Welcome to Canopy: Helping Good Work Grow
We’re Canopy, a team on a mission to help support the people powering public good. Whether you are working In Extension, education, or public health, non-profits, or business outreach, we’re here to help you focus less on spreadsheets and more on service.
Why This Work Matters
Let’s be honest, if you work in public service, education, or outreach, there’s a good chance you’ve thought, “Why am I spending more time wrangling spreadsheets than actually helping people?”
You’re not alone. Nearly 60% of nonprofit and public sector professionals say they spend more time gathering data than using it to improve their work.
We believe that’s backwards. The people doing the hardest and most meaningful work deserve tools that help, not hinder, their work.
That’s exactly why we built PEARS.
A Little About Us
Canopy began in 2015 with one simple idea: Service through Software.
Our founders noticed that the systems used to track community outreach and engagement were outdated and clunky.
So, we partnered with Cooperative Extension leaders to build something better. The result? PEARS, a platform designed specifically for tracking, evaluating, and demonstrating the impact of community outreach and engagement.
Today, Canopy supports teams nationwide with software that helps them plan, track, evaluate, and report the impact of their work — without losing time, context, or sanity.
What Is PEARS? (And Why It Helps)
PEARS (Program Evaluation and Reporting System) is an online tool that supports day-to-day (and big-picture) work at Universities, within Cooperative Extension, and in public health.
Think of it as your partner in:
- Documenting programming and partnerships
- Setting and tracking goals
- Simplifying grant and federal reporting
- Using data to tell your story and drive decision-making
We didn’t just build a data system. We built a system that gets you – that’s intuitive, flexible, and actually helpful.
Our Roots: The Values that Guide Us
We like to say our values are our roots. They guide everything that we do from feature development to support tickets. Here’s what grounds us:
- Service – We’re here to help. Full stop.
- Honesty – We tell the truth, even when it’s messy.
- Grit – We stick with challenges until we figure them out.
- Humility – We know we don’t have all the answers (and that’s okay).
- Curiosity – We ask, explore, and never stop learning.
- Collaboration – We believe good work gets better when we do it together.
These values don’t just live in our mission statement, they show up in the way our support team listens, in the way our product team prioritizes user needs, and even in our… mascots. (Yes, we have values-themed mascots. Stay tuned, they will make an appearance soon.)
Why We’re Starting a Blog (And What You’ll Find Here)
This blog is our way of opening the door a little wider.
We want to connect with the people who use PEARS and with anyone doing community-centered work. That means sharing helpful tips, telling stories, and lifting up the amazing work we get to witness every day.
Here’s a peek at what you can expect:
- User stories: How others are using PEARS to grow and improve their programs
- Product tips & updates: Big and small ways to get more from PEARS
- Impact spotlights: Highlights of the incredible work happening in your communities
- Behind the scenes: Meet the team and see how PEARS is made
Let’s Stay Connected
Whether you’re here to get more from PEARS, explore tools for your team, or just stay inspired, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here.
- Subscribe to our blog so you never miss a post
- Drop us a note if there’s something you’d love to see featured
- Follow us on social for updates, resources, and highlights
Because when we work together across roles and across organizations, we can grow something truly meaningful. Here’s to helping good work grow.