Author: Aubrey Leung

The organization hired a new intern, who has been great help. Because there is an unlimited amount of daily tasks Catalina is now able delegate more between the two of us without it being overwhelming and focusing on more pressing material. The more time I spend with HomeownershipSF the more it becomes clear how different non-profits are from a regular corporate structure.

 

Non-profits always have their budgets and spending limits at the back of their head during each project. Going over this budget is not something that is taken lightly and hence expenses are heavily evaluated especially since funding is limited. So there is always that concern to meet the budget.

 

Everybody’s role is curial in a non-profit and that is why the workforce tends to be so small. They can’t afford to hire a person that they don’t need and that increases the efficiency. At the end of the day although I am just an intern I feel all the work I put in goes a long way. Each employee is very valuable to the organization and that responsibility has created a great work environment in terms of work ethic and trust between the three co-workers (Carlos, Shannon and Catalina) and that is something that I am inspired by.

 

Being around that working environment has got me better at time management and organization. When people rely on you and you have responsibilities you can’t let down your team in such a critical project. Through this I have been able to turn my weaknesses of time management and organization into new skills. The ability of dividing your time efficiently has not only helped me at this internship but also with school and everyday life.

 

 

 

 

 

The projects I have been delegated by Catalina (my supervisor/mentor) have been keeping me busy. The longest running project is work for the Expo, we are constantly outreaching by emailing different supervisors from City Hall, Churches and other organizations to get the word around. It is very important to make sure word gets around about the Expo because it is the organization’s biggest calendar event. It would allow Homeownership to provide all low-income home owners and buyers to use the services they provide. The resources include workshops, connecting with bank to revaluate mortgages and down payment assistance. It also provides a networking opportunity for the tenants, buys, owners and the organizations. The other great thing is the Expo allows HomeownershipSF and the other member agencies to facilitate the attendees with awareness and education.

 

My other projects include day-to-day tasks assigned to me that help move other larger scale projects along faster. For example, working on the website’s home listings allows for an updated online presence that makes it easier for HomeownershipSF’s clients to browse new listings. I have also been working on connecting with high schools to work on a community involvement project with high school students and HomeownershipSF, this was started by Catalina and I was able to work with her to come up with projects for the students to help us out with.

 

The work I do with this organization is really great because I get to use my background in business. In the outreach projects dealing with the Expo I have been able to use my marketing knowledge, this allows me focus on promotional areas and market research to narrow down “who” to target for the event and how to reach them. In addition to marketing my Finance background allows me to understand the market for real estate and mortgages and how essential financial planning is for the low income home owner/buyer.

 

Overall the hardest part I would say is dividing my time wisely. There is a lot to do for non-profits the work load keeps coming especially with a very small staff, so I need to know which projects to focus more time on.

My name is Abrar AlHusaini; I am a senior graduating this May with a degree in Finance. I have been working with non-profits since 2009 and began developing my own non-profit human rights organization in 2014. My goal is to be able to exercise my business development and analytical skills to contribute to the growth of a non-profit such as HomeownershipSF. In addition I aim to understand and adopt the type of strategy and internal structure needed to effectively and efficiently operate a non-profit organization.

 

I am interning at HomeownershipSF, an organization that delivers resources and opportunities of affordable housing and foreclosure intervention education/counseling based in San Francisco. Homeownership SF is one of five member agencies providing homeownership services to low-income households.

 

At HomeownershipSF there are four employees that take on the demanding daily projects that it takes to run this organization. Carlos Serrano-Quan the Executive Director, Shannon Way Director of Programs, Catalina Valencia Programs Coordinator, and Jamar Deal the new intern.

 

I work directly under Catalina Valencia, who assigns me projects on a weekly or daily bases depending on how long they take to complete. My main projects include work for the annual EXPO in June, Day-to-day tasks and Data entries. The tasks within these projects range from data entry, research, developing outreach connections, producing and printing documents and flyers, updating the website and more.

 

It is an exciting field because although some projects take a while to complete, there are always new things to work on and that allows me to exercise and develop new skills.

My name is Cindy Ngo, I am a finance major at USF. My goals as of now is to graduate on time, learn to have more fun, and gain more work experience in my field. My long-term goals are working for a tech firm in their finance department or working on Wall Street. My role at my organization is strategic and financial planning for the retail sector. So far the job has been ok. The museum has not yet opened so not much finance work has been done, but I’ve done general accounting work for the inventory that has been coming in for the opening. My boss is great! She is calm,patient,smart, and overall a roll model for me. The MoAD is a non-profit museum based in San Francisco that focuses on showcasing the history, art, and cultural richness that came from the dispersal of African Americans throughout the world.

Test post

The PSIP enables business students to CHOOSE to work with partners in community-based nonprofits and public sector agencies, receive stipends for their work and have an opportunity to “live and work” the USF mission.   Often, these organizations only can afford to offer unpaid internships; as a result, business students often overlook these opportunities.  PSIP students develop and apply their skills to address challenges related to economic development, poverty, youth and other social justice issues.   The PSIP program provides funding for stipends to facilitate business students’ involvement.

Vision

The PSIP is designed to stimulate business students’ interest in public service, enabling them to more completely experience the mission and values of the university; and, understand how business interests are served when the public sector, social justice and business align. Students learn to become advocates for change and give “voice” to the disempowered and disenfranchised. They are given the opportunity to develop and apply their business knowledge, tools and skills to address community needs and social concerns.

Program Overview: Steps in the Process

Step 1:  Partners and Projects

The Faculty liaison and community partners identify projects that make use of business students’ skill-sets; enable students to apply what they are learning in their B-School curriculum in the internship; and allow partners and students to learn from each other in reciprocal ways.

Step 2: Interviews

Students compete for and interview with community partners for part-time internships. Internships typically begin in June and complete by mid-August.

Step 3:  Student Deliverables

Stipends or scholarships are awarded to students for the following deliverables: (a) complete memorandum of understanding with the organization; (b) meet internship time commitment;  (c) use electronic media to share reflections and learnings with other stakeholders (new students, community partners, prospective donors, media).

Program Outcomes

Students participating in past PSIP projects shared what they learned about the organization’s mission, clients, funding and policy-related circumstances.  They became spokespersons for the relevant social issues (hunger, HIV, educational and healthcare access, environmental justice, etc.) and they described their experiences in ways that relate to who they are and will be as people and professionals.  Transformation and social identity change occurs as a result of engaging with the community and especially with marginalized populations.  The business skills might look similar, but the lessons learned are more likely to be quite different.

The PSIP Program was initially designed and implemented by Dayle M. Smith, PhD and Julie Reed, PhD, University of San Francisco in Spring 2008.

PSIP Director:  Monika Hudson, Assistant Professor