Vision to Learn

What We Did

Finding New Ways to Support a Proven Mission

Vision To Learn provides students in underserved communities with free vision screenings, eye exams and glasses. The impact can be immediate: a student who can’t see the board or the words in a book receives the glasses they need to more fully participate in school.

Our work focused on helping Vision To Learn’s Eagles Eye Mobile program in Philadelphia identify new funding opportunities, strengthen relationships and better communicate its impact.

What We Did
 

We explored funding opportunities beyond the organization’s existing approach.

In Pennsylvania, we developed and managed the process for Vision To Learn to become an approved Educational Improvement Organization (EIO) through the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program. We also identified EITC-participating businesses as prospective supporters.
 

We identified key Pennsylvania legislators and coordinated meetings to introduce them to Vision To Learn’s work and build relationships with policymakers involved in education, healthcare and the state budget.
 

We researched foundations with interests aligned with Vision To Learn’s work and helped connect the organization with potential funders.
 

We also reviewed the organization’s email communications and recommended changes to improve consistency and engagement, along with opportunities to gather more testimonials and strengthen its storytelling.
 

The Results
 

A new funding opportunity. Vision To Learn received approval as an EIO under Pennsylvania’s EITC program, allowing it to pursue contributions from participating businesses.
 

New relationships. Meetings with Pennsylvania legislators introduced Vision To Learn’s work to policymakers and created opportunities for continued conversations.

A $10,000 grant. Our foundation outreach resulted in a $10,000 grant to support the program.
 

Stronger communications. We provided recommendations for email communications, testimonials and storytelling that Vision To Learn could use in its ongoing outreach.

What This Work Represents

The work wasn’t about changing what Vision To Learn does. It was about looking at a successful program from different angles and identifying additional ways to support it.