MGT 303: Managing Projects and Teams – Team 1 Field Project
Lincoln Park Community Services x Maison Parisienne
Natalia, Mandy, Kara, Alaina, and Kira
Brief description of the project
Our team partnered with Maison Parisienne, a French café in Lincoln Park, to host a fundraising event supporting Lincoln Park Community Services (LPCS). Leveraging a team member’s connection to the café, we organized a two-day in-person fundraiser offering tiered donation incentive. Between May 6th and June 1st, Maison also conducted a passive fundraiser through their “round-up” option at checkout. All donations went directly to LPCS, with Maison generously covering the cost of our items handed out during in-person tabling: coffee, cookies, and the raffle prize. Through tabling efforts, online giving, and passive fundraising, we raised a total of $1,331. The campaign was promoted through social media, campus outreach, and LPCS’s own channels, successfully raising both funds and awareness for LPCS’s mission.
Brief description of the charity
Lincoln Park Community Services is a year-round, multi-site organization that has supported adults experiencing homelessness since 1985. With two main locations at 600 W. Fullerton and 1521 N. Sedgwick, LPCS provides shelter for over 120 individuals each night. Their comprehensive services include three daily meals, educational programming focused on literacy, and permanent supportive housing throughout Chicago—from Austin to Rogers Park to South Shore. One of the reasons we chose LPCS is because they are dedicated to empowering individuals and helping individuals achieve long-term stability.
Factual analysis of success in terms of project objectives
Our project set out to raise funds and increase awareness for Lincoln Park Community Services (LPCS) and their impact on the local community. By hosting the event in the heart of Lincoln Park, we were able to reach new audiences, many of whom were unfamiliar with LPCS and became interested upon learning that it directly benefits their neighborhood. This local connection sparked meaningful conversations and increased engagement, even among those who did not donate. We distributed flyers, shared LPCS’s mission, and promoted the event through multiple channels to ensure visibility.
In terms of measurable outcomes, we successfully exceeded our goals. Our fundraising target was $1,200, with a best-case projection of $1,500. We raised a total of $1,331, surpassing our original goal. Beyond the financial success, we achieved significant outreach, raising awareness about LPCS through direct interactions, tabling, and social media. Overall, the event effectively fulfilled both our fundraising and awareness objectives, creating a meaningful impact for LPCS.
Lessons learned about managing projects
- Clear communication is key, having regular updates between the team members, but also between the organization and any other outside contacts. Our first order of business when starting this project was establishing solid modes of communication. Between our team members, texting in a group chat was the most convenient, whereas with Maison Parisienne, our team member Alaina was able to communicate directly with her manager or talk with the team in person on shift. As for LPCS, we reached out to one of the directors from their website and we were then able to get in contact with someone via email whose focus was on helping fundraise and spread awareness of our event.
- Double-check logistics and make sure everything is set and ready. Our banner was too big to place in front of the table, which could have been problematic. Yet, it worked out better for us because we were able to gain more visibility with it on the window behind us. This ties in to being flexible and adaptable, even if something doesn’t go as planned.
Advice for future teams doing similar projects
- If your project goal is to get the most amount of donations possible, consider multiple days of tabling or conducting the event vastly helped improve our turnout. We found more people approaching the table during slower hours when there were fewer crowds. Having both Friday and Saturday greatly benefited our monetary outcome as well as implementing the Toast round-up system for 4 weeks, so we started generating passive income from the get-go.
- If you are fundraising, try to see if the non-profit can help create a donation site. We noticed that GoFundMe profits from various fees, so it is way more effective to have a private link where the funds go directly to the non-profit. We were lucky because the LPCS already had one, but it may also be possible to create one. Since we had no expenses, we were also able to say “all proceeds go directly to LPCS” which appealed to everyone.
Photos of Project
Flyer for Event
Team on days of event
Table set up during event
Raffle Prize and Winner
Huge thank you to Maison Parisienne, LPCS, and Prof. Cook for making this project such a success!
-Team 1
Learn more about Lincoln Park Community Services and how you can get involved here: https://www.lpcschicago.org/