Live Case – Project
Charting New Pathways for Fundraising Success & Organizational Growth
A Collaboration Between
Parents for Peace & Justice is looking for your help exploring opportunities for diversifying and increasing fundraising streams in order to grow as an organization. As an efficiently run non-profit, we provide robust programming on a small budget thanks to partnerships, pro bono support, and the volunteer work of our board. We want to expand the organization by creating key staff positions that will help us take the organization to the next level and need a fundraising strategy that will help make this happen.
In the past, a lot of our fundraising has been community-based, but as we operate in a low-income community, we would prefer (and we think it would be strategic) for the bulk of our fundraising to come from outside of our community. We have started to find success in grant applications, but we know we are just scratching the surface in terms of possible fundraising outcomes. Success would be a road map for fundraising: different methods, how much weight we should put into each method, and a plan for who from our board or network would be in charge of carrying out each method
- Some potential activities that would support these efforts include, but are not limited to:
Developing a list of unexplored fundraising streams
Identifying organization strengths and weaknesses within each fundraising type
Creating a proposed balance of fundraising types
Identifying systems for success (ie. committees, hiring grant writers, etc.)
Project Topics
Growth Strategy
PR & Communications
Company Information
| Company | Parents for Peace & Justice |
| HQ | Chicago, IL |
| Revenue | N/A |
| Employees | Unlisted |
| Stage | Pre-Revenue Startup |
| Hiring Potential | N/A |
| Website | https://www.parentsforpeaceandjustice.org/ |
Company Overview
Parents for Peace and Justice (PPJ) was formed in 2013 by co-founders Elizabeth Ramirez, who lost her own son in an unsolved killing, and Robert Torres, who was touched and inspired by Elizabeth’s story -- and by her tireless passion to help others who suffered a similar fate.
PPJ, headquartered in Belmont Cragin, serves families affected by gun violence in the predominantly Latino neighborhoods of the Northwest side of Chicago: Humboldt Park, Belmont Cragin, Hermosa, and Logan Square.
PPJ’s approach is three-pronged:
- Violence Prevention: addressing the violence before it happens through activity-focused youth programming
- Healing Support: helping families cope with the enormous loss that results from violence
- Victim Advocacy: advocating for justice through vigils, media campaigns, and legislative advocacy
- Mental health resources, including support groups, counseling, retreats, and workshops for mothers, fathers and siblings who lost a loved one to violence,
- Athletic camps and career workshops for children affected by gun violence, with mentorship from professional athletes and business leaders,
- Advocacy training for families learning to use their voices for positive change.
Experiential Learning Program Details
| School | Northern Illinois University (NIU) |
| Engagement Format | Live Case - Think "Hackathon" or Case Competition with a whole class of students! This learning format allows educators to deliver experiential learning to students at scale. Students are often split into groups to work on a live case (or a series of cases) from a real host company that directly relates to key learning objectives. |
| Course | Business in Action, Spring 2022 (Doughty) – Parents for Peace & Justice |
| Level |
|
| Students Enrolled | 40 |
| Meeting Day & Time | Tues/Thurs |
| Student Time Commitment | 4-7 Hours Per Week |
| Company Time Commitment | 1 Hour |
| Duration | 13.14 Weeks |
Program Timeline
Key Project Milestones
-
March 7, 2022 - Deep-Dive into the Organization
- Become familiar with the organization’s history, mission, vision and goals.
- What is the organization’s value proposition?
- Who are the key stakeholders?
- Who is the target audience? What problem does the organization help them to solve?
- What is the scope of services that the organization provides? How does the company categorize and organize the services they will provide?
- What media is available on the organization? How are these resources currently used to engage stakeholders and prospective donors?
- What are the fundraising goals and objectives? How can/will the current project contribute to the fundraising efforts?
- What can the organization provide you on their previous fundraising strategies, or strategies they’ve used to gain support for the organization? What was successful? What wasn’t?
Suggested Deliverable:
Infographic overview of the organization and project objectives (internal); questions for industry mentor
-
April 6, 2022 - Develop Fundraising Strategies
- How do other non-profit organizations with similar objectives engage potential donors? Who are their target audiences?
- What individuals and organizations are considered ideal targets for fundraising efforts? Can you develop a list of potential fundraising streams?
- What messages, content, meanings should be used to educate target audiences about the organization, its values, and how these are “lived” by the organization? What stories would shape their perceptions to create the desired image? List key messages and stories.
- What emotion(s) are these messages and stories appealing to? What language and tone would be useful to evoke that emotion and build a connection with the audience?
- Can you suggest/create prototype well-crafted messages and stories to illustrate how the company’s “lived values” can be effectively communicated?
- How do other similar organizations communicate their concept and value to stakeholders? Research and present best practices for fundraising strategies/tactics for similar organizations.
- How do other similar organizations engage their social networks, including board members and volunteers, to support fundraising efforts?
Suggested Deliverable:
Prototype materials; Map/diagram/list of fundraising streams/sources. Presentation/discussion with industry mentor
-
May 2, 2022 - Develop a Comprehensive Strategy
- Based upon feedback on the prototype content, which messages and stories rise to the top for the purpose of fundraising efforts? Which ones should be refined and finalized?
- What are the most effective formats for communicating intended messages and stories? What channels to you suggest for reaching and communicating with the target audience segments?
- What do you see as an effective balance of fundraising strategies? What is a good mix for this organization, and why?
- What are your recommendations for the organization to engage their social networks, including board members and volunteers, to support the fundraising strategies you suggest? In other words, how can they mobilize and organize their networks to accomplish these goals and activities?
- How can the organization evaluate the strategy and their efforts?
Suggested Deliverable:
Fundraising Strategy Playbook & Presentation to industry mentor
Project Resources
Industry Mentors
Academic Mentors
Assigned Students
There are currently no students assigned.