Best practices / Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute

Bringing history to life, globally

Driving hundreds of new users by expanding internationally and featuring multimedia delivery

Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute

Honorable mentionThe Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute (RRPFI) is the sole nonprofit organization created by President Reagan charged with advancing his legacy and principles – individual liberty, economic opportunity, freedom and democracy, peace through strength, and national pride.

A globally recognized nonpartisan organization based in Simi Valley, CA, with a leading policy institute in Washington, DC, delivers: impactful public affairs programming, policy convenings and projects of national and international significance, and distinctive educational initiatives shaping the perspectives of middle, high school, and college students.

“The Education Department is at the core of what we do and how we introduce civics, history, and critical thinking to the next generations of leaders.”

Megan Gately, Director of Education Programs

INDUSTRY

Nonprofit

COMPANY SIZE

Medium enterprise

HEADQUARTERS

Simi Valley, CA

SERVICES

Historical education and leadership programs

The challenge

  • Needed an interactive, easy-to-use platform to engage diverse learners
  • Required scalability and accessibility to support global reach
  • Lacked dynamic tools to connect digital audiences with historical content

Millions of people will never have the chance to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in person, making its digital learning platform more essential than ever. Our previous LMS was outdated, with limited engagement tools, and an uninspiring design that failed to capture the attention of modern learners.

Despite this commitment to inclusive learning, the existing platform lacked the flexibility, adaptability, and diverse resources needed to create immersive educational experiences. The Reagan Library needed a partner, not just a platform, to help reimagine how they bring history to life for a global audience.

“We pride ourselves on reaching all types of learners, from visual/hearing impaired students to non-traditional school structured learning. Our demographic is anyone who wants to learn. We are a presidential library for the people.”

Megan Gately, Director of Education Programs

The solution

  • Overhauled digital content with engaging multimedia
  • Connected their physical library with a global digital audience
  • Introduced an oratory competition to drive engagement

CYPHER transformed the Reagan Library’s approach to digital education, introducing an interactive learning experience that goes far beyond static lessons. The platform’s embedded videos, clickable lessons, quizzes, games, and multimedia activities allowed the team to reimagine how historical content is taught and experienced.

For the first time, they created seamless connections between the physical library and digital learners, such as the Berlin Wall exhibit, which now reaches audiences around the world.

CYPHER enabled the launch of the Reagan Oratory Competition, a groundbreaking initiative that builds public speaking skills and civic engagement by allowing students to bring presidential speeches back to life.

With the CYPHER video submission and evaluation capabilities, the competition received over 550 student-generated videos reciting one of Ronald Reagan’s radio addresses. The best entries advanced to an in-person competition in Washington, D.C., with students earning a free trip to the nation’s capital — an opportunity made possible through the ease of submission and evaluation in CYPHER.

“When we committed to CYPHER, we found an abundance of tools and team members, willing to listen, innovate, and experiment with engaging strategies critical to our LMS success.”

Megan Gately, Director of Education Programs

The results

  • 550% increase in new users per month
  • Integrated content with Department of Defense Educational Activities partners
  • Expanded reach new international audiences

Since launching with CYPHER, the Reagan Library has seen an explosion in user growth. Between April and December, 2,600 new learners enrolled, averaging 325 new users per month—a staggering contrast to the previous LMS, which struggled to attract even 50 users in its best month.

The largest impact has been accessibility for national and international communities. With internet access as the only requirement, CYPHER has allowed the Reagan Library to integrate directly into classrooms worldwide, including the Department of Defense Educational Activities (DoDEA) network, which serves:

  • 161 schools across 11 foreign countries, 7 U.S. states, and 2 territories
  • 65,000+ students across 10 time zones

Through CYPHER, the Reagan Library has also expanded into Nigeria, providing education training programs on civil discourse to cohorts of educators. The platform’s stability, ease of use, and engaging experience have made it a powerful tool for international learning expansion, with more global partnerships on the horizon.

“After years of research and a few false starts, we finally found an exceptional LMS partner. CYPHER isn’t just a platform — it’s a creative, forward-thinking partner that helps us connect with people who matter deeply to us, driving them toward a brighter, more connected future.”

Megan Gately, Director of Education Programs

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false Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute 550% increase in new learners a month “After years of research and a few false starts, we finally found an exceptional LMS partner. CYPHER isn’t just a platform — it’s a creative, forward-thinking partner that helps us connect with people who matter deeply to us, driving them toward a brighter, more connected future.” Megan Gately, Director of Education Programs