Kate Szostak ’11Journal #1
This summer, I am interning at Pro Mujer, a women’s development and microfinance organization based in New York City with operations in five Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru). Pro Mujer uses a unique, holistic model: in addition to financial services, Pro Mujer offers its clients training and support through programs in healthcare, empowerment, and business development.
Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Peru to see Pro Mujer’s programs in action. I spent several days in and around Puno, a town on Lake Titicaca that serves as Pro Mujer’s headquarters in Peru. On the first day, we visited the Uros Islands, man-made islands consisting of layers upon layers of reeds, atop blocks of earth, anchored to the lake’s bottom. Several Pro Mujer clients live on the islands and sell their intricately embroidered handicrafts to tourists. Loans from Pro Mujer help the women purchase material for their wares. The savings they accrue help them send their children to school on the mainland.
We also toured two focal centers in Puno where loan disbursements and payments are made. True to Pro Mujer’s holistic approach, the centers also offer health services, daycare for clients’ children, and computer training (we witnessed a PowerPoint class in action).
On the second day of the trip, we visited Desaguadero, a rural town near the Bolivian border. We sat in on a disbursement meeting, where we were able to see how members of a loan group check in with each other and record payments. The highlight of the trip for me was seeing Pro Mujer’s mobile health clinics, which offer dental, vision, and gynecological exams to people who otherwise would not have access to these critical services.
My trip to Peru gave me a better understanding of Pro Mujer’s operations, and the great need for its services.
Journal #2
Back at Pro Mujer headquarters in New York, I have been busy working on several projects. I have been applying not only some of the technical skills I learned in my core classes, but also some of the sector knowledge I acquired in social enterprise classes such as Strategic Philanthropy and The Nonprofit Sector and the City.
One of my projects involves researching nonprofit evaluation websites such as Charity Navigator, learning the evaluation metrics and processes used, and preparing an analysis of comparable firms’ profiles. These types of websites make public all sorts of information about nonprofits with the aim of helping potential donors and others better understand the financials of an organization. While we did not learn nonprofit accounting in Accounting I, I find myself analyzing firms’ financials with much greater ease due to the core accounting class I took last fall.
Charity Navigator has received some criticism in the past for placing too much emphasis on financial information; namely, over-emphasizing the importance of low administrative and fundraising expenses when in fact a strong infrastructure — including a talented management team and adequate systems — is vital to running a high-performing nonprofit. Perhaps as a result, Charity Navigator recently announced it would be adding accountability and transparency metrics to round out its evaluation methodology. Part of this project involves evaluating how Pro Mujer would fulfill these new guidelines, and providing recommendations for areas of improvement.
On a lighter note, the director of development and communications took our team out for dinner earlier this week, which was a great opportunity to get to know my colleagues outside of the office. It’s hard to believe there are only three weeks of the internship left.
Journal #3
It is hard to believe that my internship at Pro Mujer is coming to a close. I have been very busy with a variety of projects over the past few weeks. I have been helping the development team streamline their systems and policies, so that functions like the processing of gifts are as efficient as possible. I find myself drawing upon concepts from Operations Strategy and Operations Management more often than I ever imagined.
I also conducted research on governance best practices and trends within the nonprofit sector. I synthesized major themes from several comprehensive resources, and presented some of my key findings to Pro Mujer’s board chair and the heads of the Nominating and Governance Committees. As a vice president of the Nonprofit Board Leadership Program at Columbia Business School, I have been interested in governance for some time. The project was a great way for me to expand my knowledge on the topic. I was particularly interested in the role of auxiliary governing bodies such as advisory councils, and also found some useful tools to analyze the composition of boards.
Finally, I have been working with Pro Mujer’s chief development and communications officer to build a long-term fundraising and development strategic plan. Pro Mujer is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, making it a unique and exciting time for the organization — both to reflect on the impact it has made on the lives of so many women and their families, and to look ahead at how it will continue to advance its mission of ending poverty in Latin America.
I look forward to staying involved with Pro Mujer in the future. I am so grateful to the team at Pro Mujer as well as the Social Enterprise Program at Columbia Business School for making this extraordinary experience possible. Thank you!
