Sometimes the best way forward starts with seeing the challenge differently.
What comes next is yours to shape.
You might be asking:
“Why aren't people using one of our programs?”
Is it awareness? Eligibility? Trust? Scheduling? A complicated intake process?
“How do we decide where limited funding should go?”
Which services and activities are creating the most value? Where are resources being diluted? What might we stop, change, or strengthen?
“Why aren't we making more progress on this issue?”
Maybe the opportunity sits beyond one organization. Are there gaps between services? Are there duplicated efforts? Is this larger than one organization can address alone?
THESE ARE THE KINDS OF QUESTIONS WE HELP YOU EXPLORE.
What's happening inside shows up on the outside.
What if needing more staff isn't the answer?
OPPORTUNITY:What if small changes behind the scenes could give people back some capacity?
Three ways to work together.
Opportunity Sprint
When you know something needs to change, but you're not sure where to start.
Reveal Studio
When you've identified what needs to change and need a partner to help make it happen.
Systems Lab
When the challenge is bigger than any one organization.
Opportunity Sprint
Find the right place to start. Apply the process with your team.
BEST FOR:
An individual organization looking for a high-impact starting point to building the skills and confidence to lead evolution from within. Each Opportunity Sprint is tailored to one nonprofit over two days.
BEST WHEN:
You know something needs to change, but the problem or opportunity isn't fully clear yet. Over two focused days, we help your team look at a real challenge from new angles, uncover what matters most, identify opportunities, and test where to go next.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Your board is debating where to invest. A program isn't performing as expected. You're considering a new service. Or your team has plenty of ideas but no agreement about which one to pursue.
YOU'LL GAIN:
Prioritized opportunities. Ideas you've begun testing rather than simply discussing. Confidence about what to do next. The Obscura Ray process and tools your team can use again and again.
Investigate
Data, Interviews, Observations
Define
Journey Mapping, Service Blueprints
Ideate
Storyboarding, Prioritizing
Prototype
Testing Ideas, Action Plan
Reveal Studio
Turn insight into meaningful change.
BEST FOR:
Individual organizations navigating significant change or seeking to redesign services, programs, or organizational systems. We work alongside your team over several months to move from research and insight through design, experimentation, implementation, and learning.
BEST WHEN:
You've identified a significant challenge and need an experienced partner to help understand it, design a response, test it, and put it into practice.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Redesigning an intake experience. Reimagining a program. Simplifying an internal workflow. Creating a new service model. Or finding a way to scale something that's already working.
- Deeply understanding what's happening under the surface.
- Co-designing potential solutions grounded in what we've learned.
- Turn promising ideas into simple experiments before making a larger investment.
- Make what works real by putting tested ideas into practice with your team.
- Measure what matters and make adjustments for what comes next.
WHAT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT WHEN WE'RE DONE:
Staff spend less time on duplicate or unnecessary work.
Your team knows which opportunities deserve attention, and which don't.
People get through your intake process with fewer barriers.
Programs reflect what people actually need rather than what you've assumed they need.
Partners understand where each organization fits within a larger system.
You have evidence to make the next decision instead of another round of opinions.
Systems Lab
Tackle a shared challenge no one organization can do alone.
BEST FOR:
A network of organizations striving to accelerate systemic change around a shared challenge. The Systems Lab is an intensive five-day engagement with participants from up to five organizations.
BEST WHEN:
Multiple organizations are working on different parts of the same complex issue. We bring organizations and people with lived experience together to map the larger ecosystem, uncover gaps and overlaps, identify leverage points, and find practical opportunities for collective action.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Someone experiencing domestic violence may need several resources. And while each is doing excellent work, the survivor may experience a breakdown between the services.
