Evaluating and Planning for Expansion

Catholic Big Sisters and Big Brothers (CBSBB) is a nonprofit organization that provides mentoring services to New York City’s children regardless of religious affiliation. The unique program focuses on strengthening each child’s entire family by providing family-focused counseling, skills building workshops and one-to-one mentoring. CBSBB requested a Capstone team to evaluate three expansion options and develop an in-depth environmental scan for the most feasible option. The team researched and appraised the impact of current CBSBB programming, examined similar organizations in target communities, performed cost analysis for each option and evaluated the compatibility of CBSBB’s intensive program among different communities and demographics. Additionally, the team assessed the specific needs for mentoring services within the expansion zone, identified potential partnership organizations and provided recommendations for implementing expansion over the short and long term, including any adaptations to the current program that would increase the success of the expansion model.