Consulting for a cause 2021: The power of people

March 12, 2021 • Megan Raber

On March 6th, 27 delegates came together for a case competition analyzing local organization United Way KFLA. During this event, QNP had the opportunity to speak with each of the six teams and ask them why they decided to come to C4C. Though each with their own individual flair, almost every answer had the same overall theme—to make an impact. Queen’s Commerce offers many different case competitions, but yet C4C is unique. This is because we are not solving hypotheticals. C4C allows delegates to make a real impact for real organizations facing real problems. 

The United Way representatives emphasized time and again how critical the community is for their operations. Most often, we hear about community impact being generated through volunteering and donations. During C4C, delegates were able to make a unique type of impact that does not fall into either of these two categories. As business students, we have a tremendous amount of knowledge, skills, and resources. Events like C4C demonstrate one way we can use our education to truly make a difference. The ideas presented to assist United Way were creative and current, and the representatives indicated that many of these ideas would not have surfaced without our help. This shows just how significant the student population and events like these are for non-profit organizations, including but not limited to United Way. Gathering student insight is a not costly and effective way for a non-profit to generate insights and access resources.

To all of our delegates who came to Consulting for a Cause to make an impact, know that you did just that. One key takeaway from this event is that students can make a difference, and more importantly, students should make a difference. For any business, for profit or not for profit, people are its most significant asset. Passionate individuals can make profound changes for non profits who need change, as we saw during this event. Moreover, as individuals, the people around us are our assets as well. Delegates at C4C had the opportunity to learn from one another and experience unique perspectives and backgrounds, leading to the creation of solutions that were of a much higher quality than they would have been from one delegate alone.

As we leave C4C 2021 behind and anticipate C4C 2022, we urge you always to recognize the value of people. Aspire to learn from your teams and the clients you serve. Most importantly, continue to dedicate your time and resources to help your communities.

On behalf of the QNP team, we would like to thank our delegates, panelists, judges, and the United Way for making this event a success!