Strategy Challenge is Morgan Stanley’s flagship pro bono program that pairs nonprofit organizations with the firm’s rising talent who have specific expertise. The goal is to help each organization address a strategic challenge that is central to serving their key audiences and delivering their mission. Teams of employees in New York and London work with selected nonprofits to develop strategic plans that cover issues like organizational expansion, serving larger populations, growing staff capacity, improving outcomes and efficiency, and other areas.
In 2024, 15 nonprofits in the U.S. and UK participated. Morgan Stanley employees brought fresh insights and skills to help each organization find solutions over a period of 10 weeks. The Strategy Challenge culminated in events in New York and London, where teams presented their recommendations to nonprofit sector experts and senior leaders at the Firm.
Why We Do It
Morgan Stanley is committed to Give Back as a core value, and the annual Strategy Challenge is further evidence of how the firm leverages our employees’ passions and expertise to generate innovative impact in the communities where we live and work.
“The Strategy Challenge matches our best asset—our employees—with local nonprofits to help the organizations address strategic questions without expending critical resources,” says Joan Steinberg, Morgan Stanley’s Global Head of Philanthropy. “After weeks of collaboration and analysis, each nonprofit walks away with deep insights and recommendations that amplify their impact on the communities they serve. And our employees have the opportunity to broaden their career experience and use their professional skills to give back in an especially substantive and meaningful way.”
For Harrison Meisel, Vice President in Wealth Management, participating in the Strategy Challenge was an opportunity to build new skills and relationships while driving change. “Our efforts are not sitting on the shelf and collecting dust. The organization began to move on our suggestions prior to the end of the program, and we even got to see these changes in full effect at their annual fundraising gala, after the Strategy Challenge concluded,” he says. Andrew Barnett, Associate in the Fixed Income Division, adds: “The Strategy Challenge appealed to me because it offered an opportunity to not only directly benefit our communities, but do so in collaboration with peers across the firm, in an intellectually rigorous environment.”
This Year’s Winning U.S. Team
In the United States, the winning team worked with PACT, a nonprofit that seeks to end child sexual exploitation and trafficking through educational initiatives, legislative advocacy, and corporate partnerships. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, women and girls account for 60% of the total number of detected victims of trafficking, and children account for 35%. 1 PACT’s educational initiatives on child trafficking have reached a significant number of people throughout the United States: 1.6 million hotel workers have completed PACT’s hotel e-training since its inception in 2020. In 2023 alone, the organization’s school workshops reached over 3,000 children and teens in 35 states, and online workshops reached over 2,700 parents, teachers, and students. 2 PACT also engages with federal legislators to advocate for child sex trafficking prevention and stronger protections for survivors.
This year’s team was represented by PACT CEO Lori L. Cohen, Senior Director of Development Cherise Charleswell, Director of Operations Laura Quigley, and Senior Director of Programs Dr. Christian Toala. The Morgan Stanley team members were Meisel; Barnett; Erica Crouser, Associate in Research; and Nicole St Marie, Vice President in Institutional Securities Group Management. Charles Chasin, Managing Director in Human Resources, was the team’s advisor.
PACT’s Strategic Challenge
Since 2020, PACT has relied on grant funding to expand both its standard and customizable programs, making it free for the schools it serves. The organization considered shifting to a fee-for-service model to enable expansion of its services and reach more people, but faced some challenges in doing so, including showing schools the need for this programming and proving PACT’s program superiority over competitors.
PACT needed a plan to help differentiate and sell its fee-for-service model and create a strategic approach to growing its services nationwide.
How It Was Addressed
Morgan Stanley team members helped PACT analyze the adoption of a paid service model, including funding options, revenue forecasts, and actions needed to reach a greater audience. The resulting plan mapped the resources PACT would need to implement it, including optimizing existing resources and filling key roles in the organization that include a part-time sales representative.
The winning plan identified an urgent need for education about child sex trafficking in the U.S. and outlined a potential pilot program in New York City to help students, teachers, and families reduce the risk of child sexual exploitation and provide early intervention in suspected cases of trafficking. The team also identified new revenue opportunities and mapped a five-year plan with proposed moderate and aggressive ways to grow the new program. PACT has already begun implementation of the team’s recommendations.
The Impact on PACT and Morgan Stanley Employees
The Morgan Stanley team helped PACT find a new path forward to reach more people and help protect more children. “We are honored to have been selected as the winning team of this year’s U.S. Strategy Challenge,” Cohen says. “Morgan Stanley provided invaluable consultation on strategic planning to PACT, assisted in the development of a viable revenue model, and identified ways to optimize our current resources. This work will be instrumental in helping us further our reach in preventing child sexual exploitation and trafficking.”
“Over the 10-week program, we spent many hours meeting and working with Team PACT to achieve deliverables,” says St Marie. “At the end of each meeting, our Morgan Stanley team would take a step back and have so much admiration for Team PACT because whatever amount of work we did was just the tip of the iceberg compared to their incredible efforts fighting child sex trafficking.”
For more information about Morgan Stanley’s Strategy Challenge and each of the participating organizations, click here.
