PROJECT INQUIRIES

Working With Community Partners

When nonprofits seek results-oriented advice, they turn to us for pro bono assistance. What we offer is unmatched: thoughtful analysis, actionable solutions that are tailored to the needs of each client organization and delivered free of charge by teams of Harvard Business School alumni.

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.

We Offer Four Distinct Types Of Pro Bono Assistance

Brainstorming Sessions

A two hour, high-energy meeting of 4 or more alumni volunteers, guided by an experienced moderator and gathered together to address a clearly-defined challenge or opportunity. Our alumni team session includes leaders from the client organization. Team Leader delivers a post-session summary of recommendations made to our client organization.

Duration:

  • 2 Hours, One Event

Traditional Consulting Projects

A well-structured and comprehensive project lasting approximately three or four months, with a Team Leader working closely with the Executive Director and key staff of the nonprofit. Our work is anchored by a customized, phased project plan, including interim meetings and a final report and presentation of the team’s findings and recommendations.

Duration:

  • 2-3 Hours Per Week, 3-4 Months

Client Working Sessions

A series of meetings over a 2-3 month period with the client board or task force to get alignment or direction on a specific issue. Meetings structured and led by the CP team, with work between the sessions by the task force and CP team.

Duration:

  • 3-4 Sessions, 2 Hours

Mini-Projects

Generally reserved for past clients or smaller nonprofits. Address a specific question – CP team researches and advises on the client’s question in a one-time meeting.

Duration:

  • 1 Session, 2 Hours:

What Our Clients Say About Our Work

scholarship

Lee Barnes Memorial Scholarship for Non-Profit Leaders

For each of the past 20 years, the Harvard Business School Club of Connecticut Community Partners has invited applications and granted scholarships to Connecticut nonprofit leaders to attend the Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management executive education program (SPNM). Click this LINK to learn more about SPNM.

Some 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”. The SPNM program is an intensive 6-day program taught by the Harvard Business School faculty. Over 150 nonprofit leaders from around the world, representing a wide range of nonprofit sectors, make up the student body.

In 2021, we renamed our scholarship to honor Lee Barnes, one of the most significant contributors to the success of Community Partners. During the 16 years Lee worked with us, he volunteered on 42% of our projects and 53% of our volunteers worked on at least one project with him.

We will be accepting scholarship applications for the 2027 SPNM program beginning in February, 2027. A fill-in application can be downloaded by clicking below on “Application”. Please complete the application and then email it to [email protected].  Be sure to get a confirmation from us of receipt.  Feel free to use that email to contact us with any questions and/or to introduce yourself.

There are only 2 prerequisites:
• Applicants must have served as Executive Director or Chief Executive Officer of their organization for at least 1 year, and have at least 10 years of professional experience.
• Their organization must be of significant scale and complexity, generally an annual budget in excess of $1 Million.

scholarship

Robert Whitby Scholarship for Performance and Innovation

Beginning in 2027, Harvard Business School Club of Connecticut Community Partners will begin inviting applications for scholarships to attend the Harvard Business School’s Driving Nonprofit Performance and Innovation executive education program (DNPI), a one week Virtual program.  Click this LINK to learn more about DNPI.

Performance measurement is essential for innovation, learning, and success. As a nonprofit, identifying the ideal assessment metrics is a complex task—especially for organizations tackling some of society’s biggest challenges.

Driving Nonprofit Performance and Innovation—Virtual, presented jointly with HBS Social Enterprise Initiative and the Harvard Kennedy School, fosters critical and conceptual thinking around performance measurement. You will learn how to implement a stronger performance management strategy that aligns with your mission and positions your organization to achieve its objectives.

We will be accepting scholarship applications for the 2027 DNPI program beginning in January, 2027. A fill-in application can be downloaded by clicking below on “Application”. Please complete the application and then email it to [email protected].  Be sure to get a confirmation from us of receipt.  Feel free to use that email to contact us with any questions and/or to introduce yourself.

There are only 2 prerequisites:
• Applicants should be CEOs, presidents, executive directors, board members, and other senior executives in nonprofit organizations who are committed to improving performance measurement and management and have been in their current position for at least 1 year, and have at least 10 years of professional experience.
• Their organization must be of significant scale and complexity, generally an annual budget in excess of $1 Million.

Application