Director of Employer Relations Creates Innovative Initiative to Support Tomorrow’s Nonprofit Leaders

Marcus Paca, MBA, is passionate about creating opportunities for students to succeed. Particularly focused on ensuring that students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and/or as women have the support they need to excel, he has developed a new program that creates opportunities for students to develop leadership skills while connecting with potential employers.

Paca began to think about developing nonprofit leadership training following several conversations with a contact at the Wells Fargo Foundation. When he learned his colleague also expressed interest in raising the level of BIPOC leadership in regional nonprofits, they explored adding networking and an internship component, then connected with the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven to identify potential nonprofit programs to collaborate with.

The Helping Hands Initiative was born.

“Prioritizing equity and access are major components of the University-wide strategic plan,” said Paca, assistant director of employer relations for the University’s Career Development Center. “It is also the right thing to do. I’m very passionate about this program because it focuses on offering a very well-paid experiential learning opportunity for BIPOC students and women who historically have been excluded.”

‘A lot of wins packed into one program’

A collaboration between the University, Wells Fargo, and 10 regional nonprofits, the Helping Hands Initiative was developed to create experiences for University of New Haven students to learn about the important community impact work of nonprofits.

It will create mentorship opportunities for the next generation of nonprofit leaders at the University while enabling them to learn about community engagement, positive outcomes, and operational leadership strategies. It will also offer opportunities for about a dozen students to take part in paid summer internships, which are subsidized by Wells Fargo.

“The Helping Hands program has so many benefits for our students,” said Matt Caporale, executive director of the University’s Career Development Center. “Not only are students exposed to career opportunities with local nonprofits, but they are able to learn valuable leadership skills, connect to careers with a social justice impact, apply their classroom learning to the real world, become engaged in the local community, and, most importantly, potentially land a paid internship. That is a lot of wins packed into one program.”

‘Become part of smaller organizations’

Paca calls the initiative “The Triumvirate,” as it is a collaboration between higher education, corporate philanthropy, and nonprofits. He says it is a unique program that supports students, as well as Wells Fargo’s philanthropic mission and the work of nonprofit organizations that will bring on students as interns and, possibly, future employees and leaders.

Shirley West, executive director for Urban Community Alliance, a New Haven-based nonprofit that empowers families of color to become financially self-reliant while supporting their well-being and capacity to nurture their children, is looking forward to the impact the program promises to make.

“Urban Community Alliance values and appreciates the opportunity to support students exploring nonprofit professions through leadership development training and paid internships,” said West. “The University of New Haven's Helping Hands Initiative will increase student exposure to regional nonprofits and help raise the level of BIPOC managers and executives in the future.”

Paca hopes the initiative will create a pipeline for students to become future leaders in regional nonprofits. Because social equity issues have increasingly become a priority for students nationwide, as well as for corporate and philanthropic organizations, he hopes the program will be a timely source of support for students to learn about the important work of local nonprofits in their communities.

“I was so excited to hear Marcus's vision for University of New Haven students' integration into the New Haven nonprofit community,” said Vy Tran, lead organizer for Students for Educational Justice, a youth-led, intergenerational organizing body. “We hear a lot about huge nonprofits that most often attract social justice-oriented college students, but the Helping Hands Initiative is a great re-routing for students to become part of smaller organizations and teams that are doing work on the ground and in the streets.”

‘The potential value of this initiative will be far reaching’

The Helping Hands Initiative will include student programming, such as leadership development trainings, later this semester. It will also offer a social networking event on March 30 that will bring together representatives from nonprofit organizations, as well as the University, the Wells Fargo Foundation, and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Students will learn more about the organizations’ work and impact while connecting with potential mentors and advisers – possibly leading to paid internships and employment.

“I appreciate the Career Development Center’s focus and Wells Fargo’s financial contribution to build a pipeline of opportunities for BIPOC students to gain leadership skills in organizations that they may not think of when applying for an internship,” said Ophelie Rowe-Allen, Ed.D., dean of students, who has been involved with the leadership training sessions.

Paca says more employers – including those at nonprofits – want increasingly diverse workplaces that reflect the markets they serve. He says there still needs to be more diversity in nonprofit leadership, and he hopes the Helping Hands Initiative will help create a pathway for interested BIPOC students to excel in those critical roles.

“I think this model could be replicated outside of the nonprofit arena,” he said. “It could be pitched to engineering, healthcare, and business firms from a talent acquisition and pipeline- development perspective, eventually, creating a portfolio of long-lasting, external, and strategic relationships and new levels of funding for the University of New Haven. The potential value of this initiative will be far reaching and substantive, especially if this model becomes replicable.”