Have you ever needed to combat "myths" about the people you serve?
The creation of a data dashboard — a concept often used in businesses, and created for programming at Des Moines Area Religious Council — has proven priceless in shaping the narrative and providing real-time facts about food insecurity in the area.
DMARC is an interfaith cooperative that works with 200 faith organizations from five world faith traditions. Serving Central Iowa, the nonprofit is best known for their food pantry network that supports many local pantries.
CEO Matt Unger was drawn to their mission because someone not having access to food "is just flat wrong," he told host Mackenzie Walters during their podcast discussion.
"There are some fundamental human needs that we all have. The need for shelter, the need for food, the need for safety," he said. "I just feel a responsibility as a human being to make sure that those basic needs are being met.
On the podcast, we talk about the data dashboard they build thanks to a "unicorn" volunteer, how they use data to inform their marketing, communications, and advocacy work, as well as how the ability to "zoom in" on a particular area has helped combat myths when it comes to describes food insecurity in the community.
A few highlights:
- Finding the "unicorn volunteer" that helped DMARC build a data dashboard
- How DMARCC shares "micro stories" that are eye-opening to faith congregations and other supporters
- How the data they collect shapes the narrative in their advocacy work
- How they gleaned data to better understand where food insecurity needs are
- How real-time data about pantry use helped them share with local news outlets in real-time when a record was broken
To learn more:
→ DMARC online: https://www.dmarcunited.org
→ Portrait of a food pantry visitor: https://www.dmarcunited.org/2022/07/portrait-of-a-food-pantry-visitor-data-demographics-and-disparities/
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Nonprofit Storytellers features the stories of how not-for-profit professionals are sharing their organization's story. From outreach to marketing to fundraising, host Mackenzie Walters leaders on how they accomplished their goals through smart storytelling.
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