KPMG to Collaborate with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound to Create AI Match Recommendation Engine with Microsoft support

Seattle, WA – June 13, 2024, KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, announced today that they are co-developing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Match Recommendation Engine - with support from Microsoft - for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound (BBBSPS), a nonprofit organization that provides mentoring services to children and teens facing adversity. The collaboration aims to revolutionize the way children are matched with mentors through an advanced AI Match Recommendation Engine and empower young individuals by providing them with the guidance and support of a caring adult mentor as they fulfill their potential and build brighter futures.

The AI Match Recommendation Engine leverages generative AI and machine learning to enhance the matching process between children (Littles) and adult volunteers (Bigs), enhancing the speed and quality of the matching process through a data-driven yet human-centered approach.

"We are grateful to KPMG and Microsoft for their generous support and collaboration on this project, which will enable us to provide more children in our region with mentors," said Alonda Williams, CEO and President of BBBSPS. "The AI Match Recommendation Engine will help us optimize our most important asset, our human capital, and will enable our staff to focus more time on building relationships with our Bigs and Littles. It will also help us create more successful and lasting matches, which will ultimately lead to better outcomes for our Littles and the communities we serve."

KPMG is developing the AI Match Recommendation Engine leveraging Microsoft’s Fabric Technology, a cloud-based data science platform that enables secure and scalable data analysis to conduct natural language processing, sentiment analysis, and machine learning to analyze the profiles and preferences of Bigs and Littles and generate a ranked list of potential matches. The AI Match Recommendation Engine is designed to augment the human judgment and expertise of the BBBSPS staff, who will have final approval for the matches, enriching the mentoring experience for both Littles and Bigs.

"KPMG is proud to collaborate with BBBSPS and Microsoft on this innovative and transformative project," said KPMG Managing Director, Gavin Bartlett. "We believe that AI can be a powerful force for good in society, and we are committed to using our skills and resources to help BBBSPS transform the lives of thousands of children through mentoring and creating more meaningful connections."

KPMG plans to expand the AI Match Recommendation Engine to other BBBS agencies across the country. The goal is to provide benefits to all Bigs, Littles, and staff members helping BBBS achieve its mission of creating and supporting one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.

“AI is a powerful ally for nonprofits, enabling them to expand their reach and deepen their impact,” said Mark Ghazai, Managing Director of Azure Solutions Tech for Social Impact. “Through KPMG’s expertise, BBBSPS will be able to enrich the mentorship experience, connecting more children with mentors and fostering stronger bonds between Bigs and Littles.”

The solution is also made possible by the insights uncovered by KPMG’s Data Citizens with Purpose initiative, where KPMG professionals provided pro bono data consulting to analyze the factors that contribute to a good match, such as common interests, personality traits, and geographic proximity.

BBBSPS currently serves around 1,000+ matches today and is looking to continue growing this number in the next few years. The AI Match Recommendation engine will help to scale the matching effort given that an integral element for the program's success is more volunteer Bigs.

This collaboration, aligning with BBBSPS's mission to change the lives of America's youth, is a testament to KPMG and Microsoft's steadfast commitment to making a positive impact within their communities and to continuously innovate for lasting change.

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About KPMG LLP

KPMG LLP is the U.S. firm of the KPMG global organization of independent professional services firms providing audit, tax and advisory services. The KPMG global organization operates in 143 countries and territories and has more than 273,000 people working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

KPMG is widely recognized for being a great place to work and build a career. Our people share a sense of purpose in the work we do, and a strong commitment to community service, inclusion and diversity and eradicating childhood illiteracy. Learn more at www.kpmg.com/us.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound (BBBSPS) creates and supports one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. BBBSPS serves more than 1,300 children annually in King, Pierce, Kitsap, and Thurston counties, with a network of over 1,100 volunteers. BBBSPS is part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America network, the nation’s largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring organization, serving more than 150,000 children across the country.