure energy consumption and to assist in the development of an incentive based marketing plan to be implemented by the Office of Sustainability and Facilities. SVC consultants: Brian Childs, Anthony Moskunas and Saumil Shah

Fusion Partnerships, Inc.

Semester: Spring 2009

Fusion Partnerships, based in Baltimore, Md., serves as an incubator and fiscal sponsor for grassroots community-based programs and projects. The SVC consultants assisted Fusion in developing evaluative and tracking tools that will allow the organization to expand its capacity and improve its efficiency. SVC Consultants: Jeffrey Chia-Chieh Hong, Kelly Kopeikin, Erica Trusty.

Children's Rights Council

Semester: Spring 2009

Children’s Rights Council was established to serve parents, families and children faced with divorce and separation. The SVC consultants assisted CRC in reorganizing its network of 70+ chapters by recommending a sustainable organizational model and accompanying change management processes. SVC Consultants: Jeff Crawford, Ashlie Wilbon.

Office of Sustainability - Green Fund

Semester: Spring 2008

The University of Maryland’s Office of Sustainability (OS) is tasked with the development of a local Carbon Offset Program, an effort that marries student engagement in the community with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills in the areas surrounding the University. The SVC consultants worked closely with OS to develop a business plan for a student-run venture. SVC Consultants: Ramik Chopra, Kate Dugan, Hans Scheifele.

Jewish Federation of Greater Washington

Semester: Spring 2009

Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is a community-building organization that helps people in need, strengthens Jewish identity and fosters connections locally, in Israel and around the world. The SVC team completed a cost reduction analysis for JFGW and provided recommendations to reduce overhead and improve overall efficiency. SVC Consultants: Anu Gupta, Egwu Nwankpah, Neil Vora.

US First, Inc.

Semester: Spring 2009

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) engages young people in a variety of mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills. The SVC consultants helped FIRST manage its expanding number of relationships with colleges and universities by developing a standardized business development plan that can be easily franchised. SVC Consultants: Sharada Divekar, Motunrayo Kemiki, Zhaojin Li.

Job Opportunities Task Force—Baltimore CASH Campaign

Semester: Fall 2009

The Baltimore Cash Campaign works to promote the Earned Income Tax Credit and provide quality tax assistance at no cost to families. SVC consultants helped the campaign with enterprise development. They recommended strategies to add low-cost services into its existing business model in order to help additional clients who are ineligible for its free services, but still in need of tax assistance. SVC Consultants: Matthew Goldberg, Jun Moon Kim, Danielle Lemieux, Ben Lydecker, Rongguo Wei.

Samasource

Semester: Fall 2009

Samasource, based in San Francisco, brings dignified, computer-based work to women, youth, and refugees living in poverty.  The SVC consultants assisted Samasource with updating its service provider training materials, which involved an extensive analysis of its business model and the unique challenges of its partners and clients around the world. SVC Consultants: An Bui & Laura Lai

The Sun Safe Tee Program

Semester: Fall 2009

The Sun Safe Tee Program educates the golf community on sun protection strategies and the importance of early detection of skin cancer. The SVC consultants developed strategic fundraising strategies and recommendations that would allow the organization to scale its programs and services nationwide. SVC Consultants: Alex Mullineaux & Steve Shira

Centro Artistico Y Cultural Buena Vista

Semester: Spring 2010

Centro Artistico y Cultural Buena Vista, a community arts organization located outside El Paso, Tx., offers educational and cultural programming for the community.  The SVC team assisted the brand new organization in formulating a business plan for a retail cafe that would provide sustainable funding and establish itself as a place for the community to congregate. SVC MBA Consultants: Lina Montoya & Amol Singla

PACT

Semester: Spring 2010

PACT is a nonprofit affiliate of Kennedy Krieger in Baltimore, Md., providing comprehensive therapy services to special needs children, particularly from low income families.  The SVC consultants assisted PACT in analyzing and reviewing its operations, assessing current service delivery models and procedures and recommending changes to scheduling and marketing to reduce no-shows. SVC MBA Consultants: Lisa Domeshek & Helena Wagner Porto Rocha

Rutland Area Farm and Food Link

Semester: Spring 2010

Rutland Area Farm and Food Link is a regional nonprofit dedicated to increasing access to local foods in Rutland, Vt.  The SVC consultants researched and developed a business plan for scaling operations of a workplace CSA (community supported agriculture) program, including five-year financial projections, an operational development outline and marketing recommendations. SVC Consultants: Stephen Kushner & Sean Luke

Alliance for Community Trees

Semester: Spring 2010

Alliance for Community Trees, located in College Park, Md., serves and supports a network of member organizations committed to promoting urban forestry, conservation and education.  The SVC team researched best practices in corporate partnership strategies, conducted primary research on the nationwide volunteer base of ACT, and proposed recommendations on corporate outreach. SVC Undergraduate Consultants: James Hallas Button, Jenna Gebel, Stephanie Nguyen & Emily Pearson

Future Self

Semester: Fall 2010

FutureSelf, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., exposes youth to the transformational power of the creative process in the context of commitment, exploration, self-expression and community by offering art workshops, art classes and job training.  SVC Consultants worked with the organization to develop sustainable evaluation methods that will better track its impact on the youth it serves, including both in the short and long terms. SVC MBA Consultants: Abhijit Patel & James Rappaport

Loudoun volunteer caregivers

Semester: Spring 2011

Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers is a non-profit coalition of more than 200 volunteers in Loudoun County dedicated to helping elderly and disabled adults maintain independence and quality of life. SVC Consultants developed a methodology by which LVC could qualify and quantify the services offered to care receivers and identify cost-value breakdown on a project by project basis. SVC MBA Consultants: Seble Alemayehu, Ram Nadakuduru

Snyder Center for Aphasia Life Enhancement (SCALE)

Semester: Spring 2011

Snyder Center For Aphasia Life Enhancement (SCALE) is a non-profit organization focused on assisting persons living with aphasia by providing information, classes and additional resources aimed at community integration and awareness. SVC Consultants made strategic, marketing, and benchmarking recommendations to the client in order to increase its membership and capture its target customer demographic. SVC MBA Consultants: Fernanda Lopez and Jerome Beccas

Smith School

Semester: Spring 2011

Smith School - The impact of humanity on the planet is in danger of sacrificing the very ecosystems that provide the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Failure to make changes will provide a planet which can no longer sustain our civilisation. Rapid change is required in order to address the fresh challenges posed to mankind in the 21st century.

DC Association of Charter Public Schools

Semester: Fall 2011

The The DC Association of Charter Public Schools (DCACPS) seeks to understand how young boys of African-American and Latino heritage succeed in DC charter public schools. SVC consultants helped provide evidence for DCACPS advocacy of DC charter public schools. In doing so, their project helped inform current policies and shed light on specific schools successes that DCACPS works with. SVC Consultants: James Trent, Lakshmi Sankar, Hina Mehta

All About Animals Rescue

Semester: Fall 2011

All About Animals Rescue wants to provide onsite low cost - to free, sterilization surgery and vaccines for owned cats and dogs in the inner city. The organization would like to figure out how to get the >$35,000 annual income Detroit demographic to follow through on the appointment they make to get their animals spayed/ neutered, but AAAR staffers are not sure how to solve this problem. A student team would explore the problem more deeply, decide what the best strategy would be to solve this problem (operational strategy, marketing, etc.) and then deliver a plan for a solution at the end of the semester.

Eco-City Farms

Semester: Spring 2012

Eco City Farms works towards a vigorous and sustainable food system in the Chesapeake food shed with ample fertile soil, quality environments and sustainable incomes for farmers, and access to nutritious high quality food for all. SVC consultants helped Eco City Farms to assess and classify Eco City Farm’s existing programs into “self-sustaining” initiatives and “mission-fulfilling” initiatives. They also helped researching urban farms on a national scale and recommending potential new self-sustaining and mission-fulfilling programs that Eco City Farms can implement to serve the Prince George’s County community. SVC consultants: Amy Chen, Mark Leybengrub, Michele Fried