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Telling Stories with Numbers Presented by Katharine Ryan Public Policy Coordinator

Telling Stories with Numbers Presented by Katharine Ryan Public Policy Coordinator *Huge thanks to Zan McCulloch- Lussier , Communications Guru at FLL. Why are stories important?. A story puts an issue in a scope and context we can actually grasp.

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Telling Stories with Numbers Presented by Katharine Ryan Public Policy Coordinator

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  1. Telling Stories with Numbers Presented by Katharine Ryan Public Policy Coordinator *Huge thanks to Zan McCulloch-Lussier, Communications Guru at FLL

  2. Why are stories important? • A story puts an issue in a scope and context we can actually grasp. • Familiar format that we already use to make sense of difficult and complex topics. • People share stories, not statistics. • Stories wrap data in truths and values.

  3. Storytelling Formula Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

  4. Why Good Stories Matter • Educate • Educate donors, lawmakers, community members about what you do, who you serve, and how • Build political will around supporting the programs and organizations working to end hunger • Performance • Measure and make informed decisions about operations, programming, etc • Tell story about changing needs over time

  5. Why Good Stories Matter • Performance (cont’d) • Show changes/improvements year over year • Illustrate your credibility and outcomes • Share stories • Capacity • Build partnerships • Increase access • Strengthen advocacy

  6. How to Tell the Story • Audiences • State lawmakers • Individual donors • Corporate donors • Potential volunteers • City councilors • Corporate foundations • Facebook fans Data Sources • Client stories • Donor stories • Volunteer stories • Food bank stats • Hunger stats • Client stats

  7. What numbers are out there?

  8. Available Numbers on Hunger • Household Food Security in the United States • USDA, Released annually in September • Map the Meal Gap • Feeding America, Released annually in June • Missing Meals • Food Lifeline, Released every two years • Hunger in America • Feeding America and Food Lifeline, Released every four years • Your Internal Agency Information *See end of slide deck for most recent stats*

  9. Stories you can tell with numbers… With data you already have!

  10. Data You Create Every Year Operations: • Pounds of food received or distributed • Translate into meals by dividing by 1.3 • Amount of money raised or spent • # food and financial donors • Volunteers • Total #, equivalent FTE, total # hours

  11. Data You Create Every Year Clients • Number of individuals/households served • Seniors, Children, Military, Tribal members • Number of visits to your agency

  12. Stories You Can Tell: Efficiency • # pounds of food distributed for a dollar Lbs. of food distributed/$ you spent = Lbs./Dollar • # meals to the community for a dollar Lbs. per $ (see above)/1.30 lbs. = Meals/Dollar • Cost of one pound of food 100/# lbs per dollar = Cents/lb.

  13. Stories You Can Tell: Volunteers • Volunteers contribute the equivalent of “x” staff members at my agency • 1 FTE = 2080 hours/year • Total volunteers hours in one year / 2080 = equivalent number of full time staff contributed by volunteers • Volunteers contribute “$x” worth of labor to my agency every year • 2011 Federal Value of one hour = $21.79 • Total number of volunteer hours multiplied by $21.79 = the amount of donated labor your agency received

  14. Talking About People • Combine individual client stories with statistics for a powerful message that appeals to different audiences • Create a story bank of great client stories demonstrating a variety of circumstances, demographics, and needs • Take pictures of clients if they’ll let you (make sure you get a release form signed*) • Use these individuals to fill in the story to illustrate the larger data points you have *FLL has one we’re happy to share

  15. Things to Avoid • Saying the same message over and over again • especially if it seems like it will never be enough • Pages of undigestible numbers, or statistics (like pounds of food, total budgets, etc) • Not making clear the connection between problem, solution, action

  16. What Works • Use data you already have and demonstrate changes over time • Interesting ways to show data that are easy to understand (we don’t do a good job of this) • Example 1 • Example 2 • Coordination with other agencies • Filling in the story to link their actions to the solution

  17. What ARE the Numbers?

  18. Household Food Security in the United States USDA, Released Annually in September 2013 Results for Washington State • 14.6% of households were food insecure • 8.5% had low food security • 6.1% had very low food security (increase from 5.7%) • 22nd in overall food security (OR 30th, ID 24th) • 15th in very low food security http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us.aspx

  19. Map the Meal GapFeeding America, Released Annually in June 2013 Results for Washington State • 1,101,490 food insecure people (61% below 200% FPL) • Cost of a meal $2.64 • Additional $ needed to meet food needs $474,073,050 • Resources: • Maps printable by county • Same statistics available for children • Data by congressional district http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-studies/map-the-meal-gap.aspx#

  20. Missing Meals Report Food Lifeline, Released Every two years • Look for the full report in the next few weeks! • For now • Change in methodology • 689,000 people food insecure in Western Washington • 112,000,000 missing meals • 85% meals in safety net from SNAP and other public programs • 15% meals in safety net from food banks

  21. Hunger in AmericaFeeding America and Food Lifeline, Released every four years • Data will be released early summer 2014 • Report will include only FLL service area (sorry Clark Co, Eastern WA ) • Information on agencies, programs, client demographics (housing, jobs, education), services used by clients, household economic decisions

  22. Now for the fun part! • You’ve just finished all your reporting for the year and want to share your successes • Compose a facebook post for your facebook page • Use the infographic examples to conceptualize how to visually show in an annual report • Tell a story about your food bank for a foundation grant application • New Hunger in America has just been released and you are in a high density county with county specific information • Incorporate some of the results into a letter to individual donors • How would you use the results to motivate/recruit volunteers? • It’s time to testify at your county budget hearing • What would you say?

  23. Thank You! Katharine Ryan Public Policy Coordinator, Food Lifeline kathariner@fll.org 206-545-6600

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