The IDEA Project
How we helped a disability-awareness program more than triple its reach.
About the organization The IDEA Project provides disability-awareness education for elementary school children. With an array programs tailored to each grade level, their goal is to create understanding and empathy by teaching students about differences and different abilities.
Our challenge The IDEA Project came to Change Better at a critical moment for their organization. After expanding to a few local schools, many, many more schools started requesting their program, and the organization needed to figure out how to reach this ever-growing demand. From fundraising and program improvements to new staff hires, the small organization was struggling to figure out what elements to prioritize in order to grow effectively and maintain the quality of their program in the process.
What we did We helped create a Lean Strategic Plan for the organization, mapping out their needs, their strengths, and their opportunities. By structuring tasks and monthly goals, we were able to help their small team focus on their priorities and accomplish more than ever before. Next, we designed surveys to better measure the effectiveness of their program and uncover areas where the curriculum could be improved. Finally, we created a fundraising strategy, focusing on grants from local community foundations as well as expanding their base of individual donors.
The result The success of these strategies created a strong foundation for growth that allowed the IDEA Project to hire new staff members, reach the demand of new schools, and double its operating budget in just one year. As a proud ongoing partner of Change Better, the IDEA Project continues to flourish and grow. When our partnership began in 2015, their program was in 6 schools each year. They are expanding to 21 schools this year, and will be expanding to 45 schools the following year. We are thrilled to support their incredible work through this expansion and beyond.
Services provided
- Strategic Planning
- Impact Evaluation - Survey Design
- Program Design - Program Improvements
- Fundraising - Grant Writing & Individual Prospects
Testimony
“Our biggest challenge was knowing what bucket to put our priorities. Having Change Better help us address these and guide us in the process has been a huge help to our organization.”
“What surprised me the most is the amount of knowledge that Amanda has in every aspect of what other nonprofits need. No matter what your nonprofit does she has been hands down a wealth of knowledge.”
Allison Bureau, Executive Director of The IDEA Project