In 1995, a group of 13 McKinsey colleagues gathered at the home of a firm partner in Washington, DC, for the first-ever LGBTQ+ meeting at the firm. It was shrouded in such secrecy that those who attended hardly knew who else would be there.
“It was nerve-wracking to open that door,” says Brian Rolfes, a former partner who was at that first meeting. He retired from the firm last year but continues to serve as a senior expert advisor. “But we soon saw that we were a community at the firm, and as the network grew, so did our influence.”
The group ultimately became Equal, the firm’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group, which today has over 1,800 members, including nearly 60 partners or senior partners. It used its visibility in part to champion work at the firm that would impact the LGBTQ+ community, including groundbreaking research, executive master classes, and hosting international conferences.
One of the most consistent ways the firm has made an impact is through pro bono, long-term partnerships with LGBTQ+ nonprofits. As we reflect on three decades of inclusive leadership, here’s how we’ve helped strengthen mission-driven organizations.
The Trevor Project: Helping meet surging demand during COVID-19
Demand for The Trevor Project’s leading crisis and suicide-prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth doubled in the early days of the pandemic. It was a challenge for the volunteer-powered nonprofit to meet the surge in demand: During peak hours, up to 40 percent of callers and 70 percent of digital users abandoned their request for help before connecting with a crisis counselor.
It was incredible to be part of the difference Trevor makes, and to see the organization build on the work we did together
Building on an established partnership, Trevor and McKinsey worked together to meet the urgent moment by embarking on a holistic operations transformation. To find operating model improvement strategies, the McKinsey team assessed service performance metrics, met with over 50 Trevor stakeholders, and interviewed experts across other crisis services organizations, government agencies, and behavioral health nonprofits, as well as partner experts within McKinsey.
“From the beginning, the Trevor team inspired us to think outside the box to identify benchmarks and best practices from a wide range of adjacent organizations,” says Andrew Bower, a senior associate at McKinsey. “Trevor did not have a natural peer group given their population-specific services, reliance on volunteers, and established national scale. Yet there was a desire and need to improve, so it was critical to seek guidance from other industries.”
One key area of opportunity was demand forecasting and planning to better match youth with available crisis counselors, which was below 70 percent accuracy for both phone and digital channels.
The interviews and research led to smarter demand forecasting and other targeted improvements—such as upgrades to volunteer management software and new protocols for spikes in demand—that are helping more young people connect to care.
Andrew was so inspired by working with Trevor that he underwent the 40-hour volunteer training and became a volunteer crisis counselor himself.
“It was incredible to be part of the difference Trevor makes, and to see the organization build on the work we did together,” he says.
Reaching Out MBA: A “sparring partner” for growth
When Justin Chang was finishing up his MBA, he turned to the ROMBA conference for help on navigating his career path—an annual event attended by roughly 1,800 students. It’s organized by the nonprofit Reaching Out MBA, dedicated to helping MBA students build meaningful connections, advance their careers, and become leaders who foster change.
It was there he met McKinsey leaders who became role models and mentors to him.
“It was powerful to see people doing work I wanted to do celebrated for their professional skills—and for who they are,” says Justin, who worked for McKinsey for over five years and became an associate partner. “I wanted to be more open about who I was in my career, and it was meaningful to see examples of that authenticity.”
Not long after Justin joined McKinsey, he was able to give back to ROMBA. “Reaching Out’s former executive director, Aidan Currie, was resetting the organization’s long-term strategic plan and wanted a ‘sparring partner’ to sharpen his plans and ideas,” Justin says.
Justin jumped at the chance. Throughout his tenure at the firm, he met regularly with Aidan, building a strong partnership.
They worked on growing revenue, which was almost entirely from corporate sponsors, by increasing contributions and support from conference alumni. ROMBA expanded the program team with a new hire who took alumni engagement to the next level.
“Elevating alumni engagement was intended to help alumni looking for new opportunities to connect with other LGBTQ+ professionals, as well as deepen their engagement with ROMBA and possibly become supporters,” says Justin.
Justin’s work with Aidan expanded into coaching for the entire ROMBA team to make sure each staff member’s goals and priorities aligned with the ambitious goals of the organization. He brought in two McKinsey colleagues to run strategy sessions and individual coaching with the staff.
“We wanted to make sure there was not a big disconnect between ROMBA’s big mission and what everyone was doing on a day-to-day basis,” Justin says. “We worked on making everyone clear on how their personal goals aligned with the organization’s five-year plan.”
Reaching Out continues to grow. The annual ROMBA conference now includes IRIS, an event that uplifts and connects women, transgender, gender non-conforming individuals, and allies within the business community, and PRIZM, which is geared towards LGBTQ+ professionals looking to explore the next phase of their careers.
Out for Undergrad: Leading with confidence
Alumni support turned out to be crucial for another organization with a lean team and a big mission: Out for Undergrad (O4U), which helps high-achieving LGBTQ+ undergraduates reach their full potential through unique conferences.
In a recent six-week pro bono engagement, McKinsey helped O4U, which operates with only two staff members and several volunteers, identify strategies for financial resilience and tighten its focus on core strengths.
“They had a lot of ideas for new things, but we encouraged them to focus on what they do best and the people who already support them,” says Jackie Wong, associate partner and senior expert at McKinsey.
The team’s work helped O4U build a new fundraising muscle and confidence in telling its story—which helped the organization launch a fundraising campaign, raising $50,000 in 45 days from alumni.
But the impact of the engagement went deeper into the organization’s identity. It helped O4U understand its strengths and communicate them to sponsors and potential donors, such as its higher-than-average sponsorship retention rates, its lean staff, and its history of impact.
“Some of our alumni call us a ‘best kept secret,’” says Cindi Love, executive director of O4U. “McKinsey helped us change that—by recognizing our strengths and encouraging us to own them.”