Creative Action Institute

What Creative Action Institute does

Creative Action Institute is a U.S.-based nonprofit, founded in 2005 by Martine Kellett as ArtCorps and rebranded to its current name, that uses arts-based experiential methodologies (storytelling, theater, mural art, film-making, performance) to develop creative leadership and advocacy skills in grassroots leaders and adolescent girls. It operates an integrated program portfolio spanning gender equity and climate justice, anchored by Sauti ya Dada (a two-year girls' leadership program across Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda); the East African Girls' Leadership Summit (EAGLS); the Creative Environmental Leadership Program (CELP) for grassroots environmental leaders in Latin America and West Africa; Creative Advocacy Practicums (CAPs); the Community Resilience Program; and a Creative Systems Course. Programs are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries through a network of 20+ local implementing partner NGOs and mentors operating across more than twelve countries, supported in some cases by artisan accompaniment and small grants.

Underlying delivery relies on proprietary facilitator-led curricula rather than a technology platform, with no software product, API, or app described. Engagement with beneficiaries is conducted in person through schools, community organizations, and Indigenous partner networks (e.g., One Planet Peru with the Maijuna). Quantified participant outcomes include 99% school retention in Sauti ya Dada against a 23% regional baseline, 99% avoidance of teen pregnancy among program graduates, and post-program climate knowledge uplifts above 90%.

The organization is funded as a 501(c)-style nonprofit headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, with 11-50 employees. Revenue is generated exclusively through philanthropic channels: foundation grants (notably New England Biolabs Foundation, Obama Foundation Girls Opportunity Alliance, Paper Seed Foundation, How Fund, Disability Rights Fund, Arthur B. Shultz Foundation), individual donations (givebutter.com/20-years-of-creative-action-institute), and institutional/government partnerships including the USAID-funded CO-CREATE program and collaborations with UNICEF, UNESCO, Plan International, Counterpart International, and FAWE. Named program partners include Crown the Woman (South Sudan), FOREP (Cameroon), OGCEYOD (Cameroon), AMOJO (Nicaragua), Paso Pacifico, SACD, Komera, and Melton Foundation. There are no program fees charged to beneficiaries and no investor ownership; distribution is direct-to-beneficiary through partner organizations rather than through traditional sales channels. A planned leadership transition places Louisa Trackman in the Executive Director role on April 1, 2026, succeeding Clare Dowd.

Name

Creative Action Institute

Legal name

Creative Action Institute

Website

https://creativeactioninstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Creative Action Institute is a U.S.-based nonprofit that uses arts-based experiential methodologies to advance gender equity and climate justice, delivering programs such as Sauti ya Dada, CELP, and Creative Advocacy Practicums free of charge to grassroots leaders and adolescent girls in East Africa, Latin America, and West Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Training and Capacity Building

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL), Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG), Youth Leadership, Oratory & Civic Speaking Programs (EDAMAOAH)

Keywords

• Arts-based training
• Gender equity programs
• Climate justice consulting
• Grassroots leadership development
• Nonprofit capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Ipswich

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Donations: The organization receives donations from individual supporters, as evidenced by their 20th Anniversary celebration donate page (givebutter.com/20-years-of-creative-action-institute).
2. Foundation Grants: Major foundation funding from organizations such as New England Biolabs Foundation, Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity Alliance, and other philanthropic foundations listed as partners.
3. Government/USAID Partnerships: Funding and programmatic partnerships with international development organizations and government aid agencies, including USAID CO-CREATE program.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Creative Action Institute delivers arts-based experiential training programs, consulting, and capacity-building services to grassroots leaders, partner NGOs, and adolescent girls in East Africa, Latin America, and West Africa. Its programs combine creative methodologies (storytelling, theater, mural art, film) with systems thinking to advance gender equity and climate justice outcomes. Services are funded through grants and donations and provided free of charge to beneficiaries.

Product overview

Creative Action Institute offers an integrated portfolio of programs using arts-based methodologies to develop creative leaders, build networks, and support grassroots advocacy globally. The core offerings include: Sauti ya Dada (girls' leadership program in East Africa), the East African Girls' Leadership Summit, the Creative Environmental Leadership Program (in Latin America and West Africa), Creative Advocacy Practicums, and the Community Resilience Program. These programs are complemented by Gender Equality and Climate Justice initiatives, Training & Consulting Services, and the USAID CO-CREATE partnership. The organization operates as a unified suite of experiential training programs rather than a technology platform, using creative tools including storytelling, theater, mural-making, film, and performance to catalyze community-driven solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sauti ya Dada: Two-year program supporting marginalized girls in East Africa to complete secondary school education, addressing poverty, gender inequality, climate change, sexual violence, teen pregnancy, and child marriage.
• East African Girls' Leadership Summit (EAGLS)
• Creative Environmental Leadership Program (CELP)
• Community Resilience Program
• Creative Advocacy Practicums (CAPs)

Products and services

• Sauti ya Dada

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% school enrollment retention in Sauti ya Dada program (vs 23% regional average)
• +11 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Counterpart InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational development organization partnering with Creative Action Institute on programs addressing gender equity and environmental sustainability.
• Plan InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal organization working for children's rights and gender equality, partnering on shared goals of girls' education and empowerment.
• Obama Foundation - Girls Opportunity AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor partner through the Girls Opportunity Alliance program. Produced joint documentary content and provides funding for Sauti ya Dada program. Co-created video premiering on Earth Day 2024.
• UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization partnership including UNESCO IICBA (International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa) for education and gender programs.
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UNICEF including regional offices (ESARO for East/Southern Africa, WCARO for West/Central Africa) for children and youth programming.
• KomeramajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting girls' education in Rwanda, potential partner on girls' empowerment programs.
• Let Girls LeadcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization working to advance girls' rights globally through advocacy and coalition building.
• Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPan-African organization working to improve girls' education across Africa with national chapters in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Senegal, Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana, and more.
• Paso PacificocoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEnvironmental organization in Central America implementing conservation and climate programs.
• Melton FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation supporting global citizenship and Leadership development programs.
• SACDcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development in Belize working on marine conservation.
• Crown the WomancoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSouth Sudan partner organization providing mentorship to girls with trained mentors using Creative Action Institute methodology.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ashoka: Global network investing in social entrepreneurs and changemakers across education, gender and environment. Highly comparable to CAI's model of catalyzing community-driven solutions through mission-aligned leaders, and overlapping on female-leadership and climate themes in Africa and Latin America.
• Near East Foundation: International development nonprofit building sustainable livelihoods through community-led programming in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Shares CAI's methodology of partnering with and training local leaders rather than delivering directly.
• Trickle Up: Nonprofit partnering with grassroots organizations to lift people out of extreme poverty in Africa and Latin America. Shares CAI's model of working through local community partners and capacity-building for the most marginalized.
• Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE): Pan-African organization promoting girls' education in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and beyond. Direct geographic and thematic overlap with CAI's Sauti ya Dada program, and is also an existing strategic partner.
• CAMFED: International nonprofit focused on educating and mentoring marginalized girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Overlaps with CAI's Sauti ya Dada on girls' secondary education, school retention and leadership development across East Africa.
• Pyxera Global: Nonprofit creating multi-sector partnerships for inclusive development across Africa and the Americas. Comparable partnership-driven delivery model and presence in overlapping geographies.
• Peace Direct: Nonprofit supporting local peacebuilders in conflict-affected countries in Africa and Latin America. Comparable structure of funding, training and amplifying grassroots changemakers at community level.
• EmcArts: U.S.-based nonprofit that uses arts-based and adaptive learning methodologies to strengthen social-impact organizations. Direct methodological peer to CAI's arts-based training approach for social change organizations.
• Girl Effect: Global nonprofit using media, mobile and tech to empower adolescent girls in the Global South. Comparable mission and beneficiary population to CAI's Sauti ya Dada, though differing on delivery channel (media/tech vs. in-person arts).

Broad incumbents

• Global Fund for Women: Larger, established foundation funding women's rights and gender-equity organizations globally. Operates in the same issue space as CAI's gender-equity pillar but functions as a grantmaker rather than direct service provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/creativeaction_
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@creativeactioninstitute5474
• Facebookfacebook.com/CreativeActionInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/creativeactioninstitute
• Instagraminstagram.com/creativeaction__

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Creative Action Institute