La Salle University to Host Inaugural
Delaware Valley Nonprofit Case Competition

La Salle University's School of Business, in partnership with its Nonprofit Center will host the inaugural Delaware Valley Nonprofit Case Competition on Saturday, January 31.

Teams of MBA students from Philadelphia-area business schools-La Salle, Temple and Villanova universities will be competing in the case competition. The case study for the competition is based on a real-life business scenario from Settlement Music School. The winning team will receive a $5,000 prize, with the runners up also receiving a monetary prize.

The Delaware Valley Nonprofit Case Competition is the first of its kind in the region. "With the success of La Salle's School of Business and its Nonprofit Center, a competition of this kind is a natural fit for La Salle University to host," said Paul Brazina, Dean of La Salle's School of Business.

"La Salle has shown a real commitment to the community at-large, and students are encouraged to be responsible and active corporate citizens," said Laura Otten, Ph.D., Director of the Nonprofit Center. "Students benefit from this competition because it allows them to understand the relationship and similarities between for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Typically, for-profits organizations can learn how to solve problems from nonprofit organizations, and vice versa."

In 2001, Settlement Music School designed and implemented a new software application called Community School Management System (CSMS). The software manages student registration, scheduling and payments, donor lists, and mailing lists-a major cost-savings application for Settlement and their six locations throughout Philadelphia and Camden, N.J. In an attempt to bring in additional revenue for the School, Settlement has attempted to sell the CSMS software to other appropriate organizations.

"In a turbulent economy, we are seeing more and more nonprofits seeking alternate revenue sources, such as Settlement's marketing of their CSMS software," said Otten.

For the competition, each team will analyze Settlement's case and provide recommendations from a marketing, accounting, and finance perspective. On the day of the competition, the teams will present their business proposals to three judges from local nonprofit organizations. The winning team will be chosen by the judges based on the presentation skills and how the proposal handles the legal, ethical, financial and business issues facing the marketing of Settlement's CSMS.

On behalf of La Salle University, Judy Spires, President of Acme markets and a graduate of La Salle's MBA program, will announce the winning team and present the team with the monetary prize.

In addition to providing recommendations for Settlement Music School's current situation, each of the student teams in Saturday's competition will participate in a community service project. Led by professional guitar maker Michael Menkevich, each of the teams will build a guitar, which will be donated to Settlement Music School.

For additional information about La Salle's School of Business, The Nonprofit Center, or Settlement Music School, please visit, www.lasalle.edu/sb, www.lasallenonprofitcenter.org, or www.smsmusic.org.