Alisa's Angels x Eller | Alisa's Angels

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Our partnership with the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management has been instrumental in the growing success of the foundation.

We are beyond honored to be welcomed into the Eller Community and work with the Eller Student Consultants over the past few years. Their research and recommendations have helped us transform from a solely volunteer-based foundation to a sustainable and inclusive scholarship and mentoring provider for the Arizona Community who now has a full-time executive director and part-time communications manager.

To all the incredible Eller Consultants: you will forever be part of the Alisa’s Angel's family.

Bear down!

- Alisa's Angels Foundation

Eller Consultant Projects

Fall 2019

Paid Employee VS Supported Organization Feasibility Study

Fall 2020

Eliminating Unintended
Biases

Fall 2021

Designing an efficient and sustainable mentorship program

Eller Students with Kirk and Liz Wallendorf

Eller Project - Fall 2019

Fall 2019

Project Scope

AAF is at an important place in its growth cycle to consider the next steps for securing the future of the organization. There are several factors involved in facilitating this growth that will also ensure the founder’s original purpose in creating the organization is upheld throughout the process. Students will research two potential strategies for ensuring the future sustainability of AAF. These two initiatives are an important undertaking, as the relationship between the founders, board members, volunteers, donors, and scholarship applicants will all be impacted. As consultants, student teams will select a focus area below to serve as their work stream for the consulting project.

1. Paid Employee Feasibility Study

One initiative that AAF is considering is hiring its first paid employee. Student teams will research the best practices for nonprofit organizations as they hire their first paid employee. Students will research best practices for the following, as AAF considers hiring its first paid employee:

Ideal role (Executive Director, Donor Development, Office Manager, etc.)
Potential positive and negative impacts to AAF
Changes to the organizational structure of AAF
Job duties based on the needs of AAF
Necessary skills of potential employee
Full or part time position
Salary requirements
Impact to stakeholders in Tucson and Colorado
Messaging to various stakeholders (potential candidates, board members, and donors)
Readiness of AAF

The expected project progress is outlined in the chart below:

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2. Supported Organization Feasibility Study

Another initiative that AAF is considering is the potential of becoming a supported organization of a larger foundation. Students will research best practices for the following, as AAF considers becoming a supported organization:

Which supporting organizations in Southern Arizona would be ideal for AAF to partner with?
What are the criteria to become a supported organization for the identified supporting

organizations?
Potential positive and negative impacts to AAF
Changes to the organizational structure of AAF
Impact to stakeholders in Tucson and Colorado
Messaging to various stakeholders (potential candidates, board members, and donors)
Readiness of AAF

The expected project progress is outlined in the chart below:

Eller Project - Fall 2020

Fall 2020

Project Scope

AAF knows that it is extremely important for the organization to attract a diverse pool of scholarship applicants. AAF scholarships are open to all who wish to apply, no matter their gender, gender identity, religion, race, color, country of origin, or sexual orientation. Over the past 15 years, AAF has noticed applicants for its scholarships predominantly identify as female. AAF would like to better understand if there is something in its branding, messaging, outreach, or other approaches to connecting with potential applicants, that should be modified in order to attract more diverse applicants. This research comes at an optimal time as AAF is in the process of revising its brand strategy to better tell its story as an organization.

This project will explore how AAF communicates with two distinct stakeholder groups:

Scholarship applicants (applicants that were not selected to receive a scholarship)
Scholarship recipients

Students should explore the following research areas:

What are the best practices for eliminating bias in organizational branding and messaging?
Are there unintended biases in the branding and messaging at AAF that may deter diverse

applicants from applying?
What are the best messages and platforms to attract a diverse group of applicants?
Do AAF’s current outreach efforts (website, Facebook, listing in national scholarship

databases, and outreach to high school counselors) reach a diverse population of students?
How do applicants and recipients learn about AAF scholarships?
What attracted applicants and recipients to apply for an AAF scholarship?
What impressions do applicants and recipients have of AAF as an organization?
What area high schools do applicants and recipients attend?
What community services areas do applicants and recipients engage in?
How can AAF better connect with the largest number of diverse potential applicants?

The expected project progress is outlined in the chart below:

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Deliverables

Eller Project - Fall 2021

Fall 2021

Project Scope

AAF has been successful in formalizing its scholarship program and has built an internal structure that allows the organization to measure its success. However, the mentorship program has been more informal and lacks the structure that allows AAF to measure key performance indicators and evaluate its success.

Student consultants will identify best practices for analyzing and designing mentorship strategies that include messaging and promotional strategies to reach professionals that would be willing to volunteer as a mentor to AAF’s mentees. AAF would like to target individuals from its past scholarship recipient community, as well as external business professionals that may be willing to provide their professional skill sets to the mentorship program. Student consultants will research the following questions:

What are the best practices used by successful mentorship programs to recruit mentors?
What are the primary reasons people serve as mentors?
What are the key messages AAF should use to align and resonate with potential mentors?
What are the best channels AAF should use to promote its mentorship program

opportunities to potential mentors?