A Brisbane charity is pursuing plans for growth after receiving advice and support from MBA students at The University of Queensland Business School.
GIVIT – which runs an online service allowing people with unwanted goods to donate them to those in need – is implementing a corporate funding strategy devised by the students.
The project was part of the School’s Social Economic Engagement Program (SEEP), which allows MBA students to develop their leadership capability by working with not-for-profit organisations.
GIVIT is run by volunteers and has grown rapidly since it was established in 2009 by Juliette Wright, and with demand for its services far exceeding the funding available, Juliette contacted
UQ Business School for help to create a corporate funding strategy.
A team of four MBA students - Bridget Delahunty, Daniel Yates, Harman Jolly and Andrew McGhee – spent five months working on the project before presenting their recommendations to the GIVIT board.
SEEP program director Associate Professor Neil Paulsen said GIVIT’s growth aspirations were limited by its funding.
“The group explored two key options - a corporate sponsorship campaign and a grassroots fundraising campaign,” Associate Professor Neil Paulsen said.
“The board was extremely impressed with the work and some of the recommendations have been implemented immediately, in particular employing a fundraising manager to focus on corporate fundraising to allow Juliette to focus on her role as CEO.”
Juliette Wright said the UQ Business School had been supportive of GIVIT’s mission.
“While we have been working on the challenge together, GIVIT’s future has been positively influenced and it is delivering a clear strategic direction for us,” she said.
Other current SEEP projects include work for Y-Care, Joining Hands, Mummy’s Wish, Yalari, Lily House and The Edmund Rice Foundation.
Dr Paulsen added: “Working at the grass roots level, students gain invaluable knowledge and experience to understand how the 'non-for-profit' world operates.
“The SEEP program challenges students to develop their leadership capability while giving something back to the community,” he said.
About UQ Business School
The University of Queensland Business School is independently ranked as one of the top business schools in Australia and amongst the leading institutions worldwide. Based in Brisbane, it brings together over 130 subject experts with over 7,500 students and offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs and executive education across the range of business disciplines.
UQ Business School is renowned internationally for the quality of its research and also provides contract research and consultancy services to organisations throughout the world. The teaching – research – consultancy loop is central to its success, ensuring that the School maintains its position at the forefront of academic knowledge while staying closely attuned to modern business requirements. For further information see www.business.uq.edu.au
Fast facts
UQ Business School was the first in Australia to meet the standards of the world’s two most influential accrediting bodies - the US-based AACSB International and Europe’s EQUIS.
Its MBA program has been ranked number 1 in Australia and Asia Pacific by The Economist, identifying it as the leading MBA outside of Europe and North America.
The MBA program has also been ranked number 1 in Australia by the Financial Review BOSS MBA survey.
Has been ranked in the world’s top 50 universities for executive education by the Financial Times.
The MBA course has been awarded the highest possible rating of five stars for nine years running by Australia’s most influential rating body, the GMAA
.jpg?itok=isSo-L2d)
