The Time to Innovate is Now!

"In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity." Albert Einstein

I believe you have two choices when faced with a crisis, you can choose to panic and be paralyzed by fear, or you can find a way to push through. If you are a social entrepreneur there is also a third option, you can innovate.

We are living in truly unprecedented times. The COVID-19 global pandemic has upended everything for everyone and we are now forced to live and work differently. The world should be getting ready for a "new normal" post-COVID-19. I am grateful that my family remains safe and healthy, but the same cannot be said for many others, unfortunately.

As a nonprofit leader, my organization (The Greenwood Project) mission is to foster diversity in financial services by developing programs that path minority college students from under-resourced communities towards careers in the finance sector. When the true spread and the effects of COVID-19 started to be felt in mid-March, my thoughts immediately focused on our students and how they would be affected. Our pivot kicked into high gear when it was announced that all Illinois in-class instruction would be suspended. I knew that the Greenwood Project had to continue to serve our students no matter what, and we also needed to find new ways to engage them as well.

"There are no problems - only opportunities to be creative." Dorye Roettger

Where others saw challenges, I saw opportunities. I was determined to keep our students engaged and learning, and made it a point to let each student know that Greenwood was going to be a resource for them now more than ever. If COVID-19 dragged into the summer we would also be positioned to keep our programs going by any means necessary. In light of this crisis, Greenwood has developed several courses using the Google Classroom platform for college and high school students. These courses are available to any student interested in gaining exposure to the financial industry, and we welcome non-Greenwood students as well. Greenwood has an army of virtual volunteers from the finance and technology sectors who contribute content to our curriculum. I have been very impressed by the efforts made by firms and their employees who have really stepped up to help students.

“Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.” James Lane Allen

In late March we launched the Greenwood Online Academy of Learning (G.O.A.L). The program's target audience is high school juniors/seniors, and college students. The program also features a rewards system whereby students earn gift cards and other perks as they complete our various learning tracks. One such track is "Preparing for a Career in Finance” - classes include; Elevator Pitch, Public Speaking, Dress for Success, Interview Prep, Resume Building, LinkedIn for Students, Financial Literacy, Intro to the Stock Market, Intro to Programming. To date, we have approximately sixty students enrolled with a long waiting list. With the state of Illinois shutting down in-person learning recently, we now have educators and high schools reaching out to us as well. Greenwood now has the ability to reach so many more students.

Greenwood Project - Investing in The Future of Finance

College students have been hit especially hard by COVID-19, but Greenwood is determined to do as much as possible to support them during this challenging time. Many summer internships have already been impacted by COVID-19 with companies either canceling internships or reducing their length. It is critical that college students continue to build their resume despite COVID-19, for this reason, the Greenwood Project launched the "Investing in The Future of Finance" scholarship program. College scholars will be able to obtain three finance industry certifications with all associated costs for books, study materials, and exam fees covered by the Greenwood Project. There is a high probability that we will all have some sort of restricted ability to move about this summer. These credentials provide foundational information that will prove valuable throughout interns careers. We had twenty-five college students apply for this scholarship over a two day period.

Finance Industry certifications for Greenwood Scholars

• Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC)
• The CFA Institute Investment Foundations? Program
• The Securities Industry Essentials? (SIE?) Exam

The Future of Work for Students

More than 22 million Americans have lost their jobs over the last month as a result of COVID-19, and the economic fallout has only just begun. College students who are due to graduate this year will now have to compete for entry-level jobs with much more experienced candidates. Students need organizations like the Greenwood Project to help them navigate the next few months so they can continue to build their career readiness and develop skills necessary for a career in the financial industry. Greenwood’s contingency plans for the summer include working with firms to convert their internships to remote roles and exploring the micro-internship model. Micro-internships are short-term paid projects which can be outsourced to students virtually.

We must facilitate meaningful career experiences for students this summer, and the Greenwood Project is open and willing to partner with companies that want to support our mission. My advice to college students is to find ways to continue to build your resume, because you want to be prepared and ready for any opportunities on the other side of this crisis.

How has your company approached innovation during this time of crisis?

Contact [email protected] learn more. Follow us @greenwoodprochi on all social media.