Earlier this year, St. Monica Parish was approached by the Villanova University School of Business who proposed a cooperative venture. The idea was for a team of students from the Villanova University’s MBA Program to work together with the parish over the intervening months to strengthen St. Monica’s spiritual and community mission by enhancing the Parish’s Outreach Ministry to others. This project focused on applying what was learned in the classroom to a real-world scenario—in essence, a living case study.

An outline of the Project Scope and Initial Analysis is provided below.

Throughout the 14-week Nonprofit Consulting Practicum, MBA students researched and partnered with various St. Monica groups and organizations to help us detect problem areas, (such as advertising, funding, logistics, or membership recruitment and retention) as well as identify possible solutions. The practicum culminated in a final project presentation on Saturday April 26 which was attended by Fr. Zlock and other members of the parish.

A preliminary Overview of the Project Findings and Recommendations presented by the students can be found below.

During the next several months, Fr. Zlock will work with the Parish Councils and leaders of various parish organizations to to determine how St. Monica can leverage this valuable effort to have a greater impact on the local community, while actively promoting parishioner participation in these efforts. At the conclusion of this venture, we hope the St. Monica community is better equipped to both further the teachings of Jesus and serve the surrounding area.

“Project Scope” and Initial Analysis:

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Overview of the Project Findings and Recommendations:

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An in depth description of the program can be found here.

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Personal bios of the team members can be found here