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Using scientific research and community outreach programs to determine the actual caveats & benefits

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

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.).

Describe an investment in leadership

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.

This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:

• Strategic Partnerships

• Networks of Collective Impact Efforts

• Thought Leadership

• Raising Awareness

• Community Building

• Policy Advocacy

What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?

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.

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.