How to use storytelling to share data and increase impact

The phrase “storytelling for impact” is commonly used in the nonprofit industry — and for good reason. When it comes to conveying important information and resonating with stakeholders, creating a narrative can help you better build connections, improve motivation and ultimately progress your mission.

But despite the importance of data storytelling, many grantmakers don’t know exactly how to do it and when.

In this article, we’ll go over what exactly data storytelling is about, why it matters and how you can successfully leverage it for greater impact.

What is data storytelling?

Data storytelling is the practice of taking hard numbers and data and creating an engaging narrative around them. Though every organisation has different goals, most data storytelling includes visualisations like graphs, charts, videos, photos and infographics. 

When should grantmakers use social impact storytelling?

Grantmakers can leverage data storytelling in various situations throughout the grantmaking process. Some examples might include:

Communicating with board members: One of the most common ways that grantmakers use data storytelling is to convey the impact of grant programs and funding decisions. For example, grantmakers might take grantee data reporting and transform it into graphs accompanied by grantee testimonials and stories.

Sharing impact with stakeholders: Grantmaking foundations often use data storytelling to inform donors, partners and community members about how their contributions are making a difference.

Strategic planning: Data storytelling is also a useful tool for internal decision-making. Instead of assessing raw data on its face, grantmakers can use data storytelling to better identify trends, the implications of their decision-making thus far and where they might go next. 

Collaborative grantmaking: In collaborative grantmaking, where multiple organisations or funders are working together, data storytelling can bridge the communication divide and ensure that everyone is aligned.

Policy advocacy: Storytelling is also essential for any sort of activism and advocacy. Because the nature of data storytelling involves building connections and leaving a lasting impression, grantmakers can use data storytelling to create a compelling case for change.

Working with grantees: By using a narrative, grantmakers can better convey their own goals, contextualise the grantee’s progress and even better assist with things like capacity building. For example, grantmakers might educate grantees on the power of data storytelling and encourage them to use it in their grant reporting or as supplementary material to oral reporting.

Why is data storytelling important?

No matter when a grantmaker is using storytelling, the benefits are far-reaching. When done effectively, storytelling can:

Create connections: Using data to create a compelling narrative can radically change the way the brain processes information, which causes people to respond with more care, compassion and connection. 

Enhance conversions: Just like a good story in the for-profit world can increase conversion rates, in the nonprofit world, much is the same. Great storytelling can encourage sign-ups, donations, applications and more.

Improve communication and contextualisation: Effective data storytelling, at its core, can help convey complex ideas. By making hard data into a story, grantmaking foundations can better communicate with stakeholders and help them understand the issues.

The best data storytelling techniques

Add context

It isn’t enough to just transform raw numbers into a line graph or a pie chart. In order to make sure your data storytelling provides the most impact possible, grantmakers need to ensure that the data and narrative are also accompanied by necessary additional context.

“Behind any problem, there’s a lot of context that is super important to share,” says Pivot Data Design Founder and CEO Jennifer Marsack. 

“But it’s hard because people can feel intimidated by that overwhelming amount of information — so sometimes people just leave context out of their storytelling. They assume everyone knows what the problem is, how history got us here and that everyone is on the same page. There are huge risks in just starting with and focusing on a problem. We need to really start thinking about how we can responsibly report data, and talk about important things like root causes, and historical context.”

As Jennifer explains, context can help the audience—whether they’re grantees, donors, or event community members—understand why the data matters. This might include connecting it to present-day events and trends, or, as Jennifer says, connecting it to essential historical context. In doing so, not only can grantmakers clarify the “why” behind presenting the data, but they can also add urgency and even better humanise the data.

Create a narrative arc

While creating a narrative arc might seem obvious in the case of data storytelling, it’s often the part that most grantmakers forget about.

When leveraging your raw data to communicate with stakeholders, consider structuring your findings like a real story — with a beginning, middle and end. Doing so not only helps the data to feel less static, but it allows it to feel more real and compelling, which can help keep the audience engaged and entertained.

For example, you might structure your data to show the problem or issue at hand, how your organisation is positioned to solve it and what the outcomes are or will be. When doing this, though, don’t stray away from highlighting the journey. It’s important to show the challenges, too, in order to foster transparency and trust.

Show the cost of inaction

Grantmakers often use data storytelling to showcase intended or realised impact. While that strategy is effective, another incredibly powerful way to leverage data storytelling is by showing what might happen if an issue is not addressed. 

While, of course, this data storytelling skews negatively, it can also be a powerful motivator. Climate change activists like Climateworks often use this strategy to convince community members, policymakers and the general public to partake in climate advocacy.

Target specific audiences

One of the most crucial parts of effective data storytelling is the ability to tailor your data and narrative to specific audiences. While creating a detailed bar graph might be effective for communication impact to board members, that might not resonate with the general public.

Consider who your audience is, what they connect with and why. Doing so will ensure that your initiatives will have as much impact as possible.

Storytelling for maximised impact

Data storytelling can be a very worthwhile initiative for nonprofits and grantmakers looking to maximise impact. The benefits of the practice are far-reaching, a way to create connections with your community, increase engagement and improve communications overall.