The 2014 Excellence in Social and Community Investment Awards: Mesirow Financial Consulting

Mesirow Financial, MFC's parent company, had recently rolled out a Chicago-based community outreach program focused on education. Turns out, MFC was also seeking something similar in New York, says Kristin Winford, Chief Operating Officer of Mesirow Financial Consulting. "We were looking for our signature organization that we could give our time, talent and treasure to," Winford says. "After Rachel attended the event, she came back and said that she thought this organization that was focused on high school students would be perfect and the MFC could make a very positive and meaningful impact."

And they have.

Winford says MFC was particularly interested in committing human capital, not just donating funds, to make a lasting impact on lives and communities. The firm hosted two separate career exploration trips, where groups of 10 to 15 high school students spent an afternoon at MFC's office. The highlight of the afternoon was round-robin mock interviews. Several of the senior professionals, who are responsible for hiring at MFC, conducted the interviews and provided a resume critiques. The students were provided with scoring matrices highlighting the areas where they excelled and areas they may need to improve, Fish says.

"We have everyone involved from senior staff to interns. And I think it gives everyone the opportunity to step back from their busy work schedules and realize the importance of giving back to their community," Fish says. "It's especially gratifying to help build the next generation of leaders or future consultants or lawyers or whatever they may be."

Clare Harwood, Senior Program Coordinator with Futures and Options, says that on numerous occasions, MFC employees visited the Futures and Options learning center to participate as judges in the "Create A Company" competition. At the beginning of the semester, Futures and Options students were divided into teams with the goal of creating a fictional company to present to a panel of "investors". Throughout the semester, the students worked together to develop a concept, business plan and general operating policies.

The students had to create a five- to ten-minute PowerPoint presentation for our investors panel, with each student speaking at least once. MFC employees asked questions, rated each group and rewarded the winning group with gift cards. "Mesirow is clearly fully invested in our students. They've given some of the best career exploration trips we've ever had," Harwood says. "There's no doubt that Mesirow is opening doors for our students. And it's clear they foster a fantastic culture of giving back at Mesirow. The people there are amazing."

In addition to MFC's hands-on work with Futures and Options, the firm has been sponsors of the organization's "Dream Big Gala" and "A Toast to Brighter Futures" events two years in a row. "What's impressed me is the amount of effort and investment that Futures and Options puts into the students. They are very well put together and they are very articulate," Winford says. "I think it's really evident how much of an impact
the organization makes on the students."