As part of our commitment to help our communities thrive, we're constantly seeking innovative ways to support and amplify the impact of the nonprofit organizations we work with.
Partnering with Taproot Foundation, we've hosted a series of skills-based volunteering marathons that harness the professional skills of our employees to solve some of the critical challenges our nonprofit partners face.
Our recent marathon sparked collaborations between RBC Capital Markets volunteers and six of our nonprofit partners, tackling a range of strategic initiatives, from cybersecurity to data management.
Association to Benefit Children
Hetrick-Martin Institute
Children of Fallen Patriots
Futures and Options
Play Rugby USA
Women Rising
The strength of these marathons lies in uniting the vision and passion of our nonprofit partners with the dedication and expertise of our employee volunteers. The collaborative process of brainstorming and problem-solving leads to impactful outcomes that make a meaningful difference in our communities and in the lives of the participants.
Our partners gained access to resources and specialized skills beyond their usual capabilities. By the end of the event, each of them had walked away with clear, actionable solutions to improve their operations and advance their missions. Our employees obtain invaluable perspectives on the nonprofit sector and the satisfaction of applying their expertise to bring about tangible results in the community.
To further support their incredible work, RBC Capital Markets presented each participating nonprofit with $10,000 to help implement the strategies developed during the event and continue their vital work.
“Everyone comes to these events with something to offer. From the nonprofit context experts deeply rooted in their communities to the content specialists at RBC Capital Markets, each perspective provides invaluable insights that help deliver truly impactful results.”
Kevin Do, Taproot Foundation
Streamlining data collection for enhanced social services
Founded in 1905, Women Rising provides social services, advocacy, and economic development support to women and families in Hudson County, New Jersey.
Despite their long history of impactful work, Women Rising faced a modern challenge in optimizing its data collection and management processes. They came to the marathon with the need for a more efficient approach that could support better reporting to funders and tracking program success.
Led by Maïté Soubeyran, the RBC Capital Markets volunteer team worked to streamline the organization's processes and provide recommendations to modernize its methods and systems. The work will allow more effective reporting, improved program tracking, and ultimately, better service delivery to the women and families who rely on Women Rising.
“Thanks to the RBC Capital Markets team, we’ve been able to develop an automated data collection system that will allow us to create analytics for funding sources, look at demographics and streamline how we access program and service-related information.”
Linda Nation, Women Rising
Enhancing donation management for youth empowerment
Dedicated to helping underrepresented New York City youth achieve educational and career success, Futures and Options joined the marathon seeking guidance in enhancing their donations and data management process.
RBC Capital Markets volunteers rose to the challenge, conducting a review of its processes and providing actionable suggestions for improvement and automation. Additionally, the team outlined a series of policies, procedures, and data handling guidelines to give Futures and Options a roadmap for more efficient operations.
With new efficiencies, their development and finance teams will be able to expand their programming and allocate more resources and energy toward their core mission of youth empowerment.
“We identified many specific and actionable items to help improve this important process for our business. Not only were our RBC collaborators engaged and a pleasure to work with, but they brought diverse skillsets and know-how to the table that truly made the day a success."
David Pfeifer, Futures and Options
Empowering ABC with data-driven insights for impactful fundraising
The Association to Benefit Children (ABC) has long served New York area children and families grappling with the complex issues of poverty, hunger, and emotional and physical abuse.
Without the in-house resources to fully analyze its data, the organization faced a challenge in clearly communicating its impact to support its fundraising efforts.
ABC matched with a team of RBC Capital Markets volunteers who analyzed their data thoroughly and helped identify compelling metrics that would resonate with potential funders. They also calculated a value-add statement to demonstrate ABC's programs' return on investment.
The transformative results equipped ABC with communications and clean datasets that can better showcase the organization's long-term impact and support future funding efforts.
"We have always known that children who stay with us for a longer period of time do better, but this data actually helped us quantify and graph that, which is hugely useful for demonstrating our impact to funders of all types."
George Edwards, Association to Benefit Children
Beyond traditional volunteerism and impact
Our skills-based volunteering marathons are just one example of how our teams constantly push themselves to not just give back but give back in ways that drive real positive change. These collaborations not only provide immediate solutions to pressing issues but also equip our nonprofit partners with tools, processes, and insights that will continue to benefit their operations and the communities they serve long after the marathon concludes.
We're incredibly proud of our employees who generously donate their time and expertise, and we're honored to support the amazing nonprofits that work tirelessly to make our communities better places to live and work.
"It was great to see the level of engagement at the event. We were able to speak with our peers and nonprofit partners in depth and had the chance to meet representatives from other organizations. We learned a lot about the mission and values of the different nonprofits in attendance and their strategies for outreach, fundraising, and advocacy."
Jake Arce, RBC Capital Markets