How a NYC Nonprofit Revolutionized Their Impact With monday.com

In the heart of New York City, a food truck sparked something much bigger than just great meals.

Born from decades of kitchen-grit and a bold vision to use food as a tool for social justice, Drive Change exists to disrupt cycles of poverty and incarceration by creating culinary career paths for justice-impacted young adults.

Their mission? To equip these 18-25 year old emerging leaders with culinary skills, holistic support, and community so they thrive long-term. Just before monday.com's annual Elevate event, our team at Polished Geek had the privilege of visiting Drive Change's headquarters to see their work in action.

From the moment we walked through the doors of their Brooklyn HQ, we could feel the energy and passion driving their programming. And to top it off, we were treated to a savory meal prepared by ​​Culinary Training & Operations Coordinator, Chef Nigel, featuring the juiciest chicken we've ever had, a delicious preview of how Drive Change uses food as a force for transformation.

"A criminal record shouldn't define a young person's future. At Drive Change, we work to dismantle the barriers that block opportunity, and to show what's possible when talent and potential are given the chance to shine," shared Chief Operating Officer Meredith Dean.

"By immersing themselves in culinary arts training and serving their communities, our young people turn barriers into opportunities and jobs into futures."

The Challenge: Chaos Behind the Passion

What started in 2014 with a single food truck serving youth returning from Rikers Island has blossomed under the leadership of Executive Director Kalilah Moon, expanding into a robust workforce development program, community food distribution, and alumni-led social enterprise.

With this growth came operational challenges. Before adopting monday.com, Drive Change's project management processes and data tracking tools were a patchwork of spreadsheets, sticky notes, staff huddles, and endless email threads.

Their team was running life-changing programs, but, behind the scenes, the systems holding everything together were strained under their growth.

"Imagine managing catering events, participants' progress, and alumni outreach with nothing more than email chains and verbal updates," said Director of Social Enterprise & Initiatives Travis Sylvester.

One of the biggest pain points? Events coordination.

Requests for speakers or catering services would trickle in through emails. Staff had to manually connect the dots between their culinary team, clients, alumni hires, and logistics, a process that left too much room for error and frustration.

At the same time, their training program, the beating heart of Drive Change, needed better data tracking.

From initial applications to graduation rates and ongoing alumni support, every touchpoint with a participant was being managed manually.

This made it hard to measure impact and nearly impossible to scale up effective solutions.

As the organization prepared for major expansion, they knew they couldn't build the future on the current system.

The Solution: Partnering with Polished Geek

Enter Polished Geek. We're a monday.com Platinum Partner specializing in process optimization for growing organizations.

Drive Change wasn't looking for just a tech vendor, they wanted a partner who could co-create with them and who would deeply understand their mission and help them design a system to scale with purpose.

"We didn't want something surface-level or just a quick tech rollout," explained Dean.

"Polished Geek's approach to co-creation and intentional design was exactly what we needed."

Together, we're building a custom monday.com CRM to unify Drive Change's operations across four key use cases:

1. Fellowship Program Management

From the first application to post-graduation alumni engagement, every step of a participant's journey is now tracked seamlessly in the monday.com CRM.

• Automated workflows manage referrals, interviews, and skills assessments, removing bias through structured scoring.
• Staff can see real-time progress and provide personalized support.
• Data is captured for funders and stakeholders, proving the impact of their programs.

"This isn't just about data, it's about telling the story of transformation," the team shared.

2. Catering & Events Coordination

Clarity is emerging where there was once chaos.

• Event requests flow directly from the website into monday.com.
• Tasks are automatically assigned to the right team members.
• Everyone stays in sync with real-time updates.

This has been especially critical as Drive Change scales its catering enterprise, a three-year plan to create paid jobs for alumni while generating a sustainable revenue stream for the organization.

3. Hiring & Onboarding Internal Staff

As Drive Change grows, so does their internal team.

• The hiring process is now managed in the monday.com CRM, with clear tracking of candidates, interviews, and onboarding tasks.
• This ensures every new team member starts strong and aligned with the organization's values.

4. Volunteer & Community Engagement

Volunteers play a vital role in Drive Change's community food distribution program.

• QR codes link directly to monday.com forms, making sign-up and feedback simple.
• Automated reminders keep volunteers informed and engaged.
• Staff can quickly see who's confirmed, cutting down on manual coordination.

The Impact: From Surviving to Thriving

Where Drive Change once struggled to keep up with day-to-day operations, they now have a single source of truth for their programs, events, and data.

Communication is streamlined, accountability is clear, and the team can focus on what matters most: supporting the young people they serve.

"With monday.com, if something goes wrong, we can pinpoint exactly where it happened and fix it fast," said Moon.

"It's given us the confidence to grow without losing the heart of who we are."

Looking Ahead: Driving Change Into the Future

Drive Change isn't slowing down. Their next chapter includes:

• Expanding their catering enterprise, with new chef roles and culinary mentors.
• Creating new career pathways for graduates both directly within their social enterprise and throughout the organization.
• Using data from monday.com to influence systemic change in the hospitality industry and youth workforce overall.
• Scaling their programs to reach more young people across NYC and, eventually, beyond.

Their three-year strategic plan focuses on deepening and innovating programming, increasing operational capacity and excellence, diversifying funding, and ensuring intentional, sustainable growth — all powered by the clarity and structure of their new CRM.

"We are led by the African proverb, 'If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,'" the team shared.

"Polished Geek and monday.com have given us the tools to go farther than we ever imagined."

Turning complexity into clarity with customized monday.com solutions is just one of the ways we help mission-driven teams like Drive Change. Is your organization ready to streamline operations, improve visibility, and make data work smarter for you? Explore our services to learn how we can help. If you need to design a system that fits your goals and aren't sure where to start, simply book a meeting with our experts. And for more stories like this one, check out our blog to see how other teams are scaling their impact with smarter workflows.

About Drive Change

Drive Change is a New York City nonprofit dedicated to supporting justice-involved young people by providing culinary and hospitality training, social support, and pathways to advance their economic mobility and overall well-being. Through their innovative training program, social enterprise, and advocacy efforts, they create opportunity, community, and systemic change.

Learn more at: drivechangenyc.org

Polished Geek is a Platinum Partner of monday.com