The Charger Blog

Director of Employer Relations Creates Innovative Initiative to Support Tomorrow鈥檚 Nonprofit Leaders

Marcus Paca, MBA, created the Helping Hands Initiative, which he describes as a triumvirate connecting the University with local nonprofits and corporate philanthropy. He looks forward to the collaborative opportunities it will create between the University and local organizations, as well as the 黑料社s it will provide for underrepresented students to excel in nonprofit leadership roles.

March 17, 2022

By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications


The Helping Hands Initiative offers leadership development training sessions that bring together students, staff, and nonprofit leaders.
The Helping Hands Initiative offers leadership development training sessions that bring together students, staff, and nonprofit leaders.

Marcus Paca, MBA, is passionate about creating opportunities for students to succeed. Particularly focused on ensuring that students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and/or as women have the support they need to excel, he has developed a new program that creates opportunities for students to develop leadership skills while connecting with potential employers.

Paca began to think about developing nonprofit leadership training following several conversations with a contact at the Wells Fargo Foundation. When he learned his colleague also expressed interest in raising the level of BIPOC leadership in regional nonprofits, they explored adding networking and an internship component, then connected with the to identify potential nonprofit programs to collaborate with.

The Helping Hands Initiative was born.

鈥淧rioritizing equity and access are major components of the University-wide strategic plan,鈥 said Paca, assistant director of employer relations for the University鈥檚 Career Development Center. 鈥淚t is also the right thing to do. I鈥檓 very passionate about this program because it focuses on offering a very well-paid experiential learning opportunity for BIPOC students and women who historically have been excluded.鈥

Students take part in recent nonprofit leadership development training session.
Students take part in recent nonprofit leadership development training session.
鈥楢 lot of wins packed into one program鈥

A collaboration between the University, Wells Fargo, and 10 regional nonprofits, the Helping Hands Initiative was developed to create 黑料社s for University of New Haven students to learn about the important community impact work of nonprofits.

Image of Marcus Paca, MBA.
Marcus Paca, MBA.

It will create mentorship opportunities for the next generation of nonprofit leaders at the University while enabling them to learn about community engagement, positive outcomes, and operational leadership strategies. It will also offer opportunities for about a dozen students to take part in paid summer internships, which are subsidized by Wells Fargo.

鈥淭he Helping Hands program has so many benefits for our students,鈥 said Matt Caporale, executive director of the University鈥檚 Career Development Center. 鈥淣ot only are students exposed to career opportunities with local nonprofits, but they are able to learn valuable leadership skills, connect to careers with a social justice impact, apply their classroom learning to the real world, become engaged in the local community, and, most importantly, potentially land a paid internship. That is a lot of wins packed into one program.鈥

鈥楤ecome part of smaller organizations鈥

Paca calls the initiative 鈥淭he Triumvirate,鈥 as it is a collaboration between higher education, corporate philanthropy, and nonprofits. He says it is a unique program that supports students, as well as Wells Fargo鈥檚 philanthropic mission and the work of nonprofit organizations that will bring on students as interns and, possibly, future employees and leaders.

Shirley West, executive director for , a New Haven-based nonprofit that empowers families of color to become financially self-reliant while supporting their well-being and capacity to nurture their children, is looking forward to the impact the program promises to make.

鈥淯rban Community Alliance values and appreciates the opportunity to support students exploring nonprofit professions through leadership development training and paid internships,鈥 said West. 鈥淭he University of New Haven's Helping Hands Initiative will increase student exposure to regional nonprofits and help raise the level of BIPOC managers and executives in the future.鈥

Paca hopes the initiative will create a pipeline for students to become future leaders in regional nonprofits. Because social equity issues have increasingly become a priority for students nationwide, as well as for corporate and philanthropic organizations, he hopes the program will be a timely source of support for students to learn about the important work of local nonprofits in their communities.

鈥淚 was so excited to hear Marcus's vision for University of New Haven students' integration into the New Haven nonprofit community,鈥 said Vy Tran, lead organizer for , a youth-led, intergenerational organizing body. 鈥淲e hear a lot about huge nonprofits that most often attract social justice-oriented college students, but the Helping Hands Initiative is a great re-routing for students to become part of smaller organizations and teams that are doing work on the ground and in the streets.鈥

Matt Caporale (standing) leads a career development training session with students before the pandemic.
Matt Caporale (standing) leads a career development training session with students before the pandemic.
鈥楾he potential value of this initiative will be far reaching鈥

The Helping Hands Initiative will include student programming, such as leadership development trainings, later this semester. It will also offer a social networking event on March 30 that will bring together representatives from nonprofit organizations, as well as the University, the Wells Fargo Foundation, and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Students will learn more about the organizations鈥 work and impact while connecting with potential mentors and advisers 鈥 possibly leading to paid internships and employment.

鈥淚 appreciate the Career Development Center鈥檚 focus and Wells Fargo鈥檚 financial contribution to build a pipeline of opportunities for BIPOC students to gain leadership skills in organizations that they may not think of when applying for an internship,鈥 said Ophelie Rowe-Allen, Ed.D., dean of students, who has been involved with the leadership training sessions.

Paca says more employers 鈥 including those at nonprofits 鈥 want increasingly diverse workplaces that reflect the markets they serve. He says there still needs to be more diversity in nonprofit leadership, and he hopes the Helping Hands Initiative will help create a pathway for interested BIPOC students to excel in those critical roles.

鈥淚 think this model could be replicated outside of the nonprofit arena,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t could be pitched to engineering, healthcare, and business firms from a talent acquisition and pipeline- development perspective, eventually, creating a portfolio of long-lasting, external, and strategic relationships and new levels of funding for the University of New Haven. The potential value of this initiative will be far reaching and substantive, especially if this model becomes replicable.鈥