Data and Statistics

Charitable donations are declining, foundation assets are shrinking, and the economic downturn isn’t done yet. So maybe there’s no better time than now to examine why people give to nonprofit organizations and how animal advocates can maximize their appeal to donors. According to research, the more specific your request and the more closely you can tie people’s donations to tangible outcomes, the more likely you are to increase and maintain your fundraising.

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about some of the best sources of research data currently available for animal advocates, other than HRC's HumaneSpot.org. Just as important as access to solid research, however, is being able to make sense of the data, and this is often easier with the use of visualization tools. These range from basic charting programs to more sophisticated tools for complex data visualizations that can help identify underlying relationships. Here are HRC's top suggestions.

Written in 2006, this concise four-page guide addresses how to interpret research studies, including listing twelve important questions to ask about a study's purpose, its author, and the significance of its results, among other things. These are key questions for animal advocates to ask themselves when evaluating secondary research or conducting their own studies.

HRC recently announced our latest collaborative research study designed to measure the progress of the U.S. animal advocacy movement. Supported by both organizational sponsors and contributions from individuals, the new study is a truly collaborative project designed to inexpensively gather reliable data. The new study will be on ongoing resource showing the status of animal protection in the U.S. according to a set of "key indicators." To learn more, please read our email to HRC's supporters...

The financial assets of U.S. foundations declined by an average of about 26% in 2008, which is said to be the biggest drop in recorded history. A fourth of donors have reduced the amounts that they give to charity as a result of the economy. The current financial situation is a difficult one for everyone, especially nonprofit organizations that often run on shoestring budgets. This post shares a few words from the experts and ideas for staying afloat and effective during these tough economic times.

We're all swimming in an ocean of information. The data produced by our advocacy efforts are already voluminous enough without also considering the data from other nonprofits, academic researchers, the government, etc. The first challenge for advocates is to determine which data are meaningful and which are useless. The second challenge is turning all of that raw data into "actionable intelligence" that we can use to launch, evaluate, and improve our campaigns.

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog post about "information design" and its importance for making data relevant and digestible. I've just stumbled upon an excellent example from AnimalVisuals, the creators of the Virtual Battery Cage. Their latest project provides a compelling visual representation of the number of chickens, pigs, and cows slaughtered in the U.S.