HandsOn New Orleans Part II: The Bunkhouse Build Campaign

From left to right: Stephen Chang, Michelle Lee, Andrew Zeiser, David Keane, Addie Burton

Meet the other HandsOn team.

On a mission to 'Do Good and Do Well' in New Orleans, our team worked with HandsOn to deliver a capital campaign strategy to raise funds for a new volunteer bunkhouse. HandsOn currently houses volunteers on the upper level of a two-story residential building located in Mid-City. While the bunkhouse has generated a profit for the past couple years, it has several limitations that needed to be addressed, including lack of space and rental fees. In order to resolve these issues, the development of a new bunkhouse in the Hoffman Triangle community was proposed. Our team aimed to assist this project by working closely with our point of contact, Cathy Puett, to develop a fundraising campaign to help finance the new bunkhouse.

On our first day, our team met with Cathy at the current bunkhouse to discuss the project and to take a tour of the facilities. We decided the best approach would be to come up with a proposal to give to potential investors. We then drove over to the plot of land where the new bunkhouse was to be constructed to get a better idea of the scale of the project.

Now imagine a super eco-friendly, modern building right there in the middle of that space.

We had a lot of work ahead of us. Throughout the week, we looked over financial records, architectural designs (created by students from the Tulane University School of Architecture), and other sources of data that would help put together our deliverable. We met with Cathy once more to verify numbers and facts. Our final product consisted of the proposal, a presentation to show investors, an executive summary, pledge cards, and a list of investors that HandsOn could reach out to. Our final step was to present our deliverable to the HandsOn staff and board members.

Our presentation was met with positive feedback and excitement, which led to a lively discussion about the next steps HandsOn should take and an invitation to return to New Orleans in the future for the unveiling of the new bunkhouse. Success! This was an amazing experience for everyone on the team. We were also given a shoutout on the HandsOn Facebook page:

"We were incredibly luck to have the savvy aid of a group of DePaul students this week. Today they gave an incredible presentation to our staff and select board members about a few new initiatives we are working on here at HandsOn! Thanks so much to DePaul! We hope to work with you again next year!"

A big thanks to HandsOn New Orleans for giving us the opportunity to work with them! It is an amazing organization that has and continues to provide relief and services to the greater New Orleans area. We hope for continued success in future collaborations between DePaul and HandsOn.