Mission
Our mission is to equip students with the building blocks for personal and professional success through the power of an improv education
Ruling year
2020
Principal Officer
Philip Chen
Co Principal Officer
Meera Menon
Main address
3720 Spruce St Ste 404
Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
EIN
85-0844633
NTEE code
Arts Education/Schools (A25)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020.
Register now
Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Nationwide, students are leaving school unprepared for the world beyond. In an evolving professional landscape, academic preparedness alone is insufficient for students to thrive post-graduation. Social skills and emotional intelligence are now no longer simply “nice to have,” but rather are crucial to success. While test scores, to some degree, can predict academic success, skills such as communication, relationship management, and resilience are more effective in preparing students for graduation and beyond. It is crucial that we invent and invest in a new educational paradigm that addresses both the academic and social-emotional development needs of today’s students. We at The Unscripted Project believe the performing arts – and improv training in particular – can be a powerful creative and educational tool to develop students into capable and well-rounded citizens.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Student Improv Workshops
Our free 10-week series of improv workshops in classrooms is our signature program. The series is taught by professional teaching artists and in collaboration with classroom teachers. Through the 9 weeks, we provide students in a given cohort with a robust introduction to improvisation and its associated skills. Our goal is for students to have developed and hone skills such as active listening, collaborating, speaking publicly with confidence, and resiliency by the end of the program. Our improv curriculum is differentiated by its focus on life skills — each week is centered around a certain key concept outside of improv (for example, point of view and character) and all of the games are then adapted to focus on that skill.
Professional Development
In addition to our student-facing programming, we are also empowering Philly educators to bring the power of improv to their students through our Act 48 accredited professional development (PD) programming.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Related Program
Student Improv Workshops
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We worked with 146 students across 6 partner schools in our first semester.
Percent of students who no longer screen positive for social anxiety following our program
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Related Program
Student Improv Workshops
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
15% of students who screened positive for social anxiety prior to our program no longer did after the program.
Number of children who have a sense of their own feelings and an ability to express empathy for others
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Related Program
Student Improv Workshops
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We measure changes social and emotional self-efficacy in our students using the SEQ-C scale. 65% of students experienced increased levels of social self-efficacy.
Percent of students who report feeling more confident following the program
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Related Program
Student Improv Workshops
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
88% of students report feeling more confident following the program.
Number of children who have access to education
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Student Improv Workshops
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is the number of students we have served each year as part of our core program
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn 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?
Launched by the University of Pennsylvania and backed by Philadelphia educators, academics, and practitioners, The Unscripted Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit fostering social-emotional skills in the classroom through the medium of improv. Our goal is to equip students with crucial life skills such as collaborating effectively, speaking confidently, and growing from mistakes through an improv education.
It has been well documented that improv training can build fundamental soft skills including communication, collaboration, and resilience. In addition, a growing body of research has determined the benefits of applied improv in reducing adolescent anxiety, promoting deep learning, and developing leadership
While education in improv will not solve everything, we believe it equips students with a powerful toolkit to take with them into their lives. To this end, we are committed to partnering with Philadelphia public schools to support their students in both the ambition and achievement of their long-term goals.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Unscripted Project offers programming that serves the needs of Philadelphia students and educators.
Our signature program is a free 9-week series of improv workshops in Philadelphia classrooms, taught by professional teaching artists and in collaboration with classroom teachers. Our innovative curriculum has been created with the counsel of our improv partners and is in alignment with PA state standards and both the Philadelphia School District’s Arts and Creativity Framework and “Get Ready, Leave Ready” standards, designed to best prepare students for college and career opportunities beyond high school.
We also empower educators to bring improv into their classrooms, whether in person or remotely, by offering professional development workshops online. Workshops will enroll a maximum of ten participants, as they are designed to be interactive, relevant, and fun.
In addition, we are focused on research and impact measurement. Working with our network of academic researchers, improv practitioners, and educators, The Unscripted Project is committed to being research-forward in the approach and design of our curriculum. In addition, we are dedicated to taking a rigorous and methodical approach to impact measurement and will always continue to advocate for the widespread application of arts education within schools.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our 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.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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.
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 Unscripted Project
Board of directorsas of 05/14/2023
Meera Menon
Philip Chen
Meera Menon
Richard Andrews
William Crowley
Kumud Goyal
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
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 ? No -
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? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 05/14/2023GuideStar 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 disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Thanks for signing up!
An email has been sent to the address you provided. Click on the link in that email to get more GuideStar Nonprofit Profile data today!
(Don't see an email in your inbox? Click here to resend it.)
GuideStar Pro Reports
Report successfully added to your cart!
Want more data?
A GuideStar Pro report containing the following information is available for this organization:
- Email contact information
- Financial trends metrics for five most recent years 2021*
- Officer and/or Employee data for 2021
- Contractor and/or Paid Preparer data for 2021
- Board of Directors data for 2023
- *with the ability to download the data for 2021
Download it now for $125.
Need the ability to download nonprofit data and more advanced search options?Consider a Pro Search subscription.