A Commitment to Community: LCOA and Morgan Stanley Partner to Address Critical Needs
In the heart of New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, the community center operated by the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) offers a striking testament to resilience and advocacy. Visitors encounter two poignant tributes: one honoring the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida—the deadliest mass shooting targeting LGBT+ Latinos in U.S. history—and another memorializing the growing number of Latino transgender individuals who have been tragically murdered in recent years.
These visual reminders reflect the mission of LCOA, established in 1990 to address the HIV/AIDS crisis among Latinos. Over the years, the nonprofit has broadened its scope to include health advocacy, HIV education, prevention programs for high-risk communities, and capacity-building for grassroots organizations. The need for such services is vast, as social stigma, poverty, language barriers, lack of access to care, and immigration status contribute to disproportionately low HIV testing rates among Latinos, resulting in higher infection rates. Additionally, 22% of the Latino population lacks health insurance.
The urgency of LCOA’s work has only intensified with the COVID-19 pandemic. “The painful lesson we learned from the past two-plus years is how essential it is to invest in prevention,” says Guillermo Chacón, LCOA’s president.
Exploring Primary Care Solutions
LCOA had begun initial planning to expand its offerings to include primary healthcare services, recognizing the critical need among its community. To advance this idea, the organization partnered with Morgan Stanley through its Strategy Challenge, a pro bono program that connects nonprofit organizations with Morgan Stanley professionals to tackle strategic challenges. Over ten weeks, teams collaborate to develop actionable insights, presenting their findings to judges, colleagues, and firm leaders.
The Morgan Stanley team supporting LCOA—one of nine U.S. teams—began by interviewing LCOA staff, who emphasized the pressing demand for primary care services. “Their clients were begging for it,” notes team member Ariana Salvatore, an Associate in Morgan Stanley’s Fixed Income Research division.
The team then evaluated potential partnerships, financial models, and operational needs, assessing factors like required staffing, capital investment, and expected revenue from Medicaid and other sources.
A Challenging Recommendation
After thorough analysis, the team concluded that offering primary care was not currently financially viable for LCOA. Medicaid reimbursements would fall short of covering costs, and cutting staff was not an option given existing resource constraints. Adding private paying patients was also unrealistic, given the socioeconomic demographics of the community LCOA serves.
“It wasn’t easy to recommend delaying their plans,” says Mary Kelly, a Vice President in the Investment Banking Division’s Global Power and Utilities Group. “They were deeply committed to pursuing this opportunity. But they appreciated our honest advice.”
Chacón echoed this sentiment: “The Morgan Stanley team’s culture of humility and their commitment to understanding our mission left a lasting impact. They truly became part of our story.”
A Way Forward
Determined to leave LCOA with actionable next steps, the team identified interim solutions, such as mobile care units and telehealth services, while also connecting LCOA with the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC). PCDC offered 20 hours of pro bono consulting to help LCOA refine its strategy.
For the Morgan Stanley team, the project was a powerful learning experience. “The Strategy Challenge opened my eyes to the nonprofit world,” says Salvatore. “Using the skills we’ve honed in our daily roles to help others was incredibly rewarding. It reinforced the value of diverse perspectives in solving complex problems—whether for our clients or the communities we serve.”
Through collaboration, innovation, and a shared commitment to positive change, LCOA and Morgan Stanley are paving the way for meaningful, sustainable solutions to serve vulnerable communities.
