A pandemic relief territory that grew 39% while every area around it went red. A fund that deployed capital fast and couldn't prove what it did. A 55-year-old nonprofit still running on paper.

Urina Harrell, founder of Vox Pop Branding, walks through all three — what was broken, what she built, and what happened next. 🩵

In this episode, you'll hear:

Case study 1 — Long Beach: Why workshops and education stopped moving the needle, and how rolling up sleeves alongside founders produced the only green zone on the map
Case study 2 — JLH Fund: How to build impact measurement backward, after the money's already out the door, using grantee interviews that double as marketing
Case study 3 — Pools of Hope: The digital numbers the grant report never asked for — email list, reach, clicks — that turned into renewal after renewal
The two lessons that show up in all three: start from a baseline you already collect, and let a third party ask the questions your grantees won't answer honestly
The lowest-lift first step if you have no data at all — QR code stickers, not a new CRM

Three different orgs, one repeatable playbook for connecting data to story to funding. 🩵

Episode Highlights:

(3:18) From nosy kid to Vox Pop: curiosity as a career strategy
(5:33) Case study 1: Long Beach, when workshops stopped working
(9:21) The two lessons: baselines and third-party reporting
(12:25) Case study 2: JLH Fund, measuring impact after the fact
(15:47) Case study 3: Pools of Hope, digital numbers as grant currency
(18:30) Where to start if you have no data story yet
(20:08) A quilt with her name on it
(22:03) Stay curious: the one good thing

Episode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/745

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745. 3 Case Studies on Using Data + Storytelling to Grow Your Org's Impact - Urina Harrell

We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

745. 3 Case Studies on Using Data + Storytelling to Grow Your Org's Impact - Urina Harrell