Skilled volunteers from Weisiger Group assisted Queen City Scholars by selecting Outgrow as the new gamification tool which will aid in growing their mission.
Sponsored and Delivered by Weisiger Group
Queen City Scholars is the Charlotte Expansion of the Delaware College Scholars Program. They academically and socially prepare high-achieving, under-resourced public high school students for successfully applying to, succeeding in, and graduating from four-year colleges and universities. Preference is given to first-generation college students. Their special sauce and core distinguishing feature is that they provide a residential summer experience for three consecutive summers – they enable scholars to gain the lived experience of being away from home while layering the academic, social, and college access support and knowledge.
Queen City Scholars came to Apparo for assistance in identifying a gamification system that will allow their scholars to virtually explore and make decisions about life after high school. An important parameter they were looking for included simulations that reflect potential outcomes of decisions.
Apparo partnered Queen City Scholars with a group of skilled volunteers from Weisiger Group. During their Community Impact Project, they assessed Queen City Scholar’s current technology, documented prioritized business requirements and conducted market research. Through this process, the team found that Outgrow would match their needs.
Nonprofit improves constituent experience with technology
Queen City Scholars wanted to add a gamification system to their program to help scholars understand the college process and the future impact of their decisions. It is difficult for young scholars to understand the impact of how decisions they make today will impact their future. By adding a virtual gaming system, they hope to help scholars learn these lessons.
With the addition of Outgrow, Queen City Scholars anticipates more effective and impactful lessons for their scholars. The clear-cut lessons will give students direction and raise awareness of the importance of decision-making. Each scholar will have an electronic profile in the system, which makes their progress much easier to track. Plus, the lesson plans create good conversation starters, so the scholars can speak with their mentors/teachers more in-depth after a lesson, making the impact on the scholar even greater.
Queen City Scholars anticipates revenue growth and expanded reach with improved technology
With the addition of Outgrow, Queen City Scholars anticipates an increase in revenue. The new software will allow for improved storytelling by allowing donors and stakeholders to visualize the obstacles the scholars face compared to their own experiences. The nonprofit estimates they will see an increase in 15-20% in individual donations.
Next school year, Queen City Scholars expects to grow their program size from 40 students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System to 100 students. They also anticipate with better storytelling, their stakeholders will tell more individuals about their program, expanding their reach. After implementing in Charlotte, Outgrow may be implemented in Delaware, increasing their reach to over 200 students.
Participants reflect on their journey:
- “I’d like to give a huge, massive thank you! In my role as ED, I bounce back and forth between Delaware and Charlotte. I have limited time so I must focus on things that I have to prioritize and that pulls me away from diving into something like looking for new technology. This is going to be very impactful for our organization. I am so grateful to have the level of support, resources and expertise to find it, because I thought it was impossible. I was just searching, searching, searching and I couldn’t find anything. The fact that we found something that worked is massively impressive and I truly appreciate it. And thank you on behalf of my team and my scholars.” – Tony Alleyne, Executive Director, Queen City Scholars
- “I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Apparo. Working in technology, it’s rewarding to see how the skills we use every day to support the Weisiger Group can also positively impact the community. The mission of Queen City Scholars is inspiring, and I’m honored to contribute to their success. Allie, a special thanks to you as well. Your leadership on the project was invaluable—you kept everything organized, kept us engaged, and provided templates and resources that helped ensure success. Overall, this was a fantastic project, and I look forward to future opportunities to give back to the community.” – Maggie Cowie, Weisiger Group
