Student-Run Group Awarded City Grant For Expansion

The city of Claremont has awarded the CMC student-run organization SOURCE a grant of $2,500, the first time in CMC history that students have applied for and received city funding.
SOURCE (Student Outreach Utilizing Resources and Community Exchange) is a student-founded, student-run outreach program designed to improve the services and capacities of regional nonprofit organizations. It connects students seeking hands-on experience in marketing and organizational consulting with local nonprofit organizations that need these services. SOURCE attempts to facilitate dialogue between community groups and Claremont McKenna College and foster long-term communication and cooperation.
Since its inception in 2005, SOURCE has worked with numerous groups including Uncommon Good, School on Wheels, and Crossroads.
While the roots of SOURCE extend further back in time, the seed for the grant proposal to the city was planted when founders Michael Peel '07 and Daniel Hayman '07 entered the Kravis Business Plan competition last November. The students spent two weeks drafting and refining their concept for SOURCE, based on a year of planning, interning, and working with nonprofits. Although the philanthropic nature of their project ultimately proved unsuited to a profit-focused competition, they nonetheless had a plan, as well as guiding principles for their conceptual organization, now clearly articulated on paper.
With encouragement from Fred Lyn, management analyst for the city of Claremont's community grant program, Peel and Hayman applied for city funding, utilizing much of the information housed within their Kravis business plan competition submission. Working closely with CMC Director of Foundation & Corporate Relations Chris Wiedey, the pair polished their proposal and aligned it to College standards before submitting it to the city.
As Peel then left campus to enroll in the College's Washington Program, classmate Kaci Farrell '07 stepped into the breach, assisting Hayman in a presentation to City Council members in February, where they outlined SOURCE's mission and past accomplishments.
Reaching its milestone decision to fund the group on April 11, City Council president Valerie Martinez commended SOURCE's objectives. Organizers say city monies will enable SOURCE to expand its operation by hiring additional students.
Regardless of the monetary award, Hayman and Farrell say they are pleased to have introduced SOURCE to the greater community.
"In the coming year, SOURCE will continue to build upon community relationships and generate positive impact within the City of Claremont," Farrell says.