Client Name

Foundation Fighting Poverty

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Hassan Mahmood

SBS Thought Leadership Areas

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

SBS Thought Leadership Area Justification

Our Experiential Learning Project (ELP) with Foundation Fighting Poverty (FFP) strongly aligns with the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Thought Leadership area by introducing cost-effective, scalable, and technology-driven innovations to address real-world operational challenges faced by a nonprofit organization.

Firstly, we applied entrepreneurial problem-solving to redesign FFP’s Foundation Information System (FIS), which previously relied on manual Excel entries and lacked structure. By introducing a reengineered, standardized Google Sheets model with drop-down menus, conditional formatting, automated analytics, and dashboards, we reduced case processing time by 33%, a practical innovation that enhanced efficiency and transparency without requiring heavy investment.

Secondly, we conducted a CRM feasibility study, evaluating 8 platforms including Zoho, Bitrix24, and Salesforce, and ultimately recommended QuickBooks CRM due to its integration potential with FFP’s existing systems. This reflects innovative thinking in leveraging existing infrastructure for digital transformation, a crucial trait of frugal innovation in emerging markets.

In addition, we developed a gamified, tier-based volunteer engagement framework (Bronze, Silver, Gold) grounded in behavioral psychology and leadership development. This model not only enhanced motivation and retention but also introduced a decentralized volunteer leadership structure across Pakistan, an entrepreneurial approach to solving resource dispersion challenges in community-based organizations.

Lastly, our use of participatory design, pilot testing, iterative feedback loops, and stakeholder co-creation throughout the project demonstrates innovation in change management and design thinking, particularly suited to the nonprofit context.

Aligned SDGs

GOAL 1: No Poverty

Aligned SDGs Justification

Our Experiential Learning Project (ELP) with Foundation Fighting Poverty (FFP) aligns with multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 3, SDG 9, and SDG 17.

1. SDG 1 – No Poverty The core mission of FFP is the eradication of poverty through timely support to underprivileged individuals and families across Pakistan. Our project directly contributed to this goal by streamlining the Foundation Information System (FIS) to reduce case processing time from 15 to 10 days. By accelerating aid delivery especially for financial, housing, and emergency relief cases—we supported the foundation's ability to respond more effectively to poverty-driven crises.

NDA

No

Abstract

This Experiential Learning Project (ELP), with Foundation Fighting Poverty (FFP) as our partner, was designed to increase the organization's operational effectiveness and community contribution. The key deliverables were the simplification of their Foundation Information System (FIS), deployment of an affordable CRM solution, volunteer management optimization, and creation of a holistic digital strategy. The methodology used was a multi-phase applied research design that involved process mapping, stakeholder interviews, data analysis, solution creation, and pilot implementation.

Major findings indicated FFP's data handling, volunteer engagement, and donor communication processes were highly inefficient. Based on the CRM analysis, Quickbook CRM emerged as cost-viable and functionally suitable for case tracking and donor management automation. Volunteer retention challenges were attributed to haphazard tracking and engagement strategies, which were corrected with a restructured reward system and decentralized engagement model. In addition, the digital strategy suggested multi-platform integration with fraud prevention protocols to enhance donor trust and social media visibility.

The research concludes that embracing customized CRM, in conjunction with process reengineering and digital transformation, can significantly improve the transparency, scalability, and sustainability of nonprofit operations such as those of FFP. The major recommendations are ongoing staff training, step-by-step CRM implementation, constantly monitoring KPIs, and the establishment of governance frameworks for data security and volunteer mobilization.

Document Type

Restricted Access

Document Name for Citation

Experiential Learning Project

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