Engine For Social Innovation

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Engine engages talented professionals on small teams to address the strategic challenges and unrealized opportunities of nonprofits.

ENGINE IN THE NEWS

Small engine, big change

by Suzy Frisch

in Twin Cities Business

Minneapolis-based Engine for Social Innovation brings together teams of young professionals from the business community to tackle projects for nonprofits.

Like many nonprofits, the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC) is plenty busy tending to its core mission: helping budding entrepreneurs prepare to open businesses. The staff of 25 runs the NDC’s small business resource centers, offers training programs in five languages for low-income Minnesotans, helps clients line up financing... READ MORE>>

NONPROFIT PARTNERS

We identify the needs of

non-profits, create teams of professionals and develop solutions.READ MORE>>

CORPORATE PARTNERS

We engage corporate stars in meaningful projects that foster personal and professional development.READ MORE>>

Engine for Social Innovation - Info_PoweredByEngine.com - 612-720-7022

Nonprofits

NONPROFIT SERVICES

Engine provided me with a unique opportunity to use my professional skills in a new and exciting way...I left our meetings energized, engaged and extremely motivated to do more.

- Sam Kemmimg - Project Leade r
As a nonprofit leader, what's on your wish list for your organization? When you think about when you are going to check things off that list, is the answer "When I have extra time"?At Engine, we work with you to take challenges off your plate and make the most of opportunities. We recruit the future leaders of business and the community to work on small teams to help you do more with less without burdening you, your staff or your budget.

NONPROFIT CLIENTS

We are currently working on projects for:

Children's Hospital

Finnegan's Foundation

GiveMN.org

Minnesota Jaycees

YMCA - Twin Cities

Engine Case Study - Conference Facilities.pdf

CORPORATIONS

CORPORATE SERVICES

It is amazing how much this group of professionals accomplished. Their individual commitment to a group effort and powerful contributions to the YMCA was magical... I can't thank this group enough for their invaluable insight, advice and counsel.

-Connie Rodosovich, GM,YMCA Camping Services
As a Corporate leader, whats your strategy to build the next generation of leaders for your company and our community? We've developed a model that engages your high-potential employees in skills- and leadership- development while also building the capacity of important nonprofits serving the community. Work with us to develop your employees into the leaders of the future.

CORPORATE CLIENTS

We are running several pilot programs in conjunction with leadership development and HR groups at corporations in the Twin Cities.

Please contact us for a list of our participating corporations.

Engine Case Study - Branch Awareness.pdf

GET STARTED

Engine for Participants

We are eager to connect with you about highly-impactful community activity. This is an opportunity to use your skills and energy in a way that fits your interests and schedule. Each project requires 10 hours per month for six months.

Engine for Corporations

We are eager to meet with corporate leaders, HR managers and those in charge of leadership development to help engage employees in:

Engine for Nonprofits

We would love a chance to meet with you to talk more about your work and ours. We often start with the question...

If you could duplicate yourself or someone on your staff, what challenge or project would you have that "clone" work on?

High-impact community activity

Leadership and skills-development through stretch assignments

Meaningful high-level peer networking

Participant FAQs 2011.pdf

Engine for Nonprofits 2011.pdf

Learn More - Corporations.pdf

APPLICATION>>

News

Small Engine, Big Change
in Twin Cities Business, April 2011by Suzy FrischMinneapolis-based Engine for Social Innovation brings together teams of young professionals from the business community to tackle projects for nonprofits.Like many nonprofits, the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC) is plenty busy tending to its core mission: helping budding entrepreneurs prepare to open businesses. The staff of 25 runs the NDCs small business resource centers, offers training programs in five languages for low-income Minnesotans, helps clients line up financing, and performs many other tasksand the organization isnt exactly flush with cash.That means lower-priority initiatives often sit on the back burner, waiting for the spare time or the financial resources necessary to get them done. So when Mike LaFave, vice president and chief operating officer, heard about a new entity that could affordably help NDC with a few long-awaited projects, he jumped at the chance.Not only would NDC have the opportunity to evaluate its training programs for entrepreneurs, the organization also would benefit from the varied opinions of diverse professionals instead of just one consultant.For six months ending in January, NDC teamed up with Engine for Social Innovation, a low-profit limited liability corporation (L3C). The L3C, which is a relatively new concept, is a for-profit entity with a socially beneficial purpose.Minneapolis-based Engine pulls together teams of young professionals who tackle short-term projects for nonprofits on their own time. Well-known companies Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, PwC (formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP), Cargill, and Target Corporation are on Engines ever-growing roster of corporate participants.When NDCs project wrapped up this winter, LaFave received an analysis of its training programs and how they compare to other courses across the country. In addition, the Engine group developed an evaluation tool for students and staff to assess each class, suggested ways to add more formal adult education to the programs, and proposed methods for synchronizing coursework for different cultural audiences.We were taking a little bit of a leap of faith by trying out this model, says LaFave. We were very impressed with the quality and depth in their work. There is material in their report that was very useful to us and that we will take advantage of.Another plus: Weve gotten exposure to this group of very talented people who came in and learned about our organization, and hopefully that will yield benefits down the road as well, says LaFave, who would consider hiring Engine again.Start Your EngineFormer U.S. Bank executive Jim Delaney started Engine in June 2010, aiming to provide skill-based volunteering that fills the gap between board service and short-term assistance like working in a soup kitchen.Engine meets both nonprofits and corporations needs by tackling capacity-building projects for organizations while offering professional development for employees, he says.To generate revenue for Engine, the nonprofit client pays $6,000 for the service it requestsabout 15 percent of the price an outside consultant would typically charge. Companies that provide team members pay Enginebetween $1,500 (pilot pricing to test Engine out) and $3,500 per person per projectfor the leadership and skill development employees receive while working on the project.Engine teams are comprised of seven peoplefive from corporations and two community participants who do not pay a fee.Each team member puts in an average of 10 hours of work per month, netting the nonprofit about 420 hours over a six-month period.Right before Engine officially incorporated, Delaney pulled together a team tasked with making YMCA Camp Ihduhapi more attractive to corporate clients, who can use the Loretto facilities as a conference and retreat center in the off-season.The team discovered that there was little awareness of the facilities among corporations and identified ways to change that. Among its suggestions were rebranding the facility for corporate clients, revamping its Web site, and including the size of the meeting space in marketing materialsall of which the Y is in the process of doing, says Connie Rodosovich, general manager of camping services for the Metropolitan Minneapolis YMCA.Skill-based volunteering has been around forever, but we act as the middle person between the for-profit and the nonprofit that wants assistance and facilitate project management, says Delaney. We make it easy for nonprofits and smart people from the corporate world to work together and solve these challenges.New York City-based PwCwhich has about 400 employees in Minnesotagot involved with Engine partly because it offers opportunities for young professionals to get deeply involved with and learn about a nonprofits board while working on a specific project, says Erika Kearney, director of marketing for PwC Minneapolis.PwC initially arranged for one employee to work on an Engine project. But the company has been so impressed with the employees experience and Engines operations that it plans to expand the opportunity to several employees a year.Were always looking for new and creative ways to get more involved with the community, says Kearney. Traditional volunteer work is very important, but there are other things we can be doing, especially for younger professionals. They wouldnt necessarily get the board exposure that Engine provides. To have that experience early in their career and have exposure to how nonprofits work and give them the opportunity to meet other professionals in the Twin Citiesthat is very valuable and unique. Engine in ActionIn addition to creating Engine, Delaney who was vice president of institutional business development at U.S. Bank helped start The LEAD Project, which trains young professionals for board service. He also served on the board of the YMCA and spent a year as interim executive director of Free Arts Minnesota.Through these varied experiences, he developed Engine's model as a way to make an immediate and lasting impact on nonprofits in partnership with local corporations.There is a whole generation of people wanting to get involved in the community, and they want to get involved in a way that uses their skills and their brain power to make a difference for nonprofits, Delaney says. They want to see the deliverable in the end, that the nonprofit was X better than it was when we started.That was the case for Taylor Larson, a strategy analyst at Minneapolis-based Thrivent who worked on the NDC project.A 2009 graduate of St. Olaf College who has always been passionate about social entrepreneurship and innovation, Larson was intrigued by the Engine model and attracted to doing skill-based volunteer work. Its something he had trouble finding, with organizations typically seeking the volunteer help of lawyers or accountants.Larson also liked the opportunity to take on a stretch assignment beyond his usual job duties.Its been a combination of what I do day-to-day and things Ive never done before, he says. I can bring some of my tools and perspectives and apply those to the situation and hone those. And then there are other parts of the project I havent come across yet and certain questions I havent had to answer in the workplace, but I might need to in the future.Kearney echoes Larson, adding that corporations enthusiastic employee volunteers can overwhelm a nonprofita good problem to have. But an entity like Engine can help companies find meaningful outlets for its staff to give back.And thats what Engine is all about: bridging the gap between corporations and professionals who want to give back meaningfully and the nonprofits that can always use their outside perspective, skills, and expertise for the greater good.

CONTACT

Contact 91 10th Street South Minneapolis, MN 55403

ph: 612.720.7022 info_poweredbyengine.com

James Delaney- Principal

JDelaney_PoweredByEngine.com

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