The Art and Science of Fundraising: Fusing Emotion and Evidence
Welcome to the November 2023 edition of the Improved Insights Newsletter: a newsletter for folks in informal STEM learning spaces who want to learn more about how to measure and communicate the impacts of their work.
I’m Sarah M. Dunifon - a long-time STEM educator, evaluator, and equity advocate. After spending time working in museums, nonprofits, and higher education, I now work on cutting-edge informal STEM learning research and evaluation with my team at Improved Insights. We specialize in informal STEM learning and youth programs.
This monthly newsletter includes tips, resources, and news on informal STEM learning evaluation. We hope you find it valuable! Now, let’s get started —
The Art and Science of Fundraising: Fusing Emotion and Evidence
This month, Sarah is passing the mic to special guest writer Carol Martincic, MNO, who was recently welcomed back to the Improved Insights team as a Research and Evaluation Consultant. Carol’s passion for social impact and empowering communities grants her a unique perspective on effective communication with funders.
In this month's newsletter, Carol will discuss how nonprofits and other informal education organizations can more clearly align their storytelling efforts with funder priorities, and the role that evaluation has to play in communications strategies. To read the full article, check it out in our Insights. In the meantime, here’s a taste:
What do funders want to know?
Like any other financial contributor, funders are keen to understand the tangible outcomes and real-world benefits of programs, seeking assurance that their investments (monetary and otherwise) are facilitating meaningful change and sustainable impact. Beyond immediate outputs, funders scrutinize whether programs align with their values and goals, the measurable long-term impact of initiatives, and the sustainability and capacity of the organization to continue delivering results.
How do you effectively tell stories of impact about your program(s)?
Bridging the gap between funders’ interests and effective communication entails translating the intricate workings of a program into digestible pieces of key information. I’ve found success with three strategies: creating a narrative arc, involving your audience, and maintaining cultural sensitivity and ethics.
Creating a narrative arc is formulaic and progresses with a beginning, middle, and end. When employing this strategy, I recommend outlining the challenge or need (the beginning), the program itself as an intervention (the middle), and the outcome or improvement the program had (the end).
Involving your audience is usually posed as a call to action, such as inviting them to participate in the organization’s mission by supporting the program, whether through volunteering, donations, or advocacy efforts.
When sharing testimonials from program participants, it is critical to maintain cultural sensitivity and ethics. Informed consent must be obtained to share these stories and experiences. I also recommend engaging with a sensitivity reader as well. A sensitivity reader is an individual who reviews the organization’s materials, including narratives and other communication pieces, to ensure cultural accuracy, inclusivity and respect toward diverse communities and perspectives. This individual may be a professional, such as a consultant, past program participant, or other volunteer-led role.
ii Updates
We’re relaunching our newsletters in 2024 and want your feedback! Our goal is to enhance the informal STEM education (ISE) newsletters to align with what you most value. Let us know in the poll below what you like, and what you’d like to see more of in the future.
Improved Insights is thrilled to announce that we're now booking projects, collaborations, and services for the second half of 2024! Since 2018, Improved Insights has been on a mission to empower informal STEM education organizations with the insights they need to make a lasting impact on learners. If you have a project you’d like to connect with us on, please reach out soon to secure your spot in our schedule.
60-Second Suggestions
Here are a few things that caught our eye this month, usually pertaining to informal STEM education and evaluation, but occasionally some fun personal stuff, too.
Have you heard of the famous "Draw a Scientist" study? This drawing assessment has been employed with youth throughout the past decades to gauge their perceptions on what kind of person they picture when they think of a scientist. In recent years, studies have shown that students are drawing scientists with greater diversity, indicating a culture shift in the perception of what a scientist looks like.
Investing in Out-of-School Time STEM is an Investment in a Robust, Diverse STEM Workforce, a brief developed in collaboration with Jobs for the Future and the STEM Next Opportunity fund, focuses on how out-of-school time STEM education represents a key investment in developing the future STEM workforce.
This project by the Curator of Digital Experience at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Liz Neely, uses data visualization to map the legacy of artist Georgia O'Keeffe's career. This got me thinking about how informal STEM education spaces could use mapping and data visualization in a similar way to better understand their programs and practices.
A heartfelt THANK YOU to Carol for her thoughtful take on fundraising strategies! We look forward to hearing more from her and other special guests in 2024 and beyond.
Until next time - thanks!