First Person: Discovering Justice
Turning Free Pilot Sites Into Paying Customers
By Barbara Mattaliano, Program Manager,
Discovering Justice
In 1998, an architecturally stunning federal courthouse opened in
newly revitalized South Boston. Federal judges involved with the project
sought a new civic education program to coincide with this event, and
the result was the launching of Discovering Justice, an organization
whose primary goal is to provide programs that enable citizens to
realize their obligation and power to safeguard the ideals of justice in
a democratic society. We have grown over seven years through a
deadline-driven, results-oriented approach, with the mission to educate
people about democracy by teaching about justice. As we gained national
attention as a revolutionary leader in civic education, we realized that
we needed help raising money, building our brand, and creating a
sustainable financial model.
Discovering Justice has created several educational models, including a
mock trial program, theater program, and docent tour program. In 2000, a
Massachusetts Superior Court judge came to us with the idea of
developing an elementary school program. Within the year, a 12-week
literacy-based social studies curriculum was piloted in 14 classrooms.
This program has become the heart of our success. Forty-five percent of
students participating in our program have low income status, 8.7% have
Limited English Proficiency status, and 21.2% speak a first language
other than English. In three years, we have successfully piloted the
curriculum for grades 1 to 3 in 105 classrooms. Additional staffing has
made it possible to expand the program. Realizing that people value what
they pay for, we tested the market, adding new classrooms for a fee. In
2004 Discovering Justice earned $19,000 in curriculum sales from 35
paying classrooms, out of 140 participating classrooms.
In October of 2004, we evaluated our revenue generating capacity and
explored options to secure the economic sustainability of the
Discovering Justice elementary program. Our initial goal was to turn our
non-paying classrooms into paying customers. We took a detailed look at
costs and realized we were in a better position now to price and package
our products and services.
The success of this venture is evident: in 2005 we generated $60,550, more than 300% growth
over 2004 and converted 100% of the participating classrooms to paying
for the product. This growth includes 60 new classrooms,
increasing our total numbers to 200. We anticipate doubling classroom
participation and tripling revenues within the next year. Through the launch of the fee-based program,
Discovering Justice has been able to increase the number of students
served by our groundbreaking civics program, raise public awareness,
diversify funding, and have the logistical and financial confidence to
plan for national expansion.
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