Triangle students give their skills to benefit nonprofits

Central North Carolina

August 2010

We met Micro-Consulting for North Carolina co-founder Deep Mehtaji at the NCTech4Good conference early this summer, and we're looking forward to using this great new resource. But, it's more than just a resource -- it's former students helping current students give back to their communities, by arranging pro-bono projects that benefit local nonprofits. Check it out!


"Students offer free consulting for nonprofits" (Philanthropy Journal)

 CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- About a year ago, four students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University were thinking out loud about the limited opportunities for students to get internships at big consulting firms that would give them the kind of high-yield projects they would need to land good permanent jobs.

 Their solution was to form their own nonprofit consulting firm, and to target the nonprofit market, one they believe needs consulting services and provides an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

 “We thought we could combine these two needs to make a solution where students can get experience from real-life consulting doing something they can use, and nonprofits can get cheap solutions to their problems,” says Sid Patel, a co-founder of Micro-Consulting for North Carolina, or MCforNC.
 
In its first year, the firm signed up roughly two-dozen students and completed 13 projects for 12 nonprofits.
 
Student consultants, who apply online and then are assessed based on their interests, expertise and class schedules, work 10 hours a week on average, with teams of two to three consultants typically working for a nonprofit client.
 
Consultants who show substantial leadership qualities after working on several projects typically become project managers on their third project, says Patel, who graduated this year with a bachelor’s of science degree in biology and now is working in a research lab at the School of Medicine at UNC.
 
The firm does not charge a consultant fee but does charge a one-time administrative fee of $50.
 
 
 
NCGives is the proud sponsor for the Giving & Community section of the Philanthropy Journal.

 

Comments

Leave Your Comment


Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Gifts Included

Talent

Armed with business, technical and marketing skills, these young people provide consulting services to nonprofits as a way to get consulting experience and to bolster the nonprofit community.

Time

Students from Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State donate their time to help local nonprofits solve marketing, technical and other kinds of challenges.

Learn how you can help strengthen your community's giving story.

Learn How You Can Participate

Resources

MCforNC

Micro-Consulting for North Carolina connects student consultants with nonprofits to create sustainable solutions and build technical skills.