THE CRAYON INITIATIVE
Recycling unwanted crayons into unlimited possibilities.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Crayon Initiative organizes crayon collections that take unwanted crayons, remanufactures them, and provides them to hospitals that care caring for children.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Share Your Colors
The Crayon Initiative helps preserve the environment and enrich the lives of hospitalized children through art and imagination. Through our work, we reduce environmental waste by remanufacturing used crayons (which are not biodegradable) into new ergonomically shaped crayons that are put in packs with eight different colors and then donated to art programs in children’s hospitals across the country.
Bring Back the Crayons
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, The Crayon Initiative was able to send about 16,000 packs of crayons to hospitalized children all over the United States. When we had to close our doors to our volunteers, we lost a very valuable and significant participant in our process - as a result, we also lost the ability to raise funds to process and ship these crayons. 2023 marks the 10th Anniversary of The Crayon Initiative, so we are trying to get our strength and volunteer numbers back - thus, Bring Back the Crayons! By donating cash or in-kind support to The Crayon Initiative we will be able to get back to the level we were and surpass our numbers - we have sent nearly 750,000 packs of crayons to date - we want to get to 1,000,000 per year! Will you help?
Where we work
Awards
Golden Arrow Award 2023
California Product Stewardship Council
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of sick children assessed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our mission is to preserve the environment by recycling used and unwanted crayons and to enrich the lives of hospitalized children through art and imagination.
While crayons unlock creativity and spark growth, they are also not biodegradable. We organize crayon collections and remanufacture used crayons into new packs. The packs are then shipped for free to pediatric patients across the United States.
By engaging thousands of local and corporate volunteers, we remove millions of crayons from landfills and provide hospitalized children with an outlet that reduces stress and unlocks imagination.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We accomplish our charity’s mission by focusing on three objectives.
Crayon Collections
We partner with corporations, restaurants, and communities to collect used crayons. Since 2016, Landry’s Restaurants has been a significant supporter by displaying our collection bins at over 110 Bubba Gump Shrimp, Rainforest Café and Joe’s Crab Shack restaurants. Donations arrive from across the country in large boxes from corporations such as A.C. Moore to shoe boxes from girl scout troops to envelopes from children.
Foundation and Corporate Fundraising
We seek financial support from the public and businesses to remove used crayons from landfills and give new crayons at no cost to pediatric patients. Funding is typically for general operating support and we receive in-kind packaging and shipping supply donations.
Local and National Community Support
We enlist thousands of local volunteers to operate our manufacturing facility as well as engage a robust corporate volunteer pipeline to organize crayon sorting events.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Crayon Initiative has received 51 tons of used crayons in 2018, an increase of 242% from the prior year. Crayon donations are sent from across the country and even internationally.
From 2014 to 2017, TCI’s base of operations was the founder’s home. In late 2017, TCI built a production site next to downtown Danville. The production facility has two melting stations, four molding stations, and a crayon sorting area that is open 5 days per week. Custom molds, designed by the founder, produce durable ergonomic crayons that are easy to clean and will not roll off of tray tables.
Volunteers sign up for shifts online and the facility can be reserved for school fieldtrips and corporate teambuilding events. At full capacity, 2,000 pounds of crayons can be sorted, molded, packed, and shipped to 3,000 children per week.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2015, we received 10,500 pounds of used crayons and remanufactured and packaged 5,000 crayons. With our current supply of raw materials, we are on track to produce over 150,000 packs of new crayons in 2018.
We have a successful social media campaign and several grant proposals and corporate sponsorship opportunities in progress. We also have thousands of local volunteers, as well as a robust corporate volunteer pipeline.
In order to reach our production goals, we must fill critical roles in our organization and on our board so that current leaders and staff can spend more time expanding outreach channels and realizing our potential when it comes to critical donations and sponsorships.
By engaging a wider and deeper donor base, the incremental support will fund:
• Hiring an Executive Director to focus on the strategic growth of the organization
• Creating 2-3 full time positions to manage increased production
• Purchasing two additional crayon molds, bringing our total count to eight
• Designing and building proprietary equipment that will shorten melting times and filter crayon wrappers automatically, thus improving the efficiency of our operations
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
THE CRAYON INITIATIVE
Board of directorsas of 02/20/2024
Bryan Ware
The Crayon Initiative
Marissa Ware
SRVUSD
Dwight Koda
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Melissa Krieg
Exxon Mobil
Allegra Abbey Berckmoes
Texas Children's Hospital - Houston
Lori Deselms
Retired - Wells Fargo
Tim Ahlenius
AmericanEagle.com Marketing
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
No data
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/23/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.