Taeya Ross: Intersections Between LSB Business & Non-Profit Work
After being placed in my fellowship for the past two quarters, it has become increasingly
clear how the information I have learned in the business school plays a part in the work at the
Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley (HFSV). As a result, my placement has offered me a new
perspective about how business skills support non-profit/community work. Most importantly, I
have come to the realization that although non-profit work may not appear as “business-y” as
corporate/for-profit work, it continues to encapsulate all the same dimensions of larger
organizations. However, it is important to note that these dimensions manifest themselves
differently, focusing more on how the work impacts and improves the difficulties faced by the
communities non-profit orgs serve.
More specifically, I would like to highlight the fact that within non-profit work, there are
still marketing teams, program management teams, budgets, deadlines, and stakeholders that are
communicated with like any other business. However, these different teams and relationships are
utilized to ensure that the services provided by HFSV solve the issues that are specific to the
needs of the people. As such, all of the business skills and knowledge I have acquired from Santa
Clara help me problem solve and leverage information/data from the foundation to achieve
organizational goals. One example of this is focusing on how to distribute information to 100s of
students, scholar alumni, and families in regards to college readiness, financial aid, and advice.
Consequently, I have had to apply skills learned from my business courses including information
gathering/research, project management, time management, marketing, and organizational skills
to pool together a comprehensive list of resources throughout the Bay Area for the community.
This work has been a rewarding tool of translating my in-class knowledge to action within the
community to help individuals and families in need.
Overall, reflecting on the types of skills and strengths that are particularly helpful for the
Hispanic Foundation, there are numerous. To list just a few, interpersonal skills, stakeholder
management, fundraising, marketing, program management, data management, and problem
solving remain important for the foundation’s work. Skills such as these enable the foundation to
continue reaching and supporting individuals and families within the Hispanic community
throughout the Bay Area.