2025

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

HBS Community Partners of Connecticut

Community Partner’s (“CP”) mission is to enable HBS alumni to promote excellence in nonprofit leadership in CT through pro bono consulting, education, grant awards, and related initiatives that provide a rewarding opportunity to work together to benefit our community. We recognize that our success depends on the efforts and contributions of our volunteers. We want to express our appreciation to the 58 volunteers who helped to make 2025 another successful year.

ALUMNI VOLUNTEERS

Apply your business skills and career experience to help local nonprofits tackle their management challenges and opportunities.

Nonprofit Partners

Explore our advisory offerings, both several month consulting projects and single evening brainstorming sessions, tailored to your organization's needs.

consulting-overview

Lee Barnes Memorial Scholarship for Nonprofit Leaders

For over 20 years, CP has invited applications and granted scholarships to one or more CT nonprofit leaders to attend the Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management (SPNM) executive education program. This Executive Education course is an HBS Social Enterprise Initiative program that allows senior executives to examine their missions and develop strategies for the new global economy. It is an intensive six-day program taught by the HBS faculty. Over 150 nonprofit leaders worldwide, representing a wide range of nonprofit sectors, make up the student body. Over 29 of our state’s recognized best nonprofit leaders have attended this program and unanimously report that SPNM was the most “outstanding executive education experience of their entire careers.” This year we launched
a bi-monthly roundtable where past SPNM attendees reconnect, exchange ideas, and share both
challenges and best-practice solutions.

The 2026 Lee Barnes Memorial Scholarship for Nonprofit Leaders Recipients were Rachel Kornfeld, CEO of Jewish Family Services of Greenwich, and Sabina Smeltz, CEO of Wakeman Boys & Girls Club.

Jewish Family Services of Greenwich (JFS) is a nonprofit human services agency committed to strengthening individuals and families across Connecticut through behavioral health, food security, immigration support, and community-based care. Serving children, adults, and older adults of all backgrounds, JFS delivers comprehensive, trauma-informed services designed to meet people where they are.

Since 2019, JFS has rapidly expanded into a regional provider, delivering over 65,000 moments of care annually through its Bennett Center for Behavioral Health and community partnerships in schools and local organizations. With a growing presence in Fairfield and New London Counties, including a satellite location in Norwich, JFS is a trusted leader in accessible, high-quality care.

Wakeman Boys & Girls Club (WBGC) guides and inspires young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible individuals. Through a focus on Academic Success, Character & Leadership, Health & Wellbeing, and Life & Workforce Readiness, WBGC provides academic support, mentorship, enrichment, and career pathways that help youth succeed in school, graduate, and prepare for college or the workforce.

WBGC currently serves 6,900 youth ages 3–18 across five sites in Bridgeport and Fairfield, including two Clubhouses and three school-based locations. The opening of the Madison Avenue Clubhouse in 2023 and the addition of an Early Learning Center in 2024 expanded services to support youth from early childhood through high school graduation. Programs operate year-round, offering after-school, extended teen hours, school break coverage, and a nine-week summer camp.

HBS Community Partners plans to invite scholarship applications for the 2027 SPNM program in February. Please direct your questions to our Awards Committee  [email protected].

consulting-overview

Robert Whitby Turbo Award

The Robert Whitby Turbo Award was granted with the generous support of our lead sponsor DR Bank. The Turbo Award aims to catalyze or “turbocharge” a local nonprofit by launching a new initiative or improving an existing program. It is open to all Connecticut nonprofits.

We are thrilled to announce Generation S.O.S. as the winner of the 2024 Robert Whitby Turbo Award. This award helped S.O.S. create the Video Library Program featuring teen and young adult speakers of all socioeconomic backgrounds from across the country, sharing their stories about how they struggled with and overcame their challenges with mental health, social pressures, and substance abuse.

Congratulations also go to the Fairfield Museum and History Center, our runner-up, which will receive a special recognition prize for its inspiring contributions to preserving and sharing local history. This award helped Fairfield Museum and History Center’s new program to provide free hands-on educational field trips for Bridgeport students in grades 6-8.

DR Bank is a Connecticut state-chartered and FDIC member bank that offers a comprehensive suite of products and services, including fintech sponsor banking, commercial lending, commercial cash management, and digital banking throughout the region.

How We Help

CONSULTING

The demand for CP traditional consulting services throughout CT continued to be strong: we completed 15 consulting projects. Clients included agencies focused on empowering those in need with nutrition, housing, mental health, immigration, and self-sufficiency; providing crisis and supportive services for victims of domestic violence; preserving endangered species; and delivering fresh meat, vegetables, bread, canned goods, and boxed foods to food pantries. 2026 begins with 7 projects either underway or about to begin.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming sessions are ninety minutes long and designed to address a tactical challenge. Two agencies requested brainstorming sessions in 2025.

Working Sessions

In 2025, we held working sessions for three clients seeking to build board consensus on strategic issues, answer strategic questions on growth, identify

Robert Whitby Turbo Award

The 2024 Robert Whitby Turbo Award was granted to Generation S.O.S. A secondary award was granted to the Fairfield Museum and History Center. The Turbo Award aims to catalyze or turbocharge” a local nonprofit by launching a new initiative or improving an existing program. It is open to all Connecticut nonprofits. We are thankful for the generous support of DR Bank, which enables us to make this $ 20,000 grant.

Case Method Approach

In June 2025, HBS Community Partners (HBSCP) completed its second successful pilot of a new consulting format inspired by the Harvard Business School case method. This approach mirrors the dynamic classroom discussions at the heart of HBS pedagogy and continues to prove its value for both alumni participants and nonprofit clients. The client was the Andrew Shaw Memorial Trust (ASMT), which oversees scouting in Darien, Connecticut. In the face of nationwide declines in scouting participation, ASMT sought strategic guidance tailored to its local context. Four HBSCP team members created the case materials, and an additional 14 alumni joined the project to submit written recommendations and participate in the Zoom session.

Lee Barnes Memorial SPNM AWARD

CP awarded the 2026 Lee Barnes Memorial Scholarship for Nonprofit Leaders to Rachel Kornfeld, CEO of JFS of Greenwich, and Sabina Smeltz, CEO of Wakeman Boys & Girls Club, so they could attend the Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management (SPNM) executive education program. This six-day program taught by the HBS faculty allows senior executives to examine their missions and develop strategies for the new global economy.

OUR IMPACT

In 2025, 58 HBS alumni volunteers made significant contributions to strengthen the nonprofit community, sharing their business skills with leaders of local organizations. We worked for a total of 5000 hours of Pro Bono consulting and workshops, creating an estimated value of  $2.3 million. Out of the 20 clients benefited from our work, 100% said the projects had an impact, with 82% reporting significant or highly significant impact.  All of them said they would recommend CP to their non-profit friends.

impact

5000

HOURS

Pro Bono consulting and brainstorming projects .

100%

CLIENTS

Report Projects had impact with 82% reporting Significant or Highly Significant Impact

20

PROJECTS

Benefited from our pro bono consulting services.

58

VOLUNTEERS

Volunteered for pro bono consulting and Skills Gap Initiative activities.

Testimonials