Capstone – Project
Expanding The Mentor Project’s Initiatives and Reach
A Collaboration Between
The Mentor Project is a newly established nonprofit international organization whose mission is to connect leaders in STEM, arts, business, and law with students around the world to establish mentoring relationships to have meaningful impacts on individuals, communities, and societies. Currently operating in Argentina, Russia, and the United States, and recently establishing partnerships in Cambodia and Tanzania. The Mentor Project is now looking for additional opportunities for geographic expansion by exploring opportunities in India. The organization is also interested in developing existing and new initiatives as they would appeal to this market. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, finance and regulation (e.g. cryptocurrency and alternative investments), macroeconomics and social policy (e.g. structural inequality), agricultural and rural development, and social issues (e.g. education and literacy).
Project Topics
Growth Strategy
Marketing
Reporting, Financial Planning & Analysis
Research & Development
Company Information
| Company | The Mentor Project |
| HQ | N/A |
| Revenue | Unlisted |
| Employees | Unlisted |
| Stage | Small Business |
| Hiring Potential | N/A |
| Website | https://www.mentorproject.org/ |
Company Overview
The Mentor Project is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Our mentors are experts in science, technology, engineering, the arts, mathematics, business, and law. From developing a patent on how to use credit cards on the Internet to insights on space exploration and astronomy, to titans of industry and world-class technologists, TMP mentors share their skills and knowledge to inspire and guide their mentees. Our mentors work one-on-one in classrooms, virtually, on podcasts, on television, and in collaborative hackathons. Learning is fun yet challenging with patenting competitions and research. Mentees can view videos on topics from our extensive content library, ask questions via our "Ask a Mentor" program, get connected with a 1:1 mentor, and join teams to work with other mentor groups. Spanning the globe, our mentor-led projects provide mentees the opportunity to collaborate worldwide.
Experiential Learning Program Details
| School | Dr. D Y Patil B School (DPU) |
| Engagement Format | - |
| Course | DPU Student Consulting Experience |
| Level |
|
| Students Enrolled | 127 |
| Meeting Day & Time | TBD |
| Student Time Commitment | 8-15 Hours Per Week |
| Company Time Commitment | 2 Hours |
| Duration | 7.14 Weeks |
Program Timeline
Key Project Milestones
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August 3, 2021 - Deep Dive into The Mentor Project
- What are the mission, values, and prioritized issues of the organization?
- What is the scope and size of the organization?
- Who are the members and contributors?
- What does the organization do? How would you describe their programs and activities?
- Who are the direct beneficiaries of their efforts and services?
- What are their key initiatives, current and planned?
- How is organizational success measured?
Suggested Deliverable:
Internal report
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August 18, 2021 - Assess the Market Demand for this Non-Profit in India
- How would you describe and differentiate between the different segments of the community that would likely benefit from TMP’s efforts and services directly and indirectly?
- Which ones are likely to benefit most directly from the organization’s activities?
- Suggestion: create a concentric diagram to illustrate the potential impact on different segments of the community.
- What information do you need to collect and analyze to better understand each of the subgroups identified in the step above?
- For instance, what are their needs and interests?
- To what extent do these align with TMP’s mission, services, and activities?
- Do they currently have access to institutions to meet those needs? What are the gaps in access?
- How could their mission and/or goals be furthered by TMP’s efforts?
- Suggestion: identify key criteria and create a table to facilitate your analysis.
- Considering the broader social, educational, and political environment:
- Is there support for this organization’s strategies or theory of change to achieve impact?
- Who are key voices with respect to the organization’s issue in the local, state, and federal government?
- Are there networks that TMP could engage to raise awareness to the organization and promote involvement and adoption?
Suggested Deliverable:
Report & Presentation on findings to obtain feedback from organization
- How would you describe and differentiate between the different segments of the community that would likely benefit from TMP’s efforts and services directly and indirectly?
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September 1, 2021 - Research & Identify Prospective Initiatives
- Establish criteria for identifying and prioritizing prospective initiatives. Suggestions include:
- Is it consistent with The Mentor Project’s (TMP) mission, goals and scope?
- In what ways is it differentiated from other TMP initiatives?
- Does it address complex issues affecting the region from a positivist approach?
- Is there a demonstrated gap/need? If other nonprofits are addressing these issues systematically, how can TMP add to the knowledge and understanding about these issues?
- Would it include key objectives of sharing and promoting the use of evidence to address these complex issues?
- Would this likely enable The Mentor Project to achieve a greater impact in this geographic area?
- Conduct research to gather information to conduct a comparative analysis of prospective initiatives.
- Narrow your focus to 2-3 initiatives based upon your comparative analysis. Be prepared to explain why these were chosen for consideration.
Suggested Deliverable:
Report and presentation on analysis, findings, and recommendations for 2-3 prospective initiatives.
- Establish criteria for identifying and prioritizing prospective initiatives. Suggestions include:
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September 15, 2021 - Make Recommendations for The Mentor Project's Expansion
- What are your 1-2 concrete recommendations for The Mentor Project’s geographic expansion, and why?
- Particular regions or institutions that you recommend they target?
- Certain networks you suggest they engage?
- Recommended approaches to encourage engagement and adoption?
- Which initiative do you consider a best fit for launching such an expansion, and why?
- What are the concrete next steps to implementing the expansion plan?
Suggested Deliverable:
Report and Slideshow Presentation on targeted set of recommendations for expansion
- What are your 1-2 concrete recommendations for The Mentor Project’s geographic expansion, and why?
