Careers360 Pro Bono Program
Careers360 hosted by the F. David Fowler Career Center
Undergraduate and graduate business students pursuing a range of careers join a Careers360 focus (Consulting, Marketing or Finance) to build industry knowledge, sharpen career skills, and expand their professional networks. These year-long programs culminate with select students participating in pro bono client consulting projects each spring that apply their learning to real-world business challenges. Pro Bono clients gain valuable insights, actionable deliverables and have an opportunity to collaborate with talented GW students.
Pro Bono Overview
Pro bono projects connect students with organizations to tackle real business challenges. Companies benefit from fresh, unbiased insights and strategic support, while students gain hands-on experience in professional communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and client interaction.
Sample Topics
- Competitive Analysis
- Business Growth Strategy
- Information Technology Assessment
- Marketing Audit
- Go-to-Market Strategies
- Brand or Digital Strategy
- Market Opportunity Analyses and more!
Program Structure
Scope | Guidance | Meetings
- Propose a meaningful, manageable project within a 3-month period that aligned with your business needs.
- Provide mentorship, clarify goals, and be open to student input and fresh perspectives.
- Commit to meeting with the student team weekly (or at an agreed-upon cadence) plus three recommended formal meetings - initial, mid project and final presentation.
Timeline | Structure | Support
- Projects run from early February through April.
Students work 2–4 hours per week on the project, including team collaboration and working sessions. - A designated student will be the project manager to lead communication and keep the team on track.
- Careers360 leadership meets weekly with student project managers to monitor progress and ensure a quality experience for both students and clients.
past pro bono projects
Real-World Projects. Student-Led Solutions.
IT Consulting company
Partnered with a professional services firm to explore business development and technology integration opportunities for its proprietary app. Identified and analyzed over 10 government and international development contracts aligned with the firm’s consulting and advisory strengths. Conducted a comparative evaluation of 10 relevant APIs, recommending potential integrations to enhance the app’s functionality and unlock new revenue streams.
Non Profit Organization
Supported a nonprofit organization in assessing its financial position relative to peers through benchmarking and ratio analysis of six comparable organizations. Delivered a comprehensive SWOT analysis and synthesized insights from public and internal financial data to identify key challenges, including revenue volatility, slow product sales, and a budget deficit. Findings helped inform strategic planning in support of the organization’s ambitious goal to raise and disburse $1 billion over three years.
Government Consulting Company
The project focused on identifying and refining opportunities for applying artificial intelligence within the federal government, with an emphasis on aligning these opportunities with the firm’s existing AI capabilities. The team explored how to better integrate AI into current service offerings, while also recommending ways to position the firm for differentiation in a competitive and rapidly evolving federal AI landscape.
Youth Edducation and Leadership Firm
Completed a comprehensive marketing assessment for a nonprofit organization, including an audit of current materials and channels benchmarked against sector best practices. Developed a strategic marketing plan outlining project goals, KPIs, audience segmentation, and an integrated communications roadmap. Delivered final recommendations and messaging guidelines in a leadership-facing presentation.
Crowdfunding and Grantmaking Firm
Conducted a market opportunity and competitive analysis to strengthen the positioning of a web-based philanthropy product targeting corporate, advisory, and institutional donors. Work included a landscape analysis of comparable offerings across nonprofit and for-profit sectors, pricing research aligned with customer willingness to pay, and the development of detailed customer personas to inform go-to-market strategy. The team also provided website feedback and recommendations to improve visibility and engagement.
leilla [dot] collins
gwu [dot] edu (leilla[dot]collins[at]gwu[dot]edu)
202-994-1934