Community Action Partners is a volunteer organization of Harvard Business School (HBS) alumni helping Boston-area nonprofits apply management skills to their business challenges. CAP operates under the aegis of the HBS Alumni Association of Boston. Founded in 1993, CAP has grown quickly and now marshals more than 90 HBS alumni volunteers each year to serve 12-15 nonprofits. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) alumni have also been volunteering with CAP for the last five years and add valuable perspectives and resources to our teams.

Since inception, more than 770 CAP volunteers has served 145 nonprofit clients in a variety of sectors including arts & culture, education & out-of-school time, health & human services, housing & community economic development, conservation & environment, and workforce development.

CAP offers volunteer consulting assistance in such areas as:

• strategic and business planning 
• market research and marketing strategy
• financial planning and analysis
• board development and governance
• organizational development

Mission

The Harvard Business School Community Action Partners (CAP) was founded in Boston in 1993 to bring together Harvard Business School ("HBS") alumni and local nonprofit organizations in volunteer consulting projects. The mission of the Community Action Partners is to:

• Serve the Greater Boston community by providing pro bono business consulting to nonprofit organizations; and
• Serve Harvard Business School alumni in the Greater Boston area by providing opportunities to channel their business skills into community service.

For the 2009-2010 season, CAP worked with the following exciting organizations:

• Acre Family Child Care
• American Red Cross of Mass Bay
• Bonnie Car Loans & Counseling (now "More Than Wheels")
• Boston Renaissance Charter Public School
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston
• Environmental Defense Fund
• The Food Project
• Health Care for All
• Historic New England
• Huntington Theatre Company
• More Than Words
• National Consumer Law Center
• Newbury College
• Planned Parenthood League of MA
• United South End Settlements

• ACCESS
• ACCION International
• ACCION USA
• Alliance Francaise
• American Humane Education Society
• Appalachian Mountain Club
• Arsenal Center for the Arts
• Arts Boston
• Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence
• Atlas Communities
• Beacon Hill Village
• The B.E.L.L. Foundation
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massauchusetts Bay
• Blue Hills Observatory
• Boston Architectural College
• Boston Ballet Company
• Boston Center for the Arts
• The Boston Foundation
• The Bostonian Society
• Boston Natural Areas Network
• Boston Partners in Education
• The Boston Photo Collaborative
• Boston Public Library
• The Boston Running Club
• Boston Symphony Orchestra Volunteers
• Bottom Line
• The Brain Tumor Society
• Building Materials Resource Center
• Brazelton Touchpoints Center
• Cambridge Family & Children's Service
• The Carroll School
• Center for Women and Enterprise
• Children's Services of Roxbury
• Citizen Schools
• City Year
• Commonwealth Zoological Corporation
• Community Boating, Inc.
• Conservation Law Foundation
• Crittenton Hastings House
• The Copley Society of Boston
• Danforth Museum of Art
• Dimock Community Health
• Discovering Justice
• Earthwatch Institute
• Eastern Massachusetts Literacy Council
• The Environmental Careers Organization
• The Esplanade Associaton
• Families First
• The Food Project
• Gloucester Adventure
• Harbinger Partners
• HILL
• Historic New England
• Huntington Theater
• Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción
• Institute of Contemporary Art
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
• Jumpstart for Young Children
• Kenneth B. Schwartz Center
• Lena Park Community Development
• Manomet
• Massachusetts Audubon Society, BNC
• Massachusetts Audubon Society, Drumlin Farm
• Massachusetts Audubon Society, JFC
• Massachusetts Horticultural Society
• Minute Man National Park Association
• More Than Words
• Museum of Science
• Natl. Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
• National Heritage Museum
• Neighborhood of Affordable Housing
• Needham Children's Museum
• New England Aquarium
• New England Board of Higher Education
• New England Healthcare Institute
• New England Wild Flower Society
• New Profit, Inc.
• Newton Community Service Center
• Newton Wellesley Weston Committee for Community Living
• Open Circle Program, Stone Center
• Oxfam America
• Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts
• Project Bread
• Project Place
• ReadBoston
• Riverside Theater Works
• Roca
• Root Capital
• R.O.S.E. Fund
• Roxbury Youthworks
• Save the Harbor/Save the Bay
• Science Club for Girls
• Second Nature
• Social Capital Inc.
• Somerville Homeless Coalition
• South Boston Harbor Academy Charter School
• Squashbusters
• Sudbury Valley Trustees
• Trustees of Reservations
• USS Constitution Museum
• Vinfen
• Youth Enrichment Services
• WBUR
• West Suburban YMCA
• Women of Means
• Women's Educational and Industrial Union
• Young Audiences
• YWCA

• The New England Aquarium was facing reduced revenues due to the Big Dig's impact on visitors. The CAP team proposed a new pricing strategy that, when implemented raised annual revenues by $500,000. This enabled the Aquarium to meet its bottom line commitments to its Board without having to lay-off scientists and other non revenue-generating staff.
• Crittenton Hastings House. A cost accounting analysis of a clinical facility at this family services center led to the conclusion that the service offered was uneconomical and threatened the viability of other programs. Consequently, CHH closed the clinic so that it could better deploy scarce resources elsewhere.
• SquashBusters was looking for ways to expand its capacity for helping inner-city kids, and sought advice on how to find the organization a new home. With the help of the CAP team, SquashBusters partnered with Northeastern University, and raised $5 million towards a shared facility on the NU campus.
• Project Place. A CAP team helped Project Place managers prepare a balanced scorecard in conjunction with a strategic planning effort undertaken by the Board of Trustees. The scorecard became an effective tool to communicate Project Places's mission, priorities and operating objectives to staff, clients, funders and trustees.

CAP is governed by a volunteer Board whose members oversee our consulting projects to ensure high quality outcomes. Each board member serves a term of three years with a potential second term. The Board is currently comprised of the following individuals:

Community Action Partners (CAP) does not discriminate against any person or organization on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, marital status, veteran status, or handicap.