Important Dates

Thursday, February 2nd: Case Competition Opens

• Student teams will be able access The Case Study to learn more about the event and the problems the food bank faces. They can also listen to a 3-part series of podcasts about the Houston Food Bank.
• Podcast Links
• Episode #1 - Introduction and Food Bank
• Episode #2 - Department Structure and Volunteer Types
• Episode #3 - Programs

Friday, February 24th: Mentoring and Feedback on Ideas

• Room: 2:30pm-4:30pm
• Room: CBB 330/328
• Student teams will have the opportunity to discuss the progress of their solution with staff from the Houston Food Bank and nonprofit mentors.
• Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Monday, February 27th: Applications Due at 6pm

• Executive summaries and first round of slides are due. You can submit an application here. Only one application per team is needed.

Monday, February 27th-Tuesday, February 28th: Finalist Selected

• Finalists will be notified and invited to present their solutions in the final round on Thursday, March 9th.

Thursday, March 9th : Final Round

• 4:00pm-6:00pm
• Room: TBD
• The final presentations will occur on Thursday, March 9th at 4PM. At the conclusion of team presentations, Houston Food Bank leadership will address the presenting teams with feedback on their proposals and select winners. Make sure to include a budget proposal of how your team would implement your idea with up to $10,000 in seed money.

Competition Format

This case competition consists of 2 rounds. The 1st round is a one-page PDF Executive Summary submission. Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges, ranked, and the top teams will advance. 1st Round submissions are due Sunday, February 26th using this link.

The 2nd round and final round will be a team presentation on Friday March 3rd, 2023 at 4pm on campus.

Prize and Seed Money

The top 3 teams from the final round will receive a financial award to be distributed equally among team members.

• 1st Place: $6,000 in team prize money
• Plus Up to $10,000 to be distributed directly to the Houston Food Bank 
• 2nd Place: $1,000 in team prize money
• 3rd Place: $500 in team prize money

Judging Criteria

Judges will consider the following criteria:

• Did the team provide a unique and innovative solution and approach to solving the problem?
• Did the team demonstrate a thorough understanding of the needs of the community and the non-profit’s role?
• Did the proposed solution address requirements defined in the case?
• Did the presentation includes a defined and realistic timeline for project implementation
• Did the proposed solution account for the capacity limitations of the non-profit partner?
• Did the team provide a detailed budget that accurately reflects their proposed solution?
• Is the proposed solution a feasible option for the student team to help implement?
• Was the presentation structured with a clear flow of information that effectively presented the solution?
• Was it evident that all team members were adequately knowledgeable on the different facets of the presented solution?
• Does the team provide a replicable or scalable plan/proposal which would allow their idea to be implemented across other chapters of the non-profit or a similar non-profit?

Case Challenge and Structure

Your Team must identify an idea/solution that will address one or more of the overarching problems the Volunteer Services Department faces!

Create an idea/solution and develop the following to communicate your idea:

• Create a one-page Executive Summary PDF. The Executive Summary should include:
  • An overview of your idea solution
  • An outline of your budget and how you plan to utilize the seed money (up to $10,000)

This case competition consists of 2 rounds. The 1st round is a one-page PDF Executive Summary submission. (Check out an example of an executive summary here). Only one submission per team is needed. Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges, ranked, and the top teams will advance. 1st Round submissions are due Monday, February 27th by 6pm using this link.

The top teams will be notified via email by Tuesday, February 28th and invited to participate in the final round. The team captain should reply to the email and indicate the team’s acceptance to the final round by Wednesday, March 1st at 5pm.

Failure to accept will forfeit the team’s position and another team will be invited to advance. Please note if you don’t receive an initial invitation your team still may be selected from a waitlist.

Final Presentation Directions

Teams selected to participate in the final round should

• Prepare a 15-minute presentation proposing your solution using PowerPoint, Canva, or Google Slides. We will be in a classroom in CEMO Hall. You will be able to either use a USB or the internet to pull up your slides. Multiple options are suggested in case of technological issues.
• Be sure to include an implementation timeline. Note, you can suggest up to a year timeline but no longer. They can also be shorter!
• Provide a separate, detailed budget document describing your allocation of the $10,000.
• Provide a separate, one-page duplication plan to scale to other food banks (optional but counts for extra points).
• Prepare for Q&A following your presentation.
• Check out an example of slides and a budget here.

Resources

The Impact Competition maintains an overarching goal of inspiring the next generation of students to give back to their community. They are a nonprofit who works with universities across the nation to help solve problems local nonprofits face. For this year’s event (Spring 2023), the Impact Competition will partner with Houston Food Bank (HFB). The goal is to provide HFB with sustainable, impactful ideas that will benefit the stated needs of the organization. Not only will the winning team receive a financial prize for creating an innovative solution, the Food Bank will also be given the funds to implement the idea presented. Learn more about the Impact Competition Foundation on their website: https://impactcompetition.org/

Learn more about the Houston Food Bank and their programs on their website: https://www.houstonfoodbank.org/
https://www.houstonfoodbank.org/our-programs/

Have questions for the Houston Food Bank? Submit them here.