Partners in the Community

Having served the Bay Area for 20 years, the HBS Association of Northern California's Community Partners program is a winning model of how HBS grads can bring value to nonprofits-and vice versa.

In the six years he'd lived in Oakland, Michael Marubio (MBA '95) had visited the Oakland Museum only once. "It was a great place, and I was surprised I'd never heard of it," says the software entrepreneur.

When the HBS Association of Northern California's Community Partners program listed the museum as a volunteer consulting project in the spring of 2004, Marubio signed up immediately. The fact that the unique facility was practically in his backyard was simply icing on the cake.

Marubio is one of more than 500 HBS alumni who have put their business skills to work as volunteer consultants with diverse Bay Area nonprofit organizations—from the Red Cross to Save the Redwoods. As the Community Partners program marks its 20th birthday this year, there is much to celebrate.

In recent years we've seen a jump in people joining nonprofit boards after serving on a project, and in people making a career transition.

—Kathy Salmanowitz (MBA '78)

With hundreds of satisfied customers who have benefited from the expertise of teams of HBS volunteers, the Community Partners program has had a significant impact in helping the local nonprofit community address its management and business challenges. For alumni, Community Partners provides a way to apply skills in new settings, meet and work alongside fellow HBS graduates, and give back to the community.

"In recent years we've seen a jump in people joining nonprofit boards after serving on a project, and in people making a career transition," says Kathy Salmanowitz (MBA '78), who has been the full—time director of the program since 1993. "It's really neat to see alumni finding a way to leverage their volunteer experience to transition from the for—profit to the nonprofit sector."

For alumni, Community Partners provides a way to apply skills...work alongside fellow HBS graduates, and give back to the community.

Here's how it works. Nonprofit organizations looking for help complete a comprehensive survey of their needs and submit it to the Community Partners' Steering Committee, which selects 15 to 20 projects a year. Projects are posted on the Community Partners' Web site, and alumni volunteers can apply for projects by e—mail. Volunteers are chosen based on their interests, skills, availability, and geographic location. Projects typically last four to six months, and consultants are expected to spend 10 to 15 hours a month on the project. They offer assistance in strategic planning, financial management, marketing strategy, organizational development, and board governance.

In Marubio's case, he and five other HBS grads worked with the Oakland Museum's staff for 10 weeks to help figure out how to increase earned income for the museum, focusing on renting the facility, revenue from the museum store, and the museum's world—class conservation facilities. They presented their research, analysis, and recommendations to a very receptive board, which then set about implementing many of their suggestions.

The project was so successful that several members of the team, including Marubio, signed on for a second project—one that involved building the museum's brand. "The biggest question we found that the museum needed to answer was, 'Who are you?' We wanted to help them figure that out." The group ultimately recommended that the museum change its name to reflect the breadth of its collections. The museum agreed and will soon be known as the Museum of California. "The teams conducted several great surveys and used clear graphic presentations that made it easy to communicate with a diverse board of trustees," says Dennis Power, who was the executive director of the museum during both projects. "They sought information we had not thought to gather on our own. The results were professionally gathered, analyzed, and presented," Power adds.

Over the years, Kathy Salmanowitz has seen an increasing interest in community involvement from HBS alumni. This is confirmed by the fact that programs similar to Northern California's now exist through HBS clubs across the country—including Boston, Connecticut, New York City (which originally coined the name), and Washington, D.C., among others.

Marubio, who is now on the steering committee of Community Partners, attributes the long—term success of the program to several things. First, having a full—time person to run the program. "Kathy holds us together through thick and thin," he says. Second, working on a project gives volunteers a chance to work inside a nonprofit as well as to meet other HBS graduates. "It gets you outside your own experience," he explains, noting that at work he mostly meets software people, but through Community Partners he's met people in other industries. "It's the easiest way to get involved," he says. "It's also the most comfortable because you have skills to offer." Most important, he notes, "It's a blast."