OUR PAST PROJECTS
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WINTER 2023 PROJECTS
Franchise for Good
Client Description:
Franchise for Good holds the belief that non-profit businesses can be scaled via franchising their management system. In general, FFG has three main missions — prepare to scale, add locations and grow in place.
Project Description:
FFG will provide a tool kit and customized playbook to ensure the foundations for our client to scale are solid. Utilizing chapter and affiliate models, FFG scales nonprofits by maximizing their exposure and fundraising opportunities.
Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE)
Client Description:
The Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) is an organization committed to promoting ecologically sound stewardship of the natural environment and serves as a collective voice for its members regarding topics of regional and national concern.
Project Description:
Our AORE team is separated into two teams: social media and DEI. the social media team is working to improve and broaden their social media presence and the DEI team is working to create focus groups from a list of organizations to learn more about their experience with the outdoors community and how AORE can help support their efforts.
Ann Arbor District Library
Client Description:
The Ann Arbor District library is a library system that serves the city of Ann Arbor and parts of seven surrounding townships with 5 public locations. They offer books, magazines, audio and video, musical instruments, puzzles, games, and much more to check out.
Project Description:​
Our team’s focus is on reducing the carbon footprint in each of their 5 branches, by analyzing metrics for their implementation and partnering with staff to listen to their proposed solutions.
16 Hands
Client Description:
16 Hands is an artisan gift store in downtown Ann Arbor that sells a variety of handmade goods like jewelry, fashion accessories, home and office decorations and more. They have also been a recipient of the Washtenaw County WASTE NOT AWARD multiple times!
Project Description:
Our 16 Hands team is working on developing marketing strategies to reach a younger customer base as many of their current customers are aging out. They are also helping to highlight 16 Hands’ sustainability efforts which are effective but not well-known by the public.
Ozone House
Client Description:
Ozone house is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing shelter and support to homeless youth in the greater Ypsilanti area.
Project Description:
Our Ozone House team is conducting a SWOT analysis on their website to make it more user friendly and they are conducting market research on other nonprofit organizations. They are then outsourcing website development after methodological research.
WINTER 2022 PROJECTS
16 Hands
Client Description:
16 Hands sells handcrafted objects with character and great design made by hundreds of artists and crafters from the US and Canada, featuring those with sustainable businesses and/or reclaimed materials.
Project Description:
Propel works alongside the organization to expand their consumer base to younger audiences and feature their sustainability efforts through marketing.
Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE)
Client Description:
AORE provides opportunities for outdoor recreation and education for professionals and students to exchange information and promote the preservation and conservation of the natural environment.
Project Description:
Propel works alongside the organization to improve and broaden their social media presence and create focus groups for DEI outreach and information sharing.
Ann Arbor District Library
Client Description:
Ann Arbor District Library provides collections, programs, and leadership to promote the development of literate and informed citizens through access to cultural, intellectual, and recreational resources.
Project Description:​
Propel works alongside the organization to reduce the carbon footprint of their five branches through performance analysis and solution generation.
Curbicus
Client Description:
Curbicus gives modern dog owners a clean and convenient solution to dog waste with an easy-to-use device and compostable capsules that aim to reduce the environmental impact of single-use plastic bags.
Project Description:
Propel works alongside the organization to develop an effective market entry plan and accompanying marketing strategy that remains true to the brand.
Ozone House
Client Description:
Ozone House provides free, voluntary, confidential support as well as emergency shelter, housing, and support for living independently to runaway, homeless and high-risk youth ages 10-20 and their families.
Project Description:
Propel works alongside the organization to develop a website redesign strategy based on market research and analysis in the non-profit sector.
Teaching Buddies
Client Description:
Teaching Buddies provides a free weekly reading and writing enrichment program for underserved K-8 students in Chicago most negatively affected by COVID-19.
Project Description:
Propel works alongside the organization to enhance their volunteer retention and growth strategy in addition to their search engine optimization.
The Ann Arbor Preserver
Project Description:
The Ann Arbor Preserver (est. Winter 2022) is educating students, especially those not local to the Ann Arbor area, to help them understand their local environment through the creation of informative guides and digital content.
Current Focus:
The Propel team is currently helping to establish a social media presence and organize an in-person environmental advocacy event.
Flipped or Flopped
Client Description:
Flipped or Flopped (est. Winter 2021) is a sustainable fashion newsletter with a focus on understanding the current fashion industry as it pertains to sustainable options and overall inclusion.
Project Description:
The Propel team is currently working on increasing their social media presence and in-person events in addition to expanding topics covered in the newsletter.
FALL 2021 PROJECTS
ILERA Apothecary
Client Description:
ILERA Apothecary is an African clean beauty brand that creates skincare products that make people feel confident knowing they are using the best products for both their skin and the environment.(GHC).
Project Description:
Our ILERA Apothecary team is working to implement digital and in-store marketing strategies to amplify ILERA’s new sustainable refill packaging of their products.
Zaman International
Client Description:
Zaman International is a nonprofit organization committed to advancing the lives of marginalized women and children by enabling them to have equitable access to essential needs common to all humankind. Since its founding, Zaman has applied a needs-based, community-driven approach to all programming in order to help households meet their basic needs and break the cycle of poverty.
Project Description:
Our Zaman team is working alongside the organization to conjure a strategy to engage with the younger generation ands to increase the donor base to this age group. The main focus of this strategy lies in planning a hybrid Mother's Day auction event.
Good Stuff Ann Arbor
Project Description:
“Health” means something different to everyone. The Good Stuff Ann Arbor team has single-handedly curated Instagram content to amplify student voices around what “health” means to them and any advice relevant to finding one's individual version of wellness. This team’s overall goal is to transform the topic of health and wellness to become more inclusive, accessible, and community-oriented, and to break the narrow, “one-size fits all” definitions of “healthy” vs “unhealthy”. Follow our Good Stuff AA team on Instagram @goodstuffaa to follow their work and feel inspired to share your story!
Current Focus:
As they embark on their second semester, our Good Stuff AA Team is now specifically focusing on diversifying their content and increasing their reach in the Michigan community. The team aims to do so through reaching out to new clubs and campus organizations, developing innovative marketing strategies, and planning events to engage the broader community.
Note on the Project’s Founders & Founding:
Priyanka Tomar, a junior interested in Business Administration, created this Pursue passion project in the beginning of 2021. Instagram has been shown to increase social comparison, create unrealistic body ideals, and promote an excessive approach to health (more in this podcast). These social media impacts being something Priyanka struggled with upon entering college, she wanted to tackle the problem from the source: creating the instagram page @goodstuffaa dedicated to showing health is really about what makes you feel the most energized and fulfilled.
Flipped or Flopped
Project Description:
Flipped or Flopped is a curated student-run newsletter surrounding the highs, lows, and FAQs of the sustainable fashion industry. This newsletter was created in Fall 2021 and has since expanded through new content, a website, and a new newsletter format. Nowadays, fast fashion is a topic with many misconceptions and misinformation. Therefore, Flipped or Flopped’s project goal is to spread awareness to U-M students about the harmful effects of the fast fashion industry. We aim to energize and equip them with the information needed to combat unsustainable practices in the fashion industry and implement more daily sustainable practices. The newsletter features articles our team writes along with student and business spotlights to highlight our community.
Current Focus:
This semester, our Flipped or Flopped team is focusing on increasing engagement by hosting sustainability challenges and increasing reader’s interaction through engaging and relevant newsletter content.
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Note on the Project’s Founders & Founding:
Project Leads Rachelle Deng, a sophomore interested in Business Administration and Computer Science, and Lilly Fakih, a sophomore interested in Business Administration, Sustainability, and Entrepreneurship, continued working on Pursue’s Flipped or Flopped newsletter. Having spent a substantial amount of time dedicated to learning what sustainability looks like in the fashion industry, Rachelle and Lilly found that there has been much progress, but there is also much more to be done to combat issues such as greenwashing and overconsumption. Therefore, they undertook Flipped or Flopped to get the community at U of M and beyond involved in ethical consumption. Rachelle and Lilly hope to educate our readers and give them the resources they need to engage in sustainable fashion practices.
Propel New Member Experience
Project Description:
This project is internal within Propel and involves revamping the new member experience, including the very first informational mass meeting potential new members attend up to the end of their first semester as official members.
Current Focus:
Our Propel New Member Experience team hopes to incorporate ideas such as new member education sessions and coffee chats to strengthen member integration within Propel both within their cohort and outside of their project teams. In terms of recruitment, they are focusing on opportunities to allow more interaction between current and prospective members, all while maintaining the integrity of their blind review process. The team’s hope is that an enhanced new member experience will lead to higher rates of retention and lower rates of inactivity within the organization.
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Note on the Project’s Founders & Founding:
Ali Eter, a junior interested in Business Administration and current VP of Development within Propel, leads this internal Pursue project. He emphasizes that strengthening Propel’s member experience has been a recurring interest within Propel’s E-Board, however, it was difficult to fully implement necessary changes due to no current Member Development VP position. This team was formed due to many Propel upperclassman passions about strengthening Propel’s onboarding process and being able to offer many different perspectives. Ali has never been able to work on a Pursue team, and thought this project was a great opportunity to start a project from scratch with some of his favorite people in Propel!
Live6 Alliance
Client Description:
Live6 Alliance’s mission is to enhance the quality of life and economic opportunity in Northwest Detroit. Working as a convener and implementer of programs in support of small businesses, real estate and building improvements, and placemaking, Live6 provides community leadership for the vision of revitalized, sustainable commercial corridors and surrounding neighborhoods.
Project Description:
Our Live6 Alliance team is working alongside the organization to create a comprehensive marketing strategy for distribution of their small business directory, as well as organize a promotional event to bring exposure to the small businesses and community.
Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE)
Client Description:
The Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) is an organization committed to promoting ecologically sound stewardship of the natural environment and serves as a collective voice for its members regarding topics of regional and national concern.
Project Description:
Our AORE team is working alongside the organization to implement social media and professional development strategies that our previous Winter 2021 AORE Project Team initiated.
WINTER 2021 PROJECTS
Global Health Charities
Client Description:
Global Health Charities (GHC) is an organization committed to addressing the preventable deaths amongst mothers and newborns who lack equitable access to hospitals, healthcare resources, and clean supplies. GHC follows the founding principle that “all human beings, regardless of socio-economic status, should have the opportunity to strive for their full potential” (GHC).
Project Description:
Our GHC team is working alongside the organization to devise both a fundraising and operational strategy to host a Clean Birth Kit event. Our GHC team is also aiding GHC on smaller organizational projects and creative work, such as report and volunteer outreach material.
Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE)
Client Description:
The Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) is an organization committed to promoting ecologically sound stewardship of the natural environment and serves as a collective voice for its members regarding topics of regional and national concern.
Project Description:
Our AORE team is working alongside the organization to expand their professional development, strengthen their corporate partnerships, and grow their content strategy.
Ypsilanti Senior Center
Client Description:
The Ypsilanti Senior Center is an organization with the mission to create lasting experiences for older adults in a welcoming environment that “encourages learning active engagement, fitness, and healthy living” (Ypsilanti Senior Center).
Project Description:
Our Ypsilanti Senior Center team is working alongside the organization to devise developments to both the organization’s marketing and fundraising strategy; our team is working to ensure these strategies are context-appropriate and cohesive with recent influxes in demand for senior care.
Therapeutic Riding Inc.
Client Description:
Therapeutic Riding Inc. (TRI) is an organization committed to providing “a therapeutic environment through horseback riding and other related activities for those with disabilities or other challenges” (TRI).
Project Description:
Our TRI team is working alongside the organization to leverage financial analysis to yield a dollar value on the volunteer work recorded in TRI's annual report.
Bird Center of Washtenaw County
Client Description:
The Bird Center of Washtenaw County is an organization committed to “aiding birds, wildlife, and the environment through public education and rehabilitation” (Bird Center).
Project Description:
Our Bird Center team is working alongside the organization to establish a comprehensive media strategy, including their very own newsletter, to build awareness around bird protection. Additionally, our Bird Center team is cultivating a fundraising campaign to help raise financial resources for the center.
Good Stuff Ann Arbor
Project Description:
“Health” means something different to everyone. The Good Stuff Ann Arbor team has single-handedly curated Instagram content to amplify student voices around what “health” means to them and any advice relevant to finding one's individual version of wellness. This team’s overall goal is to transform the topic of health and wellness to become more inclusive, accessible, and community-oriented, and to break the narrow, “one-size fits all” definitions of “healthy” vs “unhealthy”. Follow our Good Stuff AA team on Instagram @goodstuffaa to follow their work and feel inspired to share your story!
Partnership Description:
Our Good Stuff AA team is partnering with MDining to integrate student narratives about nutrition and well-being within the dorm dining halls.
Sustainable Business Spotlight
Project Description:
The Sustainable Brands team is working to increase community support and awareness for local environmentally and socially sustainable businesses. This team aims to shift customer attitudes towards supporting sustainable businesses through highlighting them on their Instagram @sustainablebusinessspotlight and an informal panel to spread awareness around the challenges and opportunities within sustainable businesses.
Partnership Description:
Our Sustainable Brands team is partnering to create a sustainable business panel with ISAIC (an industrial sewing and innovation center), Brassi (a plant-based foods business), Oshki (an apparel company utilizing recycled water bottles), and NexTiles (a textile recycling company).
Wellness Watch
Project Description:
The Wellness Watch team aims to provide mental health and wellbeing resources to University of Michigan students during a time when students’ mental health has been significantly strained and exposed to atypical circumstances. To do this, this team is partnering with local mental health startups to host a panel to unpack everything from wellbeing, to stress relief, to imposter syndrome.
Partnership Description:
Our Wellness Watch team is partnering with two student startups, Wellnest and Honesti, along with a CAPS representative to create a mental health informational session. We also aim to expand our reach to local high schools and provide a similar mental health informational session.
Flipped or Flopped
Project Description:
Flipped or Flopped is a curated student-run newsletter surrounding the highs, lows, and FAQs of the sustainable fashion industry. This newsletter was created in Fall 2021 and has since expanded through new content, a website, and a new newsletter format. Newsletters feature team written articles and student and business spotlights to highlight our community.
Partnership Description:
Our Flipped or Flopped team is partnering with the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop to address donated clothes that end up in the landfill, along with opening a popup clothing drive with donated clothing going to a local organization for community members with limited funding for clothing.
FALL 2020 PROJECTS
Shelter Association of Washtenaw County
October 11, 2020 | Written by Christine Liu, Analyst
Client Description:
Headquartered in the colorful downtown of Ann Arbor is the benevolent community organization, the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County (SAWC). Within the entire county, there are at least 5,000 individuals experiencing homelessness. SAWC steps up to service the diverse homeless population that consists of but not limited to veterans, domestic violence survivors, people battling substance abuse and/or mental disorders. SAWC provides an on-site kitchen that provides year-round meals as well as free medical clinics and service centers. They empower those struggling through tough times by providing humane services such as access to showers, laundry, and mail services that many would otherwise not have.
Project Description:
We are partnering with SAWC to streamline their operations so they can more effectively serve those in need. Our main mission is to help them digitize their operations through the use of the Paylocity program. In doing so, it will make the more tedious tasks of schedule building and organizing payroll less time-consuming by making it automatic. It will also help managers connect with their employees and provide feedback or praise in a virtual manner. Our mission in working with Paylocity is to help make their jobs easier, thus allowing them to provide more services to those in need, especially during this uncertain and chaotic pandemic period.
Zaman International
October 19, 2020 | Written by Alyssa Ginsburg, Lead
Client Description:
Zaman International is a non-profit organization located in Inkster, Michigan that funds community-driven programs in order to meet its goal of breaking the cycle of poverty. Zaman’s mission is to facilitate change and advance the lives of marginalized women and children, by enabling them to meet essential needs common to all humankind. Zaman offers several programs: Basic Needs Programs (food pantry donations, clothing donations, volunteer tutoring), Signature Programs where Zaman works with its partners to help communities in need, and Training Programs offering skill-learning for marginalized women.
Project Description:
We are specifically working with Zaman’s Good Deeds Store, its low-cost resale shop which sells second-hand clothing, shoes, and household goods. The profits from these items go directly into supporting their programs. The store has been closed since March due to COVID-19, so Propel is working with the shop to devise ways to sell their current inventory to generate revenue for their mission. Our team is currently devising a comprehensive marketing strategy for the Good Deeds store, mainly focusing on expanding the customer base, and also finding a suitable online platform where Zaman can sell these items, as they cannot open the physical store during the current pandemic.
Marygrove Conservancy
November 2, 2020 | Written by Priyanka Tomar, Winnie Liu, and Kelsie Imus
Client Description:
Due to the extraordinary waste humans create and consume, advancing solutions towards the lack of recycling and overall waste management is an increasing priority within promoting environmental sustainability.
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Marygrove Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that manages operations across a 53-acre campus in northwest Detroit. A major initiative of the conservancy is managing a partnership to create a cradle-to-career (P-20) educational campus on the site. The P-20 campus is being designed to be an educational, economic, and civic anchor in the revitalization efforts of the local community.
Within our project, we get to work with Chief Operating Officer Rachael Allen to create plans for sustainability initiatives at the Marygrove Conservancy. To view more about this organization and their work, visit their website: https://marygroveconservancy.org/.
Project Description:
Throughout this project, our main goal is to introduce a comprehensive sustainability program for students at Marygrove School District. To accomplish this, we will focus on first implementing a recycling program at the school, and second working to earn the recognition of a Detroit “Green School”. More personally, our goals are to learn more about the intersection of consulting, sustainability, and education. We hope the opportunities and skills we learn in this project can give us the tools to make a positive impact beyond this project and into our future careers.
As of now, we are currently working towards two deliverable plans to help Marygrove Conservancy introduce a recycling program and becoming a Green School. The recycling plan is aimed at being an introductory step and a short-term plan within their long-term goal to become a Green School. Our Green School plan focuses on long-term initiatives to become a Green School campus through reducing energy consumption, waste, and introducing a sustainability-related curriculum.
Overall, our team hopes to create a positive relationship between Propel and the Marygrove Conservancy and have a long-lasting positive impact on the sustainability initiatives related to recycling and overall school improvement. We especially hope our involvement to increase campus sustainability will encourage and inspire other students to take action and promote sustainability within their professional and personal careers.
Michigan Trails and Greenways Association
November 16th, 2020 | Written by Olivia Klem, Lead
Client Description:
Michigan Trails and Greenway Association (MTGA) is a 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization that promotes Michigan trails and trail users throughout the state. Their purpose is to support a healthy and prosperous Michigan and encourage people to get outside and enjoy the natural areas and historical and cultural resources the state has to offer. One of their most well-known events is the Michigander Bicycle Tour, an annual multi-day bike tour along Lake Michigan. They are also responsible for the Great Lake-to-Lake Trails, a series of connected trails and routes specifically around and along the Great Lakes.
Project Description:
Our team took on two projects with MTGA. Two members are working to gather pictures and content for MTGA’s social media. MTGA’s mission for their social media is to encourage Michiganders to get outdoors and get to know their local trails. Three other group members have been working to compile a comprehensive inventory of Michigan’s trails, starting with the southeast Michigan area. Our team members, both from Michigan and out-of-state, never knew how extensive and beautiful Michigan’s network of trails was, and we are excited to explore these trails on our own!
BackPac.Co App
November 9th, 2020 | Written by Connor Bagby, Lead
Client Description:
Created by Michigan Ross MBAs in early 2019, the BackPac.co app connects volunteers with local charitable organizations in need of additional support. These MBAs had benefited from University of Michigan resources such as the TechArb Student Venture Accelerator and Michigan Ross +Impact Studio. Users of the app are recommended volunteering opportunities based on their location and interests. While an emphasis is placed on local action, the platform is supported by organizations in Ann Arbor, the Detroit metropolitan area, and other cities across North America including New York, Seattle, and Vancouver. Among the more widely recognized partners of BackPac are The American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity.
Project Description:
Our Propel team will be working with members of the BackPac leadership team to acquire users for BackPac in the Ann Arbor area. To increase awareness of the Pac, growing its user base on campus and in the greater Ann Arbor area, we plan to maintain a steady presence of scannable posters around the central gathering areas of our campus. Our goal is to encourage 50 downloads of the app before the conclusion of this semester.
FALL 2019 PROJECTS
Cultivate Coffee & Tap House
Client Description:
Cultivate Coffee & Tap House is a Ypsilanti, MI-based coffee shop with the mission to create a space safe for all people…and inspiring for both personal and social change (Cultivate Coffee & Tap House).
Project Description:
Our Cultivate Coffee & Tap House Team worked alongside the coffee shop executives to host a mental health summit and social entrepreneurship pitch competition. By hosting and marketing for both events, Propel aspired to amplify Cultivate’s mission by spreading these events to Michigan’s campus.
Zingerman’s Deli
Client Description:
Zingerman’s Deli is an infamous Ann Arbor staple dating back to 1982, a business that has grown exponentially today with an emphasis on “education, flavor, tradition, and the integrity of ingredients” to create a “culinary laboratory” for customers from all walks of life. (Zingerman’s Delicatessen). Today, the deli operates multiple storefronts around Michigan, offers everything from hand-crafted sandwiches, bagels, pastries, cheeses, soups, and much more.
Project Description:
Our Zingermnan’s team collaborated with Planet Zingerman’s to institute a reusable container program to reduce waste pertaining to To-Go orders. In addition, our Zingerman’s team worked with Zingerman’s CEO, Ari Weinzweig, to track the value of Zingerman’s products internally.
Main Street Ann Arbor
Client Description:
Main Street Area Association (MSAA) is a local Ann Arbor organization comprising of area restaurants, banks, real estate, attorneys, retail and service businesses, as well as public and private organizations on Main Street; the organization’s mission is “to preserve Main Street area’s rich history while building a prosperous and inviting business environment that will ensure a dynamic future” (MSAA).
Project Description:
Our MSAA team worked alongside MSAA to successfully transform Taste of Ann Arbor into a zero-waste event as well as host the Youth Art Month.
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