Gain Experience for Good

From 2014 to 2020, Designers for Learning engaged instructional designers in professional development courses and real-world service projects. Over this time, participants created, implemented, and evaluated learning and performance improvement solutions customized to the needs of mission-driven organizations. These efforts included the design of learning experiences, the development of educational resources, and the use of instructional technologies to help nonprofits achieve their purpose. Over 4,000 people volunteered with us to gain instructional design experience while creating solutions crucial to the success of the social impact sector. In other words, our participants gain experience for good.

Our Vision & Charitable Mission

Designers for Learning was founded in August 2014 and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation in the State of Illinois. We envision a world where all organizations in the social impact sector have access to high-quality learning and performance improvement services to realize their goals. Since our inception, our mission has been to provide service-learning opportunities for instructional designers to help nonprofit organizations create the solutions necessary to effect positive change.

Our Motivation

Few nonprofit organizations have the resources to create the learning and performance improvement solutions crucial to achieving their missions. The instructional design community has an enormous opportunity to offer its expertise to help this underserved need while providing designers with real-world experience.

Our Two Aims

1. To provide nonprofit organizations with high-quality learning and performance improvement services to realize their goals.
2. To provide instructional designers and others with service-learning experiences to develop their skills and positively impact others.

Our Core Value

Service

We support the charitable missions of the nonprofit sector through our facilitation of service-learning experiences, community engagement, and collective action efforts.

Impact

We are results-oriented and focused on the needs of our service-learning participants, nonprofit clients, and the communities served.

Transparency

We operate in a way that allows others to see our actions and impact, demonstrating our purpose as a charitable organization serving the public interest.

Chicago Literacy Alliance Membership

In 2018, Designers for Learning joined the Chicago Literacy Alliance (CLA), a coalition of over 130 nonprofits and social enterprises that aimed to meet the literacy needs of people of all ages and backgrounds. We became members of the CLA to partner with other organizations on learning and performance improvement efforts to achieve this aim.