Blog | HBS Community Partners

3 lessons that non-profits can learn from AirBnB in this crisis

by JC Velten - May 13, 2020

Last week, Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of AirBnB, wrote a thoughtful, inspirational letter to all his employees. This letter was a statement of what AirBnB stands for, and a testament to the creative energy and hard work of all employees, which has resulted into what AirBnB is today. He used powerful words like belonging, … Continued

Four areas to make the post-Covid-19 afterlife viral

by Jim Warshell - May 8, 2020

In the rush to return to “normal” and escape the Covid-19 self quarantine, perhaps we should be asking what part of “normal” we are in a hurry to return to and what elements of the “new normal” actually provide an interesting or better alternative. Taking the opposite path from George Bernard Shaw’s quote: “There are … Continued

Rising to the COVID-19 Crisis Challenge

by Elaine MacDonald - April 30, 2020

It is hard to imagine that “the world as we know it” turned upside down just six weeks ago (at least in the Bay Area), and things will never be the same again. During these past six weeks, COVID-19 has upended the social impact space – like a surprise punch in the gut – creating … Continued

Welcome to our blog: A space to inspire!

by Elaine MacDonald - April 28, 2020

Welcome to our HBS Community Partners of Northern California blog – a place where alumni can share reflections and stories inspired by the social needs of our time. Introducing this blog amid the COVID-19 crisis feels apropos, as it is a time when all of us are taking the forced pause to reflect on our … Continued

Customer Impact

The outcomes of the brainstorm gave me excellent next steps – already started mapping some things with our associate director later that afternoon. We were able to validate some of our own assumptions, hear fresh and new ideas, and zero in on a particular organizational inefficiency that continues to cause challenge. Thank you and the HBS Community Partners program for again moving our organization forward in meaningful ways.

- Sonja Palmer – Executive Director, Music for Minors
We were thrilled and deeply grateful to have HBS Community Partners’ strategic input and business acumen to assist No Bully to advance our mission of bringing schools solutions to bullying. We enjoyed every minute working with our entire HBS Community Partners team, who were lovely to work with on both a personal and professional level. Thank you so very much for this opportunity.

Therese Wilson, COO, No Bully
This is a tremendous service you offer and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We learned a tremendous amount and were blown away by the group’s energy, passion, and enthusiasm for our work and our mission to work with people in reentry, their families, and supporters.

Katherine Katcher — Founder and Executive Director, Root & Rebound
The work we did with HBS alumni helped focus our organization on the important work of branding and story-telling and we have made it an internal priority! Thank you for organizing such a great group of people to help us out.

Maggee VanSpeybroeck, Executive Director, Cypress String Quartet
I cannot tell you how energizing it is to have so many smart people in one room who have nothing but innovation and thoughtful creativity on their minds. Each alumnus added a different, practical perspective and were all keenly engaged in the topic at hand.

Anne Marie Noonan, Founder & President The Avalon Academy
The HBS team exceeded our expectations in every way. Its work developing a dynamic positioning statement for us, and locating local agencies interested in working with us to execute initial logo design and usage guidelines, will have a major impact on our small non-profit organization.

Parker Monroe, Executive Director, New Century Chamber Orchestra
Working with Harvard Community Partners was an incredible gift to our whole organization. We learned a new vocabulary and a new process for approaching planning. The CP team opened our eyes to possibilities that we never would have considered otherwise. It is hard to imagine a more considerate, generous and thoughtful team.

Simone Marean, Executive Director, Girls Leadership Institute
Thank you each and all for guiding us to this exciting moment where we have the opportunity (and impetus and catalyst) to work towards cohesion and clarity so that we may become the organization that we can be– and make the impact that we will all be proud of! I am truly energized and strengthened by our engagement. Thank you for sharing your time and talent with us!

Fay Zenoff, Executive Director, National Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Addictions - Bay Area
The team that you composed for us was excellent and the work that they presented was so on-point, applicable and thoughtfully prepared. I could not be more impressed and grateful. Thank you, so very much!

Margi English, Executive Director, St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco
The outcome of the project was more than we hoped for. Given the opportunity, any organization would be well served to engage in the HBS Community program.

Mervyn Regan, President, The Dipsea Race Foundation