Hopkins' new club, Students Consulting for Non-Profit Organizations, aims to help various non-profit organizations in Baltimore become more efficient and effective by directly address their needs.
The development of the chapter at Hopkins began last semester through the efforts of current president, junior Julie Ufford. Over the past summer Ufford worked as an intern for the JHU Office of Sustainability.
Ufford was part of a team that worked with non-profits in Baltimore to provide energy and sustainability building audits. The team was able to help various organizations save money.
"I enjoyed working with the people in the non-profit sector, and it was very satisfying to help the organizations save money that could be directed to their mission," Ufford said.
Julie's brother was a prominent member of SCNO at Northwestern, and one of the members responsible for turning it into a national organization.
"SCNO traditionally does business consulting for non-profits," Ufford said. "I had the idea to continue my work from this summer in a setting like SCNO, while also preserving SCNO's traditional types of projects."
She established the chapter of SCNO at Hopkins last fall, and by November had seven members and sponsorship from the Center for Social Concern and the Center for Leadership Education. The club currently has 15 members, which are divided into three teams.
Each team has their own project, each of which typically lasts a semester. Projects have included marketing, finance, organizational development, IT and other business consulting. including an energy efficiency assessment, a marketing project and a business plan. Each team met with their clients to ascertain the scope of their projects, with hopes to complete the projects by the end of April. "At Hopkins, we are trying to develop a new emphasis on sustainable business. This pertains to our energy/sustainability specialized teams, as well as our overall focus as we work with non-profits. Our goal is to make recommendations that improve the longevity and effectiveness of the organizations we work with," Ufford said.
Executive board officers work with the Center for Leadership Education and market SCNO to the Baltimore community and potential clients. Non-profit organizations submit applications explaining their needs, and SCNO matches them with a team of their members able to help.
SCNO also serves as a networking community, and alumni usually go on to work for professional consulting firms and can provide guidance to current members. There is a national conference scheduled for April, which will provide a great opportunity to network with undergraduates at other universities.
"At the moment, all of these members also serve on teams. As president I have been taking on most of the tasks necessary to track progress and keep the group alive, so I am not a part of one of the teams. As the group grows, certain jobs will become too big for me to do alone and other executive positions will become full time positions in the future. Many members of the E-boards at other schools do not work on projects but oversee the group as a whole," Ufford said.
Current members will be focused on their projects for this semester, but SCNO will be recruiting new members in the fall. SCNO will seek students interested in consulting, helping the community or collaborating with non-profit organizations. Also, the club aims to form an technology team to work with non-profits referred to them by Bootup Baltimore, another student group at Hopkins.
"I think SCNO is particularly special because it gives students a chance to interact with the Baltimore community in a positive way," Ufford said. "There is a serious disconnect between Homewood students and Baltimore residents. SCNO allows students to use their knowledge and talents constructively, and educates them about their community. My hope is that as the group grows, our influence will make visible differences and improve relations between Hopkins and Baltimore."
SCNO was created in 2011 and is currently at 11 different college campuses, including Hopkins.
