PULSE

The goal of the PULSE expansion is three-fold:
• To increase the civic engagement of more young adults (PULSE fellows) in Pittsburgh.
o Serve 30-40 young adults annually.
o Develop young adults through more than 40 seminars, two weekend retreat, mentoring relationship and one-on-one supervision meetings with program staff.
• To increased capacity-building and value added staffing services to the Pittsburgh nonprofit sector.
o Serve 30 nonprofit organizations annually.
o Supply 50,000 hours of skilled volunteer support to Pittsburgh nonprofits.
• To increase neighborhood and community engagement and social capital in the East End, Northside, and South Hilltop.
o Expand its neighborhood presence in East End, Northside, and South Hilltop by having six houses in these respective communities.
o Expand to have at least five micro-community engagement “nodes” out of the PULSE houses and office.

With ten years of sustained results, increasing interest from young adults as well as partner nonprofits and a strong balance sheet, PULSE is well positioned to As applications from highly qualified, university graduates has soared, so has interest from nonprofit partners seeking a nonprofit partnership with PULSE. The result is an increasing surplus of supply (talented university graduates) and demand (nonprofit partners) for service. The strategy involves capitalizing on the excess supply (talented university graduates) and demand (nonprofit partners) for service by focusing internally on quality outcomes through its program and nonprofit partnerships.

PULSE plans to strengthen and develop staff, maintain three to four months of operating reserves and spend a considerable amount of time assessing and strengthening policies, procedures and processes within the organization.

Externally, PULSE plans to respond to favorable market conditions (excessive interest from young adults and nonprofit partners). PULSE will continue to work to strengthen neighborhood partners and collaborate with organizations and individuals to increase engagement and maximize impact. PULSE has the growing reputation of delivering high quality young adults to nonprofits and working well with local residents to collaboratively meet needs in the community.

As mentioned, PULSE continues to see an increasing surplus of talented university graduates and demand from nonprofit partners. Couple this surplus of supply and demand for service with increased revenue from individuals, foundations and events and a solid staffing plan, and PULSE is poised for growth. PULSE has seen across the board growth on the revenue side. PULSE continues to operate at 80% earned revenue from nonprofit partners, creating a sustainable, market-based financial model that can successfully manage future growth.