Tired of advocacy that doesn’t land?
The Return on Art™ Framework helps arts leaders move from outputs to outcomes,
proving transformation, not just activity.
Before applying tools, it is essential to understand why traditional advocacy has stalled.
The Field Brief explains that shift and what replaces it.
Developed by Meleca Creative Advisors as part of the Return on Art Framework, this toolkit reflects outcome-based practices used across education, health, and workforce sectors.
Trusted by the Field
The Pre-Advocacy Toolkit™
The Pre-Advocacy Toolkit is a practical starting point for arts organizations that are rethinking how they demonstrate impact, relevance, and public value.
Before asking for funding, arts leaders need clarity on three things:
the change their work creates
how that change can be measured
how to communicate it in language funders understand.
This toolkit helps you move from activity-based advocacy to outcome-based proof. It guides you through identifying your core outcomes, collecting meaningful feedback, and framing your work as an investment rather than a request.
Grounded in the Return on Art Framework, the Pre-Advocacy Toolkit is designed to help organizations build the evidence base they need before entering a grant cycle, budget discussion, or policy conversation.
What You’ll Get
A step-by-step guide to identifying core human outcomes
Sample outcome language arts leaders can adapt immediately
Simple feedback questions to capture meaningful change
A logic model primer tailored to arts organizations
Guidance on reframing your work as an investment, not a request
This is not a worksheet bundle. It is a reframing tool designed to shift how your organization defines and communicates impact.
Who This Toolkit Is For
Arts leaders preparing for funding, budget discussions, or advocacy conversations
Organizations ready to move beyond attendance, anecdotes, and outputs
Teams shifting from activity-based reporting to outcome-based proof
“Meleca Creative Advisors are experts at making data meaningful, not just measurable. Angela Meleca’s guidance helped us align our impact with a larger arts ecosystem and communicate our outcomes to funders with clarity and power. This is exactly the kind of support arts organizations need right now.”
Grounded in real-world application, this toolkit introduces the outcome-first thinking that arts leaders need
before entering funding, budget, or policy conversations.
Why These Metrics Matter
The Return on Art (ROA) Framework does not just measure participation; it measures transformation. It builds on public value thinking advanced by the Wallace Foundation’s 2005 report, Creating Public Value Through State Arts Agencies.
That report challenged the field to demonstrate not only what the arts do, but what they change. The mindset was right, but most arts organizations did not yet have practical, accessible tools to consistently measure outcomes.
ROA fulfills that vision by helping arts leaders and funders track real human outcomes and communicate them clearly, including empathy, confidence, belonging, and well-being.
Grounded in validated outcomes-based measurement used across health, education, and workforce sectors, ROA was developed with arts organizations to capture change in ways funders recognize and trust.
Each outcome we track is supported by validated measures widely used outside the arts, adapted to fit arts experiences without sacrificing rigor.
Note: The Collaborative Arts Impact Initiative has since evolved into the Return on Art™ Framework.
What You’ll Learn:
This Toolkit gives you practical steps to demonstrate measurable impact and strengthen funding conversations before they begin.
Use Pre-Advocacy to align your message, audience, and ask before any funding or policy advocacy begins.
Apply the “5 Whys” to uncover the deeper human outcomes behind your work.
Measure outcomes, including belonging, confidence, empathy, and critical thinking, using validated tools.
Make your case using the Return on Art™ Framework by connecting outcomes to public value in funder and board conversations.
This Toolkit is a practical guide used by arts leaders nationwide to strengthen advocacy through measurable outcomes.
Proven. Measurable. Fundable.
The Return on Art™ Framework connects outcomes like empathy, confidence, belonging, and well-being to public value funders can trust.
Real Data. Real People. Real Impact.
Here’s what one Ohio-based arts organization achieved with the Return on Art™ Framework:
54.3% drop in loneliness after just one cycle
Biggest gains among women and clients of color
Results tied to mental wellness and stronger community connection
Whether you’re making the case for your own program or funding someone else’s,
this toolkit helps you move beyond headcounts to focus on what truly counts:
✔ Proven results
✔ Real-time metrics
✔ No fluff
Created by Angela Meleca, founder of Meleca Creative Advisors and creator of the Return on Art™ Framework.
Want to apply the Return on Art Framework to your organization?
Schedule a 1:1 call with Angela.