The Latino Commission on AIDS and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Teams Win Morgan Stanley’s Annual Strategy Challenge Supporting Nonprofits in the U.S. and the UK

• Employees contributed over 11,000 hours to strategy development for 15 nonprofits during the 2022 Strategy Challenge program
• Program has benefited over 170 nonprofits since launch

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Morgan Stanley today announced that teams Latino Commission on AIDS and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award have won its annual Strategy Challenge, the Firm’s flagship pro bono program, which brings together rising talent to help nonprofit organizations solve strategic, mission-critical challenges. Over the past ten weeks, Morgan Stanley employees worked with leadership teams at 15 nonprofit organizations to provide recommendations to address their strategic questions. The challenges addressed are critical to bringing meaningful impact and long-term change to the organizations’ communities, such as expansion and scaling strategy and opportunities to enhance efficiency and effectiveness through business and program models. This initiative is in line with the Firm’s expertise in delivering innovative solutions for clients and culture of giving back.

The winning team in the U.S. collaborated with the Latino Commission on AIDS, which works to improve and expand access to quality and appropriate health care in order to impact HIV, viral hepatitis, STI prevention and other health challenges faced by Hispanic and Latino communities. The organization challenged its Morgan Stanley team to analyze whether they should enter the primary care space to expand the services offered and provide holistic healthcare options for the communities it supports. After performing extensive analysis and industry benchmarking, the Morgan Stanley team recommended that the Latino Commission on AIDS not enter the primary care space at this time to support mission sustainability and growth, but instead consider alternate models such as innovative partnerships, mobile care vans, telehealth and case management.

“We are honored to win Morgan Stanley’s 2022 Strategy Challenge. As a Hispanic and Latino nonprofit, this opportunity to work with Morgan Stanley employees and gain their expertise from the lens of the financial sector has been invaluable,” said Guillermo Chacon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS and founder of the Hispanic Health Network. “The dedication of their team to engage with us and provide detailed analysis and recommendations for the question we posed will impact the success and growth of our agency in years to come.”

The winning team in the UK worked with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a UK charity empowering young people from all backgrounds and circumstances to develop confidence, resilience and self-belief to take on their own challenges, follow their passions and make a difference in their community. The charity challenged its Morgan Stanley team to analyze whether The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award should pursue commercializing its outcomes in a workplace setting to help fund its ambition to reach one million young people, and if so, how. After performing extensive analysis and research into the market and other service providers, the Morgan Stanley team recommended that the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award should progress with a learning and development offering for apprentices within the workplace and provided a road map to enable effective implementation and delivery over the coming years, following further piloting.

“We’re delighted to have won the Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge 2022,” said The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’s CEO, Ruth Marvel. “The Strategy Challenge has enabled us to make rapid progress on a crucial element of our strategic plan. It has also helped build internal staff capacity and given us new tools and a roadmap to guide our next steps, so we can reach even more young people with a life-changing DofE experience."

“We are honored to collaborate with leading nonprofits to help create pathways that drive greater impact, at a time when demand for support services has skyrocketed across communities globally,” said Joan Steinberg, Morgan Stanley Global Head of Philanthropy. “I would like to congratulate each of the teams that participated in this year’s Strategy Challenge for creating thoughtful and impressive proposals that will move the needle for each nonprofit organization.”

The 15 nonprofit organizations that took part in this year’s Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge across the U.S. and the UK include:

• Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation is focused on building an extended cultural community which provides dance performances, training and education, and community programs for all people.
• America SCORES New York seeks to create equitable opportunities for young people to experience sport, express themselves and inspire positive change off the field and outside the classroom.
• Bookmark Reading gives children the reading skills and confidence they need for a fair chance in life, through their flexible volunteer-led programme. For the children who need them, they are changing their story.
• The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award empowers young people from all backgrounds and circumstances to develop confidence, resilience and self-belief to take on their own challenges, follow their passions and make a difference in their community.
• Global Kids’ mission is to educate, inspire and activate youth to take action on critical issues facing their communities and the world.
• Goddard Riverside serves more than 20,000 New Yorkers each year with programs ranging from Early Childhood Education to Older Adult Centers.
• Good Grief builds resilience in children, strengthens families and empowers communities to grow from loss and adversity.
• Lord’s Taverners provide inclusive cricket programmes, empowering young people with disabilities and from disadvantaged communities to develop the knowledge, skills, capabilities and confidence required to overcome the challenges of inequality and reach their potential.
• The Lower Eastside Girls Club empowers young women and gender-expansive youth in New York City through free, year-round innovative programs in STEM, Arts, Digital Media and Sound, Wellness, Civic Engagement and Leadership.
• Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity with over 25 years’ experience working with pupils, families and staff in UK schools. The charity provides mental health support in schools through one-to-one and group counselling, expert training and professional qualifications.
• Rethink Food is on a mission to create a more sustainable and equitable food system - one that uses excess food to make nutritious and culturally-celebrated meals for communities facing food insecurity.
• The Latino Commission on AIDS works to improve and expand access to quality and appropriate health care in order to impact HIV, viral hepatitis, STI prevention and other health challenges faced by Hispanic and Latino communities.
• St Giles Trust uses expertise and lived experience to empower disadvantaged people to turn pasts into positive futures. Their services support people facing poverty, exploitation, caught up in crime, or a combination of issues to overcome adversity.
• UHAB (Urban Homesteading Assistance Board) empowers low- to moderate-income residents to take control of their housing and enhance communities by creating strong tenant associations and lasting affordable co-ops.
• Young Epilepsy is dedicated to standing up for children and young people with epilepsy, recognising their right to be heard. They exist to create a society where these individuals are enabled to thrive and fulfil their potential. Together, the possible is created.

For more on the Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge, click here.

About Morgan Stanley

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