A case study on Partnership with Children’s Interactive Impact Tour
At North Arrow we are convinced that it is much more powerful to show something than say something. The human brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text, so keeping someone’s attention in a highly-distracted world is best done by using visual aids whenever possible.
We’re thrilled to have been able to put our motto into practice by teaming up with Partnership With Children (PWC) to create an Interactive Impact Tour that takes the reader on a visual journey through their work and impact. PWC is a NYC based organization bringing mental health support to students and communities who need it most. PWC never struggled to explain why their work is critical, but what they had been missing was a powerful way to show it.
PWC frames their work through a structural lens. They often talk about the insidious effects of structural racism and intergenerational poverty which causes “toxic stress,” –stress that is prolonged, severe, or chronic, causing significant problems with health and development.
To capture this reality we created a series of custom maps that show that PWC’s schools are located in communities with the highest percentage of mental health distress. We make the connection to structural racism and intergenerational poverty by demonstrating that these same areas with the highest stress are also predominantly Black and Latinx and have the highest rates of child poverty. The maps give life to the organization’s mission, and the dramatic health situation they are addressing immediately becomes clear without needing much context.
A game changing tool for fundraising
Since we developed the Interactive Impact Tour, the Partnership with Children team has consistently referred to it as a “game changer” for how they approach their fundraising, government relations, and communications. They shared that having this visual aid makes their work more tangible for supporters, which has already led to more donations.
When I asked the organization’s CEO, Wesner Pierre, if he could provide a testimonial explaining how he’s currently using the Tour he said:
“We used North Arrow’s services for our annual appeal. They did it super fast. And since then I have used it in every pitch or lobbying meeting. It’s been a game changer for how we tell our story. I had lunch with a funder and showed them the map on my phone and they were blown away and wanted to give us more money. In the nonprofit space, we don’t typically use complex data visualization to show need and impact other than reporting on percentages. This interactive impact tour tells it all in such a compelling way.”
And perhaps the best compliment for us was hearing that it's an example of innovation, which Wesner described as “the utilization of technology that makes your job easier.”
Needless to say, we are wrapping up this project extremely happy to know that the PWC team is feeling empowered by this new resource. And we are honored to have had the opportunity to work with them to uplift their incredibly important work.
