Experiential Learning Center Projects

Company Background: NIU’s Huskie Harvest is redefining how colleges can simultaneously fight food insecurity and food waste. Since its launch in 2023, the initiative has recovered over 28,000 pounds of surplus food. The recovered food was repackaged into more than 32,000 free, nutritious meals for students. Research shows that up to 45% of college students experience food insecurity, with disproportionate impacts on students of color (70% of current NIU freshmen) and first-generation students (52% of the NIU student body). By providing consistent access to nutritious meals, Huskie Harvest reduces hunger-related stress, supporting academic success, retention and overall student well-being.

Project Background: The leaders of Huskie Harvest would like an ELC team to strengthen their current operations and support the program’s long-term sustainability and growth. As Huskie Harvest continues to expand its impact on student well-being and food recovery efforts, the organization is seeking guidance in developing a strategic framework that enhances visibility, strengthens organizational infrastructure, supports future fundraising and donor engagement, and demonstrates measurable community and environmental impact.

The ELC team will also address the following areas:

• Developing a marketing approach, including potential on-campus partnerships for digital platforms, other marketing strategies aligned with their mission, and a donor-attraction marketing strategy.
• Creating a multi-year budget strategy that considers growth.
• Using impact data, consider the value of meals saved and the environmental impact of food recovery.
• Organizing a policy/procedure manual to guide the leaders regarding volunteers and staff, where applicable.

Company background: Established in 2011, Hinsdale Magazine Group publishes locally focused magazines that document the people, organizations, businesses, and institutions shaping life in Chicago’s western suburbs. Through consistent coverage of community leadership, education, cultural initiatives, philanthropy, economic activity and local history, the publications provide a broad view of the factors that contribute to quality of life in the region. From a single publication to what are now four magazines serving Hinsdale, Downers Grove, Oak Brook, and Elmhurst, Hinsdale Magazine Group continues to provide consistent coverage of the institutions, initiatives, and individuals contributing to strong and engaged communities.

Project Background: The leadership of Hinsdale Magazine Group would like a team of consultants to address the following areas:

• Market analysis (N2), to identify specific DuPage territories that should be targeted.
• Data analytics.
• Using existing sales data to identify high-performing ad categories in the region.
• Assessing sales channels/methods and identifying a rollout schedule that serves DuPage County.
• Developing onboarding and training strategies for new sales reps and retention strategies to keep existing top performers as the company grows.

Company Background: Twin City Trivia, established in 2014, is a live entertainment company specializing in weekly trivia and music bingo events hosted at bars, restaurants, and private venues. The company currently operates events across multiple states, with a strong presence in Central Illinois and expansion efforts underway in markets such as Chicago, Austin, Minneapolis and Seattle.

With a network of hosts and venues, Twin City Trivia delivers consistent, high-energy events designed to drive customer engagement, increase weekday traffic for partner venues, and create a social, repeatable experience for players.

Project Background: Twin City Trivia is seeking support from an ELC consulting team to address several strategic growth and operational challenges as the company continues expanding into new markets.

Key areas of focus may include:

• Developing a scalable multi-market expansion strategy.
• Evaluating and refining pricing and service packaging across different market types.
• Improving outreach and sales processes to increase venue acquisition.
• Enhancing marketing materials and messaging for both weekly venues and private events.
• Identifying partnership opportunities to accelerate growth in new cities.

The team will analyze current processes, identify inefficiencies and opportunities, and provide actionable recommendations to support sustainable growth.

A successful outcome will include:

• Clear, implementable strategies for expansion.
• Improved sales and marketing frameworks.
• Practical recommendations that can be executed by the Twin City Trivia team.

Additional areas of focus may be introduced and refined during the discovery phase.

Company Background: Headquartered in Morton Grove, Illinois, LRS is Chicago's leading recycling and waste diversion provider. LRS was formed in 2012 through the merger of two of Chicago's largest waste recycling companies: Lakeshore Waste Services and Recycling Systems, Inc. LRS serves 658 schools within the Chicago Public School system and actively participates in the City of Chicago's Blue Cart Residential Recycling Program.

Project Background: The leaders of LRS would like an ELC team of consultants to make recommendations on ways to strengthen the internal communication systems.

Company Background: Encore Center for Performing Arts (ECPA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 to establish a premier cultural destination in Chicago’s western suburbs. Its vision is to build a 550-seat, state-of-the-art performance venue, with an adjacent black box theater, and additional rooms for rehearsal and community activities. The organization has completed multiple feasibility, market, and economic impact studies — confirming strong public demand, financial viability and significant economic benefit.

Project Background: ECPA's leadership would like a team of consultants to develop, disseminate, and collect survey data. This data will help establish its brand as a community-focused performing arts organization and consequently improve its net favorability score within a 5-mile radius of Elmhurst, Illinois. Additionally, the team will collect and create content focusing on arts, civic, and economic development topics and design a multi-channel distribution calendar for a soft-branding campaign.

Company Background: Clean King is a fully insured, family-owned, comprehensive janitorial service company. Clean King provides professional janitorial cleaning services for all types of businesses. All services it provides are tailored to meet your specific needs. At Clean King, every customer served receives the same high-quality, dependable, personalized service. The company offers the best price and quality in the area and provides free quotes.

Project Background: The leader of Clean King would like a team of consultants to build on the previous ELC team's project work, which involved developing a new CRM system. The ELC team will also evaluate opportunities for growth through community partnerships and government contracts. The team will also build a financial model to evaluate the profitability of using automation in the industry. More details will be revealed in the discovery meeting.