Business Consulting

LeBow College's Business Consulting Program links exceptional business students with top nonprofit organizations. Students get the opportunity to apply their business knowledge, skills and experience, upholding the Drexel tradition of career-integrated education to promote positive contributions to local communities.

Participating students get the opportunity to:

• Apply educational and co-op experiences to real-life issues and situations
• Operate as a responsible, private consulting group and perform client presentations
• Enhance teambuilding skills in management and decision-making processes
• Engage problem solving and project management skills to define and recommend solutions for community-based challenges
• Review, reflect upon and meet personal and team-based objectives

Since its inception, more than 100 organizations have engaged the skill and creativity of thousands of Drexel business students to tackle real-world issues, including:

• The Boys & Girls Club
• Morris Animal Refuge
• Mummer's Museum
• Philadelphia Urban League
• Ralston House
• The Salvation Army
• United Way
• YMCA of Philadelphia

Services that Business Consulting students provide include:

Accounting/Taxation: Auditing, Budget Analysis, Cash Management, Data Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Information Reporting, Management Systems, Receivables Management, and Surveys/Studies

Economics: Economic Planning, Examination of Resources, Forecasting for Changing Policies, Growth and Development, Statistical Analysis of Data Sources, and Surveys

Finance: Cost-effectiveness Analysis, Expenditure Control, Evaluation and Financing of New Projects, Evaluation of Alternative Methods of Financing, and Forecasting and Budgeting

Human Resources: Analysis, Communication and Feedback Systems, Compensation, Compliance Control, Development and Training, Planning, Recruitment Strategy, and Staffing/Organizational Issues.

Information Systems: Data Analysis, Database Development, Internet Marketing, Management Reporting Systems, Systems Analysis, and Web Site Design

Management: Assessments, Business Plans, Fiscal Planning, Grant Proposals, Strategic Analysis, and Surveys

Marketing: Advertising, Fundraising, Strategic Planning, New Product Development, Planning and Analysis, Public Relations, and Research

Operations Management: Operations Research, Planning and Controlling, Systems Analysis, and Work Standard Analysis

Business Consulting in Action - Project SHINE

Project SHINE, a nonprofit providing educational services on the naturalization process for older immigrants in Philadelphia and 13 other cities, was looking to diversify its funding but lacked the resources to research potential donors. Business Consulting students developed a fundraising and sustainability plan to raise funds, expand into new communities and identify potential donors.

With an eye towards helping Project Shine grow, the students also developed an account of their experiences, wrote job descriptions for students who may work with the nonprofit in the future, and provided a list of suggestions to help Project SHINE further its mission.

"My co-op experience taught me how to become a professional, but the Business Consulting program taught me how to be a consultant, which is more valuable in today's ever-changing business environment."
- Shawn Hyska '06
Project SHINE, Business Consulting team member