About Behind the Book
Industry: Education nonprofit
Location: New York, NY
Company size: < 50
What they do: Behind the Book is a literacy organization serving Pre-K–12th-grade students in Title l NYC public schools
Website: behindthebook.org
Q&A with Andrew Frank, Executive Director at Behind the Book
Q: Tell me about the projects you assigned to students.
Students focused on elevating Behind the Book's profile in the NYC literacy sector and enhancing its appeal to potential partners and funders through strategic rebranding and brand differentiation efforts. They proposed strategies to attract volunteers from varied backgrounds and explored innovative ways to deepen corporate engagement to align with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives.
My team was charged with attracting more companies and volunteers to Behind the Book's events and exploring additional ways these organizations can benefit the local community.”
Fidan Afandiyeva, MS in Quantitative Finance'24
Q: How do students benefit from working at Behind the Book?
A: Behind the Book gives students a chance to build experience as high-value consultants tasked with strategic challenges. To help the students grow, my team provides direct and constructive feedback with practical insights throughout the three months. Students may come in knowing very little about consulting, but by the end of the three months, they'll grasp the realities of consulting and have an experience to put on their resumés that showcases their ability to tackle actual business challenges. Additionally, it provides valuable networking opportunities through direct outreach to our partners and supporters.
Q: What qualities make students successful in the Community Impact Initiative?
A: The students that stand out show both creativity and a deep understanding of our needs, their “client”. Those who really excel don't just offer surface-level recommendations; they engage in thoughtful, innovative problem-solving. They provide practical, actionable solutions tailored to the client's actual needs and limitations. For example, instead of just suggesting generic strategies, they might create a clear, easy-to-follow style guide for social media. Their knack for addressing specific challenges and offering concrete solutions makes them stand out in the program.
It was rewarding to see the direct impact of my work. Initially, Behind the Book ranked on the second or third page of Google search results. By targeting high-volume keywords and optimizing content, we boosted their rankings to the first page, significantly increasing their visibility.
Dana Oikonomopoulos, MS in International Management'24
Q: Would you participate in the Community Impact Initiative again?
A: Yes, we hope to hire more Community Impact Initiative students in the future. The collaboration has been a great success so far, and we look forward to continuing this productive partnership.
