Parthenon SF: M3 Foundation
In Inspire’s second engagement with M3 Foundation, a Parthenon San Francisco Inspire team to assist the organization to assess the optimal organizational structure to support M3’s growth vision.
Client Mission
The mission of M3 Foundation is to help disadvantaged, academically off-track boys become self-supporting, positive contributors to society. M3 Foundation was formed in to address concern over educational performance, health, unemployment, parenting, crime and incarceration challenges faced by young men in underserved communities. The organization focuses specifically on working primarily with African-American and Latino boys, as well as their families and friends, to cultivate Habits of Success; education and mental / physical health which are keys to both leading a happy and healthy life and to societal and community participation.
Client History
M3 Foundation was founded in 2006 and is based in the Bay Area, serving three Berkeley middle schools and one Berkeley high school. M3 Foundation’s Math & Sport Academy, regular after-school tutoring, weekend activities, and parent education programs focus on the development of habits that foster success in both academic and non-academic settings including: Mathematics, Oral & Written Communication, Health & Fitness and Life Skills.
Case Objectives
The six-member Inspire team worked with M3 Foundation in a two-phase project to determine an organizational structure that would best support M3 Foundation’s vision and goals for expansion.
Inspire Project Milestones and Deliverables
The Inspire team worked closely with Raising A Reader MA leadership:
Phase 1: The Inspire team first focused on understanding the optimal organizational structure to support M3 Foundation by assessing the organization's goal / vision with respect to growth, the current organizational structure, and growth strategies employed by comparable organizations
- Interviewed organization stakeholders to develop a thorough understanding of M3 Foundation's mission, vision, and operating model
- Benchmarked similar organizations (based on mission, geography, etc.) to determine the various options for organization structure and the benefits and drawbacks of each
- Assessed fit of each model relative to the goals and capabilities of the organization, evaluating scalability and consistency across programs
Phase 2: The Inspire team evaluated the implications of the selected organizational structure to assess optimal cost / funding structures, staffing needs, implementation steps, and organizational sustainability
- Built a flexible financial and personnel model to determine the organization’s financial and staffing needs
- Developed strategies for leveraging M3 Foundation's current resources
- Outlined the process for implementing changes necessary to pursue expansion
Inspire Impact
Through the course of Inspire’s engagement, the team provided A strong understanding of and responsiveness to M3 Foundation's needs, high-quality outputs, and strong analytical skills.
Inspire’s recommendations provided M3 Foundation with a range of organizational structure alternatives and a clear strategy forward to scale the organization’s impact and efficacy.
Key Quotes
“…The Inspire team assisted us in drilling down on our strategic growth alternatives and organizational models for scaling the organization. The brainstorming and analytical background of the team members, as well as their desire to provide social value, was inspiring to us as a team. M3 has been positioned in a strong manner, both through financial modeling and our understanding of the opportunities and constraints of differing strategic alternatives. The Board and executive management now have the tools necessary to proceed with our organizational development…” Executive Director, M3 Foundation
“…It was exciting to see how partnering with established national non-profits with similar goals could help a budding organization like M3 Boys grow…” Inspire Case Team Member, Parthenon San Francisco
“…I enjoyed thinking through the phases of growth and evaluating the different ways M3 boys could expand. The project emphasized the need to have a proven, effective program at the local level before expanding regionally or nationally…” Inspire Case Team Member, Parthenon San Francisco
“…At the end of the day, it was a great feeling to know that our client has taken the blueprint we laid out to heart, and that our work will help to grow this fantastic organization…” Inspire Case Team Member, Parthenon San Francisco
"…Being a part of this case supplemented the skill set that I have built in my day-to-day case work; addressing the challenges faced by a small non-profit requires some real out-of-the-box thinking…” Inspire Case Team Member, Parthenon San Francisco
“…Inspire has been a great opportunity to push myself professionally. I have had the chance to manage a workstream and other Associates earlier than I would have been able to at work…” Inspire Case Team Member, Parthenon San Francisco
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