Crayons to Computers Takes Steps to Measure Organizational Impact

Greater Cincinnati-based nonprofit Crayons to Computers works to level the playing field in the classroom by ensuring teachers can provide students in need the tools to succeed in school. By the end of Fiscal Year 2023, the organization had distributed $192 million in free school supplies and incentive items since its inception in 1997. In 2021, Crayons to Computers partnered with Measurement Resources Company to develop its Impact Measurement Framework,™ current state report, and strategic plan.

Today, approximately one out of every five children living in the Greater Cincinnati area is living in poverty. What’s more, 94% of Cincinnati-based teachers routinely spend more than $500 out of their own pockets annually to provide tools for their classrooms.

“As I was learning about the organization, I kept asking various people in the community: ‘How should we measure what difference we’re making?’ It was something I was so passionate about getting a better handle on, because we were tracking plenty of numbers, but they were all outputs. We knew we were making a difference, but we just didn’t have any way to measure it,” said Amy Cheney, president and CEO, Crayons to Computers, who joined the organization in late 2017.

In April 2021, Amy attended Measurement Resources’ webinar hosted by Leadership Council for Nonprofits, who recorded the presentation, which Amy then shared with her team.

“The thing that really stuck with me was that it doesn’t have to be rocket science, it doesn’t have to be so complicated,” said Amy. “We requested a proposal from Measurement Resources to develop an Impact Measurement Framework. But because it wasn’t something we had budgeted for, we approached two donors who agreed to pay for the project. It was kind of amazing to me how easy it was.”

In late 2021, after reviewing Crayons’ historical data, Measurement Resources facilitated a measurement selection workshop with several Crayons staff and one board member. Crayons’ full Impact Measurement Framework report included 25 specific measures that fold up under nine areas of measure, all of which tie back to the organization’s first-ever logic model.

“I felt like our eyes were opened,” said Amy. “We now had a way to capture the impact data being requested in grant applications and that we could also communicate with our donors. We also received a refined educator survey, which we had been administering for years, but now we have so much more confidence in this tool, knowing that the questions are valid from a research perspective.”

Crayons’ Impact Measurement Framework™ Leads to Strategic Planning Initiative
Like so many nonprofit organizations, Crayons was not immune to the disruptions that the COVID-19 pandemic caused in terms of planning for the future. And because Measurement Resources had just completed Crayons’ Impact Measurement Framework and had been immersed in all aspects of the organization, Crayons continued to work with Measurement Resources to develop its Current State Report and Strategic Plan.

“The Current State Report was really helpful for our Board members, who spent time with it in preparation for the facilitated strategic planning retreat,” said Amy. “Measurement Resources recapped publicly available data that we hadn’t ever really explored, such as school district funding gaps, poverty in our service area, and education scores. This information and the way it was presented made it easily digestible.”

Among the positive surprises contained in the Current State Report was that 97% of Crayons’ constituents are net promoters, and the organization enjoys a relatively high level of satisfaction across all of its constituencies. What for many nonprofits translates to a strategic priority to increase satisfaction, for Crayons, simply maintaining this high satisfaction rate will be key.

Crayons’ Approach to Implementing Strategy
When it came to implementing Crayons’ strategic plan, Amy’s team used a software solution to define each of the focus areas, goals, tasks, and next steps, and has assigned them to team members. Amy also collaborated with Measurement Resources’ team to plan out the cadence of activities.

Since adoption of the strategic plan, Crayons’ accomplishments for the first academic year (2022-2023) are significant. Among the highlights, Crayons collected survey responses from nearly double the number of participants needed to achieve a representative sample size. Crayons also launched a new product distribution model, as well as piloting a teacher ambassador program across more than 15 of the 275 K-12 schools the organization serves, focusing on key levers to boost teacher access and participation which are integral to helping more students. In Fiscal Year 2024, Crayons plans to increase the number of pilot schools to 50.

Crayons has also embarked on developing new products that align with the educational pipeline (e.g., kindergarten readiness, third grade reading, middle school math, etc.). Other strategic priority areas include major donor relationships and maintaining a positive work environment. To advance these priorities, Crayons has conducted board trainings on fundraising and has increased transparency around how staff, volunteer, and Board feedback is used to enhance the work environment.

“I’m excited about what’s possible,” said Amy. “COVID-19 forced us to pause and figure out new ways of doing things, and I’d like to keep us doing that. Having our strategic plan and measurement framework give us the data we need to facilitate that process. We have really developed into a learning organization focused on continuous improvement!”