A Good Database Fosters Creative Habits of Mind

Arts Corps is a regional leader and national force in arts education, bringing a range of artistic expression to young people in schools and community settings in the Seattle area. One of the building blocks of Arts Corps’ philosophy is the importance of fostering creative habits of mind – higher level thinking skills that shape how we respond to challenges and new situations.

Thanks to help from NPower, Arts Corps is now able to focus on teaching persistence, discipline, critical thinking, reflection, and imagination to their art students without having to worry about letting deficient technology get in the way. The implementation of a new database has allowed them to record student enrollment, track attendance, keep their online class calendar updated, and maintain donor records, and is an integral component that helps keep Arts Corps on a path to meet their mission.

“It’s amazing how the database and the web integration have enabled us to share information that then becomes part of the story of who we are and the difference we make in the community.”

-Leslie Collins, Deputy Director

The Challenge

• Arts Corps had a database for class enrollment, but it was not meeting their needs. The database was capable of taking information in, but it didn’t give much back in the form of reports.
• In order to run reports, a database consultant had to be called, which was costly and time consuming.
• Systems across the organization were not integrated and did not “talk” to each other, requiring staff to spend more time gathering the information they needed.

The Solution

• NPower worked with staff to identify the functional requirements they needed out of a database. With needs identified, NPower was able to provide a range of options that fit the needs and budget of Arts Corps.
• As a result, Arts Corps migrated to a Salesforce database and had enough money left to add a web integration component so their systems could communicate with each other.
• The newly integrated database enabled Arts Corps to host an online calendar and class catalog.

The Impact

• The information contained in the online calendar and class catalog have saved staff from spending hours on the phone explaining the class schedule and offerings. This new-found free time allows them to focus more strategically on programmatic development and support.
• Student enrollment has increased by 45% - something that staff attribute in-part to the availability of information in the online calendar and class schedule.
• Arts Corps finally has rapid access to the data they need to make important operational and management decisions.
• Current and prospective donors can now see actual results of what Arts Corps is doing because of the improved database technology and ability to generate reports.