Break Through with Data: How to Drive Your Nonprofit's Mission Forward by Building Credibility and Engaging Your Audience

BREAK
THROUGH
WITH DATA
Drive your
mission forward
by building credibility
& engaging your audience
Flickr – Jason Mrachina

@WCA4KIDS #NFPSUMMIT
www.wca4kids.org/blog
@wca4kids

1 Finding Data with Impact
2 Presenting Data with Punch
3 Driving Advocacy with Data

Make data approachable.
Flickr - colorblindPICASO

Jaymug.com

www.flickr.com/bionicteaching
ACK!!!

Awwww....
Flickr - colorblindPICASO

or lose your audience.
Flickr - micadew

Finding Data Sources
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

Reliable
Flickr – popofatticus

Saying something
doesn’t make it true.

US Census
•Decennial Census
•American Community Survey
•Population Estimates

Other Sources
Child Data nyskwic.org
datacenter.kidscount.org
Education data.nysed.gov
ocrdata.ed.gov
Health health.westchestergov.com/statistics
health.ny.gov/statistics/
Economy bls.gov

S O U R C E
EVERYTHING
& build credibility.

DATA TRAPS
THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF STATISTICS,
THE KIND YOU LOOK UP & THE KIND YOU MAKE UP.
-REX STOUT, DEATH OF A DOXY

Source: Opinions Dynamic via Fox News
2012 Presidential Election – GOP Candidates
70%
63%
60%
Back Palin Back Huckabee Back Romney

Recognizing
Limitations
DON’T USE DATA JUST BECAUSE IT’S THERE!

The Problem with Surveys
•Leading questions
•People like to say they’re good
•Majority of surveys are based on samples

What’s a Sample?
•A sample is a subset of a population.
•It is ideally a representative of the population.

Children Under Age 5 in Poverty
in Greenburgh Town
Guess
Male ???
Female ???
One Year
Estimates
0
170
Five Year
Estimates
99
92
2013 One Year Estimates
2009-13 Five Year Estimates
American Community Survey, Table B17001

Margin of Error
the amount by which you expect your results to vary, if a different sample
were taken.

One Year
Estimates
Margin of Error
Male 0 ±193
Female 170 ±233
Five Year
Estimates
Margin of Error
Male 99 ±71
Female 92 ±78
Children Under Age 5 in Poverty
in Greenburgh Town
2009-13 Five Year Estimates
American Community Survey, Table B17001

-193
-63
193
403
0
170
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
Male Female
One Year Estimates

28 14
99 92
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
Male Female
Five Year Estimates
170 170

Smaller Samples
LARGER MARGIN OF ERROR
-193
-63
193
403
0
170
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
Male Female
One Year Estimates

Smaller Margin of Error
LARGER SAMPLES
28 14
99 92
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
Male Female
Five Year Estimates
170 170

Less “confident” estimates
•Communities with smaller populations
•Subgroups (ex. Gender, Race, Age)
•Surveys that sample across shorter time periods

Choosing Data with Impact

Choose Data
THAT TELLS
YOUR STORY

Numbers alone
ARE MEANINGLESS.

40.719612,
-74.006130,
5.000000

Poverty Rate
American Community Survey
Table S1701

What’s the poverty level?
For one person?
For a family of four?

$11,770
2015 Poverty Guidelines
US Department of Health and Human Services@WCA4KIDS #NFPSUMMIT

$24,250
2015 Poverty Guidelines
US Department of Health and Human Services@WCA4KIDS #NFPSUMMIT

MEDIAN INCOME
FAMILIES WITH
CHILDREN UNDER 18
Low
$23,019
High
$250,000+

@WCA4KIDS #NFPSUMMIT@WCA4KIDS #NFPSUMMIT

Presenting Data That Is:
1.ACCURATE
2.APPROACHABLE
3.APPEALING

Accurate
RACE AND HISPANIC OR LATINO
ORIGIN
Percent Margin of
Error
White 60.40% +/-1.7
Black or African American 13.90% +/-0.6
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.30% +/-0.3
Asian 5.00% +/-0.5
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific
Islander
0.00% +/-0.1
Some other race 15.60% +/-1.6
Two or more races 4.80% +/-1.0
Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race)29.70% +/-0.1
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino 48.10% +/-0.4

Accurate + Approachable

Accurate + Approachable
+ Appealing

APPROACHABLE DATA

What is the main point of
the data?

Which tells the story
better?

Focus on the main point.

Provide context.

Avoid jargon.

Explain the data.

APPEALING DATA

APPEALING DATA
30.60%
34.80%
34.60%
Westchester County
(2013), Children under 18
years by age
Under 6 years
6 to 11 years
12 to 17 years

Use a simple color
scheme.

Use color to support your
message.

Clear the clutter.

Use simple (and free!)
tools.
•Infogr.am
•Datawrapper
•Piktochart
•Canva

Use simple (and free!)
tools.

ACCURATE DATA

Be consistent.

Be clear and specific.

Use notes when necessary.

Cite your sources.

Presenting Data Effectively
APPROACHABLE
•Focus on the
main point.
•Provide context.
•Avoid jargon.
•Explain the data.
APPEALING
•Use a simple color
scheme.
•Use color to
support your
message.
•Clear the clutter.
•Use simple (and
free!) tools.
ACCURATE
•Be consistent.
•Be clear and
specific.
•Use notes when
necessary.
•Cite your sources.

Using Data to MOBILIZE

Get the conversation
started

Support Need for Change

Set the baseline &
measure impact

Key: Easy To Understand,
Visually Appealing

Drives Action

Shareable Content

Re-usable Content

Data & Advocacy
At Work

Pilot Projects

Raise the Age NY

Fundraising

Break Through with Data: How to Drive Your Nonprofit's Mission Forward by Building Credibility and Engaging Your Audience

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