Use your creative superpowers for good: The Changemaker Series hits Austin, TX (Updated 5/1)

As a creative, you know the power of design thinking. Creative professionals have a unique set of problem-solving skills and a human-centered, empathy driven mindset. Like us, you daydream at work about doing something more with this special skill set. Something good, that make our community a better place. This is your chance.

The AIGA Changemaker Series has made landfall in Austin! The program unites teams of creative professionals with nonprofits and social change organizations to use design thinking, sustainable frameworks and creative tools to help advance their mission.

Join us for a summer of workshops, collaborative problem solving, networking and community engagement. Applications close on April 15th.

Here’s the challenge we’ve set for our inaugural year: “How might we better serve those experiencing homelessness in the Austin area?”

It’s a daunting task, and one we’re excited for. Plus, we have a good role model. The AIGA Seattle chapter is currently in its 4th year of their successful annual Changemaker Series.

Finding our cause

Every year, we’ll rally around a new cause. For our first year we chose to rally around homelessness, a cause that affects too many of Austin’s citizens. Homelessness is a crisis, and for Austin’s residents, a very visible, tangible one.

It has become an all too common problem in our city, with too many of Austin’s residents sleeping on the streets, in emergency housing, and everywhere in between.

According to Austin Echo’s count:

• 2,036 Austinites are homeless
• Around 40% of those live unsheltered at night
• Homelessness disproportionately affects single males, African Americans, and people aged 45–65

When a problem is this present, we can become numb to it. This problem is not unique to Austin

We hope that for the inaugural Series, we’ll be able to shine a light on the misinformation and inspire empathy in our community. We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

So, we’re teaming up with local nonprofits and social change organizations that work with Austin area’s homeless to tackle some of their trickiest challenges. This year’s Change Organization clients will be announced in late May.

Changemaker goals, hopes, and dreams

In July of 2017, AIGA Austin board came together to brainstorm ways we could empower our members to give back with their talents. This eventually led to the decision to bring The Changemaker Series to Austin.

Our goals for the Series are grand, and we hope accomplish a lot in three short months. How? With the help of amazing, talented volunteers like you.

First, we’ll select social change organizations (Change Organizations applications close April 15th) that are eager to learn new tools to help their organization succeed, and are open to adding creativity to their process. They’ll come to The Changemaker Series with one of their organization’s trickiest challenges, big or small.

Next, we’ll hand-pick creative professionals with the skill sets these challenges will require, and form small teams around each Change Organization. We select Creative Team Members that have a wide range of skills from project managers to designers to strategists and researchers and more.

Applications for Creative Team Members are open to all, AIGA-ers and non-AIGA-ers alike.

Our goal is to create relationships between our Creative Team Members and their Change Organization client that are more collaborative than your traditional designer-client working relationship.

We hope that they will learn from each other. Change Organizations will learn new skills and in turn, guide and educate their team about their work in the community, the people they serve and, the complexities of the social issues they face. These collaborations will lead to successful projects.

At our Weekend Workshop (June 9–10), our goal is to give teams the resources they need to succeed during their summer project. We hope Change Organizations will leave the Workshop with a new set of problem-solving tools that they can take back to their organizations that will impact their mission for the better.

We hope that non-designers, newbie designers and, even design-thinking veterans will find the lessons learned at the Workshop, and the connections made throughout the summer valuable. We hope to create connections and facilitate resource sharing among our Change Organizations.

We encourage our Creative Team Members to think beyond the traditional design deliverable. Research and iteration in the project development phase are essential, and we hope that teams will follow their project wherever the research leads them.

When The Changemaker Series is over, our goal is that the teams produce sustainable projects that their Change Organization clients can maintain.

Lastly, we aim to educate the community about the complexities of homelessness, dispel myth, and inspire empathy and action. We hope inspire other to use their creative superpowers for good and to grow our Austin Series into a huge creative force to be reckoned with.

So what do I need to do?

We have been inspired and overwhelmed so far by the enthusiasm of those who wish to help us with our mission. If you want to get involved, there are many ways to help.

• Join a project team. If you’re passionate, no matter your profession, even if you don’t consider yourself “a creative” we want you to apply. And tell your friends!
• Know a non-profit or social change organization that works with Austin area’s homeless? Put them in touch with us or send them the Change Organization application link below
• Become a sponsor!
• Or an education partner! Contact us to learn more
• Consider sponsoring one of our projects. Or helping bring one of our projects to life once the Series is over
• Can’t join a project team but still want to help? Volunteer your skills when our teams need extra help during the summer. (Photographer, translators, developers, writers, etc…we’re looking at you)
• Join our Organizing Committee and help us make this Series a success
• Know of another way to help that we didn’t think of? (We knew you were creative!) Email us!

Learn more about the Series, the 2018 schedule, the types of team members we’re looking for, and about past projects using the links below. If you want to volunteer to join a project team, please read all the info provided carefully so you understand the commitment involved.

Team Member applications are open through the end of April and we’re looking for more enthusiastic, creative professionals who want to use design thinking and creative skills to help make a difference in Austin.

Have more questions? We’re happy to help!

UPDATE 5/1: Applications are closed! Thank you to everyone who has applied. You’ll be hearing from us soon!

Email us at changemaker@austin.aiga.org.
Want to stay in the loop? Follow us or join our Changemaker Series email list.