Telling the Story of Nonprofit Impact Through Data

Individual nonprofits know they deliver positive impact in communities, but can falter in explaining it to lawmakers, donors, community leaders, and volunteers. Yet, advocating for successful public policies and community support often demands clear data on giving, employment, and volunteerism in the communities that charitable nonprofits serve. The good news is that impact reports provide an easy way for nonprofit leaders to share what they do and who they serve as they navigate conversations with stakeholders.

Here are some excellent recent examples:

Quick, easy facts and figures can help nonprofit leaders share information fast with key stakeholders so they have a better picture of what matters. The Colorado Nonprofit Economic Impact Study, a report published by seven groups, including the Colorado Nonprofit Association, provides four important numbers for easy understanding of complex subjects: economic impact, overall gross domestic product, number of nonprofits, and number of jobs. The report breaks down those numbers to allow the reader to see where they are going and how they got there.

The North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organizations provides a different kind of road map in its North Dakota Nonprofit Sector Impact report. Through simple infographics, the state association of nonprofits shows nonprofits at work, nonprofits in community, and nonprofits by the numbers indicating mission area, revenue size, volunteer hours, and annual wages. The 50,000-foot view map shows how nonprofits fit into the overall makeup of the state by comparing the nonprofit sector to the manufacturing sector, while also showing the often-unrecognized impact on the state’s economy and quality of life.

The Maine Association of Nonprofits finds the sum of nonprofits’ impact in its Adding Up Impact report. The numbers include building additional economic opportunity, stimulating economic development, increasing personal income tax revenues for state and local governments, employing 1-in-6 workers in the state, and contributing approximately $12.6 billion per year to the state’s economy. A comprehensive dive into how nonprofits partner with and connect to the community, coupled with stories from frontline nonprofits, show how the sum of the factors equal big impact.

In New Jersey, the Center for Non-Profits, the statewide umbrella organization for the charitable community, conducted a statewide survey to prepare its annual nonprofit report, New Jersey Non-Profits 2019: Trends and Outlook. The annual survey provides “new insights about how nonprofits are faring,” giving nonprofits across the state a framework for explaining how to map where to go in the future, aiding in planning and communications “in a time of public policy volatility and steadily escalating need.” Specifically, the report identifies funding gaps and other challenges nonprofits face, and actions taken to overcome them; the public policy issues on the minds of nonprofits; and the overall outlook for the year. The Center’s full report is scheduled for release later today, February 25, 2019.

Knowledge of the impact nonprofits have in the communities they serve enables leaders to tell their individual and collective stories. Sharing the impact with those in the communities, particularly those who affect public policy, allows for deeper relationships, stronger partnerships, and a smoother road for even greater impact.