Case study: Impact Intensive with Art in the Paint
A GROWING NONPROFIT ACCELERATES ITS PACE WHILE INCREASING CLARITY
ART IN THE PAINT
TYPE: Nonprofit
STAGE: 1 year post-launch
FOUNDER:
“Coop” (Arelious Cooper)
THEIR STORY
Art in the Paint was a new nonprofit founded out of Coop's own story & passion. The tiny team was building momentum around their vision and Coop saw first-hand the profound effects of his work on the community. They were small, scrappy, and growing fast. Nearly constantly, Coop was being invited to new cohorts of innovators, landing big sponsorship agreements, or starting new projects. Coop excitedly updated his robust social network about his new projects painting murals on basketball courts, thrilled to see his vision coming to life in real time.
Despite gaining attention from high-profile accelerators and connections, Coop sometimes had trouble communicating the value of their work to some people. Although the Art In The Paint team saw it clearly, they couldn't always articulate why putting paint on cement courts was important - why it mattered. They were unable to leverage resources of supporters in unrelated fields. Coop relied on tools from pro-bono services to try to solve the problem. He was left with a collection of high quality but disjointed tools that didn't quite fill the gap. Coop started to feel the frustration of attempting to convince others why this work was so deeply meaningful and why mattered to the world. Unable to leverage new connections & resources, the model began to feel uncertain.
Art in the Paint needed to frame their impact in terms anyone could value so that they could expand their reach and appeal to more funders.
THE PROCESS
Impact Vector saw Art in the Paint's passion and felt Coop's frustration in trying to relay the value of the work to others. We used the strategy tools in our Impact Intensive to understand the ins & outs of the organization. Through work sessions, Art In The Paint shared in-depth details about their work and their process. Together, we examined the mission & vision to uncover that the intended impact of painting basketball courts was to mobilize resources for under-prioritized neighborhoods. We examined past projects, gathered data on outcomes (most of which Coop already had!), and did a lot of math. Ultimately, we uncovered a concise, compelling impact statement in terms than anyone can understand: Art In The Paint projects mobilize, on average, $2.3 million in resources for each under-resourced neighborhood where they improve community basketball courts.
THE OUTCOME
Now, Art In The Paint is well equipped to mobilize their robust social network and to leverage new partners. When a funder or contact asks a question about impact, regardless of their background, they're able to understand the value of the Art in the Paint's impact - not just what they do. Art in the Paint has expand internationally. This year, they will increase their impact by offering more programs at each project and increasing and their funding by 150%. They're accomplishing more with less frustration and with more alignment.
IMPACT
"The Impact Intensive changed the trajectory of our organization. I knew why I did this work but I couldn't explain it to others or ask them to help in the most valuable, impactful way. Now, we accomplish significantly more with the same resources because we understand where to focus."