By John F. Jansen, NPC Guest Blogger

After many years as a member, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee. 

Boy, was I wrong!

I always knew that NPC:
-   Provides valuable nonprofit workshops  
-   Offers office space to other nonprofits, and
-   Celebrates through its annual events the contributions nonprofits make to our community and its diversity

But only recently did I discover two long-standing and very valuable programs – one that helps nonprofits and one geared to for-profit businesses.  And in true NPC fashion, they are simple and direct services provided by a “one stop shop” unlike any other nonprofit resource in the region.

Nonprofit Consulting Services:

NPC does a lot more to help nonprofits than provide workshops. Nearly every day, Executive Director Leigh Kunde fields phone calls from nonprofit leaders who need help in areas such as financial management, strategic planning, HR, social media and much more.  Leigh can put them in touch instantly with experts in any of these areas. 

Sometimes, the best consultant is right on staff at the Nonprofit Center, where Dan Ullrich can provide guidance on communications issues, Bonnie Andrews on volunteer management, or Gail Kahovic on financial issues.

When an outside consultant is needed, Leigh will set up a meeting between the nonprofit looking for help and a consultant who can provide it, often sitting in to help the nonprofit find a consultant who is a perfect fit for the project.

Nowhere else in the community can a nonprofit get this kind of expert guidance with a single phone call.  Better yet, NPC members receive consulting services at a generous discount.

Business Volunteer Council:

This program bridges the gap between nonprofits and for-profits so that both can benefit. NPC’s corporate and events manager,  Debbie Knepke, can help any business, large or small, create corporate teams and connect with meaningful service opportunities.

Business Volunteer Council members become part of Milwaukee’s leading network for business volunteering and gain access to valuable information and activities, plus one-on-one guidance on supercharging their company’s community service platform.

Community service and social consciousness make for stronger employees, stronger businesses and stronger communities. When companies are engaged in the community, everyone wins.

Helping businesses become better community partners is something all of us can do. Please forward this message on to your business friends so they can take advantage of this valuable program.

The Nonprofit Center's consulting services and Business Volunteer Council are real gems – programs that are unique to Greater Milwaukee and, indeed, to the state of Wisconsin.

By Catherine Stagmer, Manager - Global Community Relations, Joy Global Inc.

Only 19%
Only 19% of today’s engineering students are women.  As part of Joy Global’s effort to attract a technically advanced and diverse workforce, Joy Global strives to play an active role in developing a talent pipeline. This year marked the third year that Joy Global’s Milwaukee operations hosted “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day,” a national event geared toward inspiring young women to pursue careers in engineering.  

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
Attendees came from three area schools that work with Joy Global employees on a year-round basis.  The 25 high school students are enrolled in Project Lead the Way (PLTW) courses at their school.  PLTW is a national engineering curriculum that provides students with an opportunity to earn college credit while learning Principles of Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Introduction to Engineering Design and more.  With a strong educational background, the students were able to visit Joy Global and apply textbook knowledge to real world experiences.

The Day’s Activities
Attendees had the opportunity to learn how to craft their own “elevator speech” while exploring why they are a STEM individual. Female Joy Global employees showcased their careers in IT, International Trade & Compliance, Planning, Engineering, Sourcing and Quality.    

Students learned about how steel is made, the steel plate nesting process, and then used their familiarity with 3D drawings to read a drawing and create a part that ultimately formed a model of a Joy Global drill.  Following this activity the students heard from two current students, one from a local technical college and one from a local engineering school, to learn more about the process of choosing what to do after high school.  They then participated in an online scavenger hunt to research and present information about local STEM schools. 

Making an Impact
Creating a diverse workforce is only possible if we first invest in creating a diverse pipeline of students pursuing STEM related degrees. Events like “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” can make an impact. Joy Global received proof of this when Jake Haskell, the Project Lead the Way teacher at one local partner school, shared the following: 

"Through the ‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day,’ Joy Global turned an artist into an engineer. Let me repeat that: In one day engineers at Joy Global turned a right brain person into a left brain person, I saw the transformation right before my eyes! Kayla was a Junior when I met her, she was the student that would draw during her free time, she would creatively look at engineering problems and often times come up with a creative solution but no answer. When she returned from the ‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day,’ she came to my classroom and professed “They sold me, I really want to be an electrical engineer.” Kayla has been accepted to four universities to date where she plans to dual major in engineering and art."  

Committed to Future Success
At Joy Global, across the world, we have a commitment to attracting, developing and retaining top talent who will contribute to our success now and in the future.   By investing in education and events like “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day,” we can start developing our pipeline in a unique and impactful way.