14 Non Profit Organizations to Receive Pro Bono Strategy Consulting in Morgan Stanley’s Annual Strategy Challenge. Follow and join the conversation on Twitter with #StrategyChallenge
This month, Morgan Stanley is proud to announce that its pro bono strategy consulting volunteer project, the Strategy Challenge, has kicked off its seventh year in the US and its second year in the UK. Over the next eight weeks, teams of Morgan Stanley volunteers will consult with leaders at 14 nonprofit organizations to help solve challenges their organizations are facing. Joan Steinberg, Head of Global Philanthropy at Morgan Stanley, took some time to answer some of the top questions we get each year regarding this signature volunteer event.
1. Why did Morgan Stanley create the Strategy Challenge and what is its mission?
At Morgan Stanley, we know our greatest asset is our people and the strategic thinking they bring to our clients every day. Harnessing that strategic thinking and pairing it with the firm’s core value of Giving Back, we developed the Strategy Challenge to give our employees an opportunity to use their professional skills to profoundly impact the communities in which we live and work.
2. What opportunities does Strategy Challenge offer community nonprofits?
Nonprofits receive pro bono strategic consulting on a key strategic issue that will ultimately help them increase their impact. Each nonprofit is delivered a board-ready presentation that provides them with practical implementation steps and tools for future analysis and decision-making around key challenges. Through the Strategy Challenge, nonprofits also build their relationship with Morgan Stanley and our employees, as well as gain exposure to other organizations.
3. Which nonprofits will Morgan Stanley be working with this year?
This year, Morgan Stanley has selected 14 nonprofits who will receive pro bono consulting. Five of these nonprofits are London-based and nine are in New York. Each nonprofit will work with one of 14 teams of four Morgan Stanley employees. These nonprofits are doing outstanding work already which is worth reading about.
4. What divisions within Morgan Stanley do the employee volunteers represent?
The Morgan Stanley teams consist of Associates or Vice Presidents (mid-level managers) in divisions across the firm, as well as a Managing Director (our highest level officer) advisor. The cross-divisional and cross-level make up of each team is representative of the type of collaboration that is inherent to the way we work together as a firm. This year, participating employees come from the following 14 divisions and represent a wide diversity of skills and experiences:
5. How can we keep up with the latest conversation and developments around the Challenge?
This year marks the second year of the Strategy Challenge blog, which is a great way for those interested in the program to stay up to date on the activities of the Morgan Stanley teams and their nonprofit partners, their processes for working together to solve critical challenges, and the final analyses and recommendations our employee volunteers provide each nonprofit. We will also be providing updates on Twitter @MorganStanley with the hashtag #StrategyChallenge, so follow and join the conversation!
Since the launch of Morgan Stanley’s US Strategy Challenge in 2009, the program has cumulatively delivered more than 45,000 hours of service to 77 non-profit organizations, providing charities with significant assistance while giving valuable skills training to 400 Morgan Stanley employees. Learn more about the Strategy Challenge and its impact..
