Project Description
“We needed a low cost solution to our communication problems,” explains Mark Boone, Board President, Festival in the Park. Over the course of 3 days, Festival in the Park works with 120 volunteers, 200 artists, 30 food vendors, 5 stages and 1,000 performers. Due to the high volume of communications, it is essential to automate communication flows wherever possible and reduce the manual effort it takes to manage the various constituent groups. They sought help analyzing their current tools and processes to determine a modernized plan that would ensure all festival volunteers, staff and other participants were receiving the correct information in a timely manner.
Mark turned to Apparo for support and was matched to a corporate volunteer team from Insight in a project facilitated by Rhonda Evans, volunteer Epic Change Agent.
Over the course of the project, they:
- Assessed and came to an understanding of current communication methods and processes
- Documented and prioritized requirements (i.e. budget, ease of use, mobile friendliness)
- Completed marketplace research to determine software tools available that met the requirements
- Set up and facilitated demos by software vendors
- Recommended the best solutions to implement
$5,950 in value was delivered to Festival in the Park during this Community Impact Project.
Project Impact
We checked in recently with Mark and he explained that they ran a test pilot of the communication recommendations for Board members and volunteer leaders during Festival in the Park 2019. Board members used WhatsApp, replacing previous communications via email. Volunteer leaders used a dual approach, with WhatsApp and GroupMe.
“Board members who participated in the WhatsApp pilot were happy with how easy it was to find the information they need without having to search through emails and volunteer leaders provided very positive feedback about their new system,” Mark shared. “The pilot was a success and we’re looking forward to expanding the recommendations to other constituents during the King’s Drive Art Walk and next year’s Festival in the Park.”
The Team
Nonprofit: Festival in the Park
- Julie Whitney Austin
- Mark Boone
- Mark Evans
Technology Volunteers: Insight
- Michelle Miesner
- Chris Howe
- Kyle Morton
Apparo Staff and EPIC Change Agent
- Nicola Main
- Rhonda Evans (of RiMu Consulting)
Nonprofit Agency Overview
Since 1964, Festival in the Park has been bringing good music, good art and good times to Charlotteans and visitors from around the world. This fun-filled event is designed to promote and stimulate interest in the arts. It provides the opportunity for all to see, hear, and learn from over 150 artists and craftspeople who actively demonstrate and display their art. Nearly 1,000 entertainers provide free ongoing performances at the main band shell and many stages surrounding it. More than 140,000 people visit the festival.
