A Better Jamaica (ABJ) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007 that is dedicated to offering a broad range of programs, from arts and culture to educational support, to strengthen the community of Jamaica, Queens. ABJ engaged a Capstone team with the goal of increasing access to local music education. The team reviewed data to identify relevant trends in existing music education offerings in middle schools in three school districts. The team held task force meetings with eight experienced music educators and conducted a qualitative analysis, which highlighted the stark dropoff in the availability and quality of local music education and means of implementing change. The team created a final report that included a literature review synthesizing the significance and impact of music education, qualitative data on the state and history of music education in the community, quantitative data visualizations showing the rates of offerings and engagement, and funding sources to support increased music education. The team presented its research to key stakeholders—task force members, educators, principals, and elected officials—at a final meeting to further the client’s vision and collaborate on potential solutions.

Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) is a Delaware-based nonprofit organization that disseminates a worldwide parenting program fostering strong, healthy relationships in families with infants or toddlers facing adversity. As ABC establishes itself as a nonprofit entity, its executive leadership is challenged with harnessing the program’s exponential growth, revenue potential, and highly committed staff in order to address the fiduciary, legal, and operational challenges that jeopardize the organization’s longevity and success. The team’s interdisciplinary research included an academic review of current literature, as well as an environmental scan of best practices used across the sector and by client peers. The team also conducted supplemental field research—through staff engagement in a series of one-on-one interviews and custom surveys—to assess the internal climate for change and knowledge around the transition process. The team produced a report that includes its research findings and analysis of key issue areas facing ABC, as well as effective recommendations and tools that ABC can utilize throughout the organization’s transition process and beyond.

ExpandED Schools is an education nonprofit that provides after-school programming in New York City, and has served over one million children since 1998. Its mission is to close the learning gap by increasing access to enriched education experiences. Since its current data collection processes are not formally coordinated across the organization, ExpandED Schools enlisted a Capstone team to create an organization-wide strategy to measure its overall impact across all programs. The team conducted a literature review, analyzing best practices in the after-school industry, and developed and implemented a survey to investigate ExpandED School’s current program goals and data collection activities. Following this research, the team designed a roadmap for strategic goal-setting and data collection to measure organization-wide impact in the near term and beyond.

Established in 2014, RIP Medical Debt has eradicated over $5.6 billion in medical debt to date, providing financial and mental relief for over three million people. Despite significant legislative changes like the Affordable Care Act, the national medical debt crisis persists, often destroying the financial stability of America’s most vulnerable communities: the sick, the elderly, and the poor. RIP Medical Debt engaged a Capstone team to provide a comprehensive overview of the medical debt crisis, including extensive research to determine the scope of the crisis, how medical debt is created, why it persists, and who is most impacted. The team conducted a landscape analysis, interviewed key stakeholders, and surveyed existing efforts to decrease medical debt. The final report includes the team’s analysis of the current state of medical debt as well as specific recommendations to guide RIP Medical Debt’s emerging public policy agenda.