How Nonprofits Can Use Data to Solve the World's Problems

It turns out the old adage of knowing your neighbor really can help make your neighborhood safer. A study of more than 250 cities found that a key factor behind a drop in crime in the last 20 years was the mobilizing of citizens by nonprofit organizations like block clubs. In Milwaukee these “urban guardians” have helped bring communities together and foster safer spaces that also address urban blight.

Since 1995, Pragnachaksu has paved a path to empowerment for blind women in India, offering academic and vocational classes in addition to braille instruction. The school provides free housing and tuition for girls looking for primary and secondary education, a service that is usually unavailable to the country's eight million blind citizens, and to visually impaired women in particular.

Though homelessness is an entrenched and complex problem, small solutions can make a difference in the daily life of homeless individuals. Lockers for overnight cell phone storage in a homeless shelter in Chicago are significant: people can wake up with a sense of security, knowing their phones will be available to help find jobs or stay in touch with loved ones. This is part of the Chicago Youth Storage Initiative, which as since funded 755 storage unites at homeless shelters across Chicago.

Paul Sinton-Hewitt, founder of the charity Parkrun, never set out to create a revolution. All he wanted was a low-pressure space to run. Now, his organization supports over 1,600 community running events around the globe, with an expected one million participants by 2023. This is part of a trend of “people’s innovation,” or the idea that innovation can come from users rather than just executives. Parkrun exemplifies the inclusive spirit of people’s innovation and the positive impacts it can spread all around the world.

The Kansas City school district and a group of local nonprofits are implementing a new software management system that will allow partners to access student data from a range of sources. The data-sharing agreement will paint a more holistic picture of students and, in the future, allow teachers and others to make informed interventions when appropriate.

Crossroads for Women, a New Mexico nonprofit, is helping formerly incarcerated women find community, support, and recovery. Using trauma-informed care practices, the program offers a comprehensive list of services like housing, mental health treatment, employment counseling, and substance abuse treatment. Underlying all services is the understanding that no individual is trauma free and that community and relationships are crucial to sustainable recovery.

Atlanta has seen a decline in rates of people experiencing homelessness from 2008-2018, a trend that is particularly meaningful as other cities contend with stubbornly high numbers. Part of the solution? A new source of more flexible and consistent funding allowing non-profits to provide the assistance needed and help get people into permanent supportive housing.

Redeveloping and repurposing unused real estate provides a path toward economic revitalization. With a combination of public and private grants, the nonprofit group, International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA), has purchased and redeveloped real estate in the town of Ajo, Arizona. The renovated town plaza and Curley School complex contain retail spaces, artist studios, and even house community gardens of the Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

Activists in Berkeley, California, are filling in what they say is a gap in homeless services during the coronavirus outbreak. Volunteers are safely delivering food and other supplies to those without shelter.

Philanthropies are funding “tough tech” startups that are developing technologies to cut greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Since 2014, the nonprofit Prime Coalition has channeled more than $24 million from wealthy donors and foundations to 10 ventures focused on that goal. Not all of their investments, though, have paid off. Yet, some of these initial investments could lead to widespread solutions to the world’s climate crisis.