One-Year Impact Update: 2023 Mission Possible Recipients Deepen Impact and Continue Innovating with Canvas
Sponsored by Accenture
Hope Renovations is a Triangle-based organization that envisions a world of gender equity in the construction industry, where all people can access the opportunity to renovate their lives. Hope Renovations builds futures and transforms lives with a dual mission: preparing underemployed women and gender-expansive individuals for construction careers and helping older adults age in place.
Hope Renovations came to Apparo as they sought to expand their Trades Training Program, but felt it would be difficult to scale with staff members and trainees working across multiple software platforms to meet their training needs. Hope Renovations joined the Mission Possible Program, looking for a solution to support their growth into multiple locations across North Carolina. As the recipient of the 2023 Mission Possible Award in the Triangle Area, Hope Renovations partnered with an Accenture skilled volunteer team to assess their current state of managing the organization’s Training Program, identify and document business requirements for a learning management system, schedule and attend vendor demos, and evaluate potential solutions, empowering Hope Renovations to make the best decision for their organization. Learn more about this 2024 Community Impact Project.
One year after the wrap-up of this work, Apparo’s Sarah Friday met with Hope Renovations’ Sarah Campbell to follow up on the anticipated impacts of last year’s project. Hope Renovations Vice President of Workforce Development reflects, “It’s going really well. We’re still using Canvas and use it regularly for our training program. Canvas makes it easy to update blueprints and have information auto-populate throughout courses, which has saved our staff a lot of time and helps us communicate more effectively across locations. We feel confident that we have a really good system in place.”
Hope Renovations staff have experienced reduced administrative burden and greater efficiencies in daily processes and communication between staff and students. Sarah noted that with greater consistency and ease in updating course information through leveraging Canvas, they feel supported in working toward their goal of sustainably expanding their programming. Sarah shares, “Automations will continue to be helpful as we add more locations. Features like this make the program replicable and scalable, and have supported us in scaling up our current Raleigh and Durham locations. Canvas has made it easy to grow the number of students in each of our cohorts, nearly doubling the number of students from last year to this year. We are going from 48 students in 2024 to 88 in 2025.” Notably, Sarah attributes part of this growth to the improved user experience for students, which in turn bolstered community trust, brand reputation, and enhanced student engagement.
Looking Ahead: Continuing Innovation and Expanding Opportunity with Canvas
Not only has Canvas strengthened the organization’s current programming, but they are also leveraging the platform to create new revenue-generating programs and those that will continue to support students after graduating from Hope Renovations. Sarah explains, “We feel like there are so many more features in Canvas we could be using. It feels great that we’re not already growing out of it and that there is still opportunity for growth. The public has been requesting programs from us that we weren’t previously able to provide. Offering new training programs and other opportunities through Canvas is one way we can generate additional revenue and support our community.”
Building on their momentum, Sarah shared that Canvas recently invited Hope Renovations to participate in a trial of a new product. Their team embraced the opportunity to test new features and deepen their understanding of the platform’s potential to support their growing programs. With one central system that can evolve alongside their needs and stay connected to students even after graduation, Hope Renovations is well-positioned for continued impact. As they expand and continue strengthening their current programming, the organization remains committed to building equitable access to construction careers while empowering individuals and communities to thrive.
