Rpg Research
Rpg Research
URL not available
1312 N MONRE ST STE 114
Spokane WA 99201-2623
Spokane WA | IRS ruling year: 2018 | EIN: 82-3521274
Mission not available
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URL not available
1312 N MONRE ST STE 114
Spokane WA 99201-2623
Spokane WA | IRS ruling year: 2018 | EIN: 82-3521274
Mission not available
Ratings are calculated from one or more beacon scores. Currently, we require either an Accountability & Finance beacon or an Impact & Results beacon to be eligible for a Charity Navigator rating. Note: The absence of a rating does not indicate a positive or negative assessment; it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated this organization.
See rating report below to learn why this organization is not currently eligible.
We recognize that not all metrics and beacons equally predict a charity’s success. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organization’s overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned.
Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned.
Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history!
Rpg Research cannot currently be evaluated by our Accountability & Finance methodology due to only having one year of electronically-filed IRS Form 990 data. But please note, that the IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofit's annual tax filings. That may mean that this entity has electronically filed additional Forms 990 but they have yet to be processed and made public by the IRS.
To ensure year-to-year consistency the Encompass Rating System's Finance & Accountability beacon analyzes the three-year average of some data provided through the IRS 990.
Charity Navigator currently only has one year of consecutive e-filed Forms 990 from the IRS for Rpg Research under the EIN: 82-3521274.
Before Charity Navigator can evaluate Rpg Research, Rpg Research will need to e-file for additional fiscal years.
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No Data Available
Revenue and expense data is not available for this organization. This data is only available if this charity has at least one year of electronically-filed Form 990 data filed within the last six years.
No Data Available
Key Persons data is currently unavailable for this organization. This data is only available if this charity has at least one year of electronically-filed Form 990 data filed within the last six years.
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Activity data not reported from the IRS
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (Rpg Research) or EIN (823521274) in the 'Search Term' field.
This organization was impacted by COVID-19 in a way that effected their financial health in 2020. This normally would have reduced their star rating. Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them, and doing this pauses our revision of their rating. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Rpg Research reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Staffing
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
It greatly increased the demand for our programs more than ever, but reduced donations we received and the in-person volunteer participation. So we temporarily increased our online programs during the peak lock-down periods.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
Had to provide more online programs and fewer in-person programs.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
We were fortunately already a hybrid environment so it was easy to adapt.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
We had already innovated years before, but we did expand our platform to support 20,000+ concurrent participants online.
Not Currently Scored
Rpg Research cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
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Rpg Research has earned a 88% for the Culture & Community beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves.
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30% of beacon score
This organization reported that it is collecting feedback from the constituents and/or communities it serves. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
Who are the people you serve with your mission? Describe briefly.
Participants ranging in ages from 2 years old through senior adults, and all ages in between. People with disabilities. At-risk and high-risk populations. Community centers, libraries, schools, parks, individuals, groups, non-profits, for-profits, therapeutic, and many others.
How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Paper surveys, Case management notes, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees, Suggestion box/email, Other means
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
With whom does your organization share the feedback you got from the people you serve?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners
How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship with them or shifted power - over decisions, resources, rules or in other ways - to them?
We have always had a very open sharing approach to the organization, so we are constantly iterating every quarter adapting to the needs of those we server on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, shared openly with everyone as much as we can while protecting individual's privacy.
What challenges does your organization face in collecting feedback from the people you serve?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Briefly describe a recent change that your organization made in response to feedback from the people you serve.
Scheduling and locations for our programs based on feedback. The duration of sessions. The types and specific activities. Accessibility considerations (additional adaptive equipment).
70% of beacon score
This organization's score of 83 is a passing score. The organization reported that it is implementing 4 Equity Practices. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective equity policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
Equity Practices (2/7) | |
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We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race. | |
We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and/or portfolios. | |
We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization/'s programs, portfolios, and the populations served. | |
We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support. | |
We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders. | |
We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured | |
We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization. |
Equity Policies and Procedures (2/7) | |
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We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity. | |
We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions. | |
We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization. | |
We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board. | |
We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability. | |
We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team. | |
We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization. |
Rpg Research has earned a 100% for the Leadership & Adaptability beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
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The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission
Short version: Based on funding, staffing, and resource availability, RPG Research will provide the inherent cooperative social benefits of recreational tabletop role-playing game community programs services to teenager and adults. Full length version too long to fit here, full version here: https://www.rpgresearch.com/mission
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
Using scientific research and community outreach programs to determine the actual caveats & benefits from participation in cooperative music & role-playing game activities, over time we will: 1) Eliminate the myths & stigma associated with these activities. 2) Through these inclusive and accessible programs help the widest range of populations possible globally achieve a remarkably improved quality of life. 3) Raise the experience of the human condition globally through the sharing of knowledge on a free platform accessible to all, while encouraging others to share their findings on this platform. 4) Provide free training to those willing to take the time as volunteers to develop the skills necessary to achieve these goals. 5) To provide services that achieve all of the above. https://www.rpgresearch.com/vision
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Continue providing & growing the world's largest free & open research & evidence-in-practice repository on the effects of all role-playing game formats: tabletop, live-action, electronic, and hybrids.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
Goal Two: Grow our own research studies and publications to help improve the overall body of knowledge about the effects and most effective uses of role-playing games to help improve lives.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Three: Grow our community programs through increasing our donor, training, and volunteer base to further support the growth of our programs for the communities we serve.
Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Senior staff participating in non-profit training and workshop programs through United Way, Nonprofit Association of Washington, Candid reports. Encouraging, supporting the VP returning to university to receive post-graduate degree to work on requirements for Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) in-line with many of our programs. Training workshops on non-profit assessment checklists, community engagement, non-profit leadership, etc. Further standardizing our training processes, reporting, accountability methodologies, etc. Preparing and presenting at conferences, preparing and speaking on panels and at media events. Connect with other organizations, non-profits, schools, libraries, community centers, building support networks.
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
Policy Advocacy
Multiple annual community convention/events. Partnerships of our Drop in and RPG programs with Spark Central, Spokane Public Schools, city and county libraries. Outreach at other events, flyers, panel participation at events run by others.
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
In 2019 through 2020 we were growing so fast, 300-500% YoY in volunteer numbers, donations, and our programs, experiencing challenges to our operations from such rapid growth, we started to see some consequences from growing too quickly because of trying to streamline our training requirements. In 2018 we had 6 regular staff volunteers, in 2020 we had more than 150, plus hundreds of other temporary volunteers in partnership programs. We were able to expand our interactive community platform we had been developing in partnership with TFN and ZOE since 2016 to adapt to the demands of COVID lockdowns, saving multiple worldwide conventions (New Zealand's WorldCon) and GenCon Indianapolis from cancellation by hosting the events online via our platform. We went from using the platform for just a few hundred volunteers and community participants, to more than 20,000 concurrent participants at once! This intensity clarified some areas we needed to strengthen in our methodologies, infrastructure, training processes and materials. In 2021 we intentionally slowed down growth to "shore up" these areas and prepare to resume growth in the latter half of 2022. Also in 2021, we also ran into a barrier trying to get grants due to our mobile model of usually using the facilities of other organizations in our program partnerships, and using mobile wheelchair accessible facilities for our programs, such as the RPG Bus, RPG Trailers, etc., but not having our own dedicated community program facilities were explicitly listed as the reason for the grant declinations. It was made very clear we needed to acquire our own facilities to improve the chances of our getting the grants we needed to expand our programs to the next level. We spent 2 years searching, and finally in March 2022 we acquired real estate to expand our programs. We are currently fixing up the property in preparation for opening to the public this summer.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
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