What happens when a nonprofit and a strategic advisor keep coming back to the table together? For Coffee With A Cause, the answer is growth.
In 2026, Jericho Road Pasadena volunteer and board member Ashok Boghani, a nonprofit strategy consultant, returned to Coffee With A Cause for the third time to help shape the organization’s next strategic plan. Ashok previously worked with the nonprofit in 2023 and 2024, helping develop strategies that the organization has since successfully implemented.
Now, Coffee With A Cause is thinking even bigger.
Coffee With A Cause uses coffee and workforce development to create opportunities for transitional age youth impacted by foster care, homelessness or the justice system, helping them build skills, confidence, and pathways toward brighter futures. Through paid internships in coffee, fitness, culinary arts, dog care, and retail, youth gain essential soft skills, hands-on job training, mentorship, and support to land their first job. As the organization looks ahead, its goal is to expand throughout Southern California and significantly increase the number of youth it can serve.
The vision could more than double the organization’s size. Reaching that goal will require an additional $6 million in funding, along with a clear strategy for identifying grants, expanding locations, and sustaining growth.
Ashok helped the board turn that ambitious vision into a focused five-year roadmap.
“Ashok quickly immersed himself in our mission and values,” said Dan Davidson, Executive Director of Coffee With A Cause. “He has a deep understanding of strategy and an unassuming way of leading a room. He gets people focused, brings out their ideas, and helps the board find a clear direction.”
That approach has made Ashok a trusted partner.
“This is the third time Ashok has helped us with our strategic direction,” Dan said. “Each time, he has challenged us to identify a big, aspirational goal and then focus on the realistic strategies needed to achieve it. We accomplished the goals from our first two plans, and we expect this one to be just as successful.”
During the latest planning session, the board aligned around a shared “North Star” for the next five years, identified strategic priorities, and began mapping the resources needed to turn the vision into reality.
For Ashok, the opportunity to return to an organization he knows well made the project especially rewarding.
“I am happy to support a nonprofit with such a noble cause,” Ashok said. “It’s an honor to give back by using my experience to help an organization that is working to improve opportunities for young people and those who are less fortunate.”
The partnership also demonstrates one of the unique strengths of Jericho Road’s model: relationships can continue long after an initial volunteer engagement ends.
Rather than simply completing a project and moving on, Ashok has been able to work alongside Coffee With A Cause as its needs and ambitions have evolved. Each strategic planning engagement has built on the previous one, helping the organization set goals, achieve them, and then reach for something bigger.
Today, Coffee With A Cause has a bold new challenge ahead: expand its reach, raise $6 million in additional funding, establish more locations throughout Southern California, and serve more young people while staying true to its mission.
That’s the power of strategic volunteerism. Jericho Road connects nonprofits with experienced professionals who can bring the expertise, perspective, and partnership needed to turn ambitious ideas into achievable plans.
And sometimes, the most impactful volunteer relationships aren’t one-and-done. They’re partnerships that grow stronger over time.
To learn more about Jericho Road Pasadena and opportunities to share your professional expertise with a nonprofit, visit JRPasadena.org.
Want this kind of support for your nonprofit? Request a volunteer through our website.
Thanks to volunteer Wes Robinson for writing JRP Project Highlight posts!