Case Study: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay boosts Big/Little matches with EPAM Continuum

We helped Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay use design thinking to address their recruitment and retention issues

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay worked with **EPAM Continuum** on a recruitment program to solve a volunteer drop-off problem in its mentor-matching process. The nonprofit needed to increase the number of high-quality volunteer “Bigs” who stayed engaged through the full application journey, while still maintaining match quality and keeping operating costs in check.

**EPAM Continuum** used design thinking, ethnography, design strategy, and digital envisioning to create a new onboarding experience that blended digital and human touchpoints. The redesigned process simplified and sped up early steps, kept the focus on the connection with a child, and allowed interviews to be self-scheduled online. Since launch, nearly 500 interviews were self-scheduled, Big/Little matches increased by 16% year over year, volunteer inquiries dropped by 11%, and the program scaled without additional spending.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay