Project Run With It

Deadline: Tuesday, May 1, 2018 by 11:59 PM EDT

Overview

Project Run with It (PRWI) furthers the community service component of Beta Alpha Psi and provides members/candidates with an opportunity to engage in a real-world consulting project.

PRWI 2018 will involve 72 BAP student representatives working together during the annual meeting to develop solutions to real-life business problems of actual not-for-profit (NFP) organizations located in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Working in eighteen teams of four, the students will have the equivalent of one and half working days to develop a formal presentation showcasing their solution to the business issues presented by the NFPs in their request for proposal for consulting services. Prior to the annual meeting, the NFP organizations will provide background information and will be on site Wednesday evening to answer the participating students' questions.

2018 Nonprofit Organizations

For 2018, PRWI has selected three very different nonprofit organizations that each desire to grow, transition and evolve to extend awareness of their mission and impact of their programs. The links below will allow you to explore the website and public information for each organization. Students selected for each case will be provided with detailed requirements and and in-depth look at the history, resources, challenges, business model and financial records of the organization to which they are assigned.

Case A - Cultured Kids

Website: https://culturedkids.org/

Cultured Kids is a young, parent-founded organization that believes cultural empathy, understanding and respect in youth today will build remarkable professional, social and personal success tomorrow. They strive to develop these characteristics through continuous exploration, active participation and individual and community development.

Case B - Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants

Website: https://www.macpa.org

MACPA is a home and lookout post for CPAs in Maryland and beyond. They exist to help CPAs, students and educators flourish...to the benefit of the public. Their learning subsidiary, the Business Learning Institute, offers the first nano learning program for finance professionals in North America that qualifies under new AICPA and NASBA standards.

Case C - Lupus Foundation of America

Website: https://www.lupus.org

The Lupus Foundation of America is devoted to solving the mystery of lupus, one of the world's cruelest, most unpredictable, and devastating diseases, while giving caring support to those who suffer from its brutal impact. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus through programs of research, education, support and advocacy.

Please visit the websites of our chosen organizations to learn more about their missions, programs, and activities. Each of these organizations is working on a business problem for which they would like your proposed solutions. More details will be released as they become available through Dropbox to students selected for each case from the nominations submitted.

Selected students will be able to begin working on their proposals prior to meeting their assigned teams on August 8 at the PRWI registration/orientation session in Washington, DC. Students may not contact other participants or collaborate on proposals prior to the meeting. This competition will require students to compromise, collaborate and share their efforts and develop a team approach under the pressure of a tight deadline. There is no specific requirement as to the amount or nature of work that may be done prior to the conference other than the contact and confidentiality guidelin nes. Participants shoudl prepare themselves to be open to a varied set of skills and knowledge that their unknown team members may contribute.

Award

Each chapter represented on the first place teams will receive a plaque (which will bear the name of the participating student and chapter) and a $1,000 cash award.

Eligibility

All current BAP members/candidates are eligible to participate. If more than the maximum number of participants are nominated, students will be selected to participate based on the following criteria:

Major (ideally we would like to have a mix of accounting, finance, and information system majors). Students with declared double majors should clearly indicate such on the nomination form. Up to 18 students with a declared major other than accounting will be selected.
Service to BAP (in the event of multiple nominations from the same chapter- members will have priority over candidates; officers will have priority over regular members)
Grade point average
Statement of Interest
Number of students a chapter has nominated (no chapter will be selected for multiple participants unless fewer than 72 chapters submit acceptable nominees)
Number of students a chapter has nominated
Timeliness of nomination
Regional allocation of students ultimately selected
An affirmative statement by the student of his/her ability to attend the annual meeting and be able to arrive in time for the opening kickoff session. Please note, this is a separate attachment and must be manually signed by the Chapter Faculty Advisor (FA).

Up to 12 students will be placed on a priority waitlist. These students will be notified of a nonprofit case assignment and status on the waitlist with updated information as needed.

Nomination Process

To participate in PRWI, students must submit a completed nomination form, statement of interest, confidentiality agreement form, and affirmative statement of attendance at the Annual Meeting signed by the faculty advisor. Nominations opened March 2018. Students will be notified by the PRWI faculty coordinator as to whether or not they were selected no later than May 8, 2018. Students not selected will be notified at the same time. Any student placed on the waitlist will be notified of their priority on the waitlist. While we cannot guarantee a waitlisted student a position in the Project, students on the waitlist will need to notify the faculty coordinator their intent to participate in the Annual Meeting upon being advised of their waitlisted status. If the PRWI faculty coordinator does not hear back from the waitlisted student by the required time, the waitlisted student will be replaced by another unselected student. If anticipated attendance at the Annual Meeting is predicated on confirmed selection to the PRWI project, it is only fair to other nominated students that the faculty coordinator is advised early so that another student can be added to the waitlist. Selected students who have not registered for the annual meeting by the early bird registration deadline are subject to replacement by a waitlisted student.

Students and chapter FAs MUST carefully consider a student’s availability prior to submitting a nomination. A chapter may be subject to losing the ROA credit provided on the nomination to PRWI if a selected student withdraws from the Project and if in the opinion of both the Executive Office and the PRWI faculty coordinator, the reason for withdrawal should have likely been known before nomination.

General Process

Once the participating students are identified and notified of their participation, each will be assigned to one of the three cases and notified via email as to which case they have been assigned. Case information relevant to the issues being presented for the NFPs will be posted to a secure, password-protected website, and will be made available to the participants upon selection and updated as needed prior to the August conference.

Other Information

Students selected to participate in PRWI must arrive at the conference hotel by Wednesday, August 8, 2018, at 4:30 pm. A full dinner will be served to Project participants. Waitlisted students should plan on arriving at the Annual Meeting on August 8, 2018, by 4:30 pm as well. Waitlisted students will be provided dinner also. It is important to note that students participating in PRWI will not be required (or allowed) to attend Annual Community Service Day on the Thursday of the Annual Meeting but will be required to attend the kickoff plenary session Thursday evening and will then rejoin their chapters for other annual conference events.

The Project is a high intensity, highly compressed competition that is meant to provide participating students a totally unique experience. Reference should be made to the testimonials and recap video.