AWS IMAGINE: Nonprofit Conference spotlights nonprofits using data to accelerate positive change for their communities
I had the pleasure of attending AWS: Imagine Nonprofit conference this year, a free gathering for nonprofits and partners of Amazon Web Services, along with my colleagues representing Slalom Public & Social Impact. The conference highlighted stand-out stories of how AWS customers have leveraged data and cloud solutions to lead the way in their mission areas. While the keynote, Chelsea Clinton, was certainly a memorable and insightful conversation, I left buzzing with excitement from the collection of organizations representing different areas of impact that highlighted the creative, focused, and proven ways nonprofits are using data to drive impact faster towards new insights for greater results.
Here are the key takeaways I gained from just a few of the incredible nonprofits we heard from:
Be clear on transformation you’re targeting and be selective in your prototype to scale effectively. Save the Children started with an experiment and hypothesis: if we aggregate data, find a home for our data, and democratize it, we can create sustainable growth. By focusing on a targeted hypothesis, the organization was able to prove and iterate on the prototype to harness its data for improved insights using the mantra “think big… start small… learn fast”.
Bring together multi-sector data, while meeting communities where they are, to address systemic issues and drive improved outcomes. Creating Healthier Communities address the challenge of life expectancy varying widely by demographic and location, robbing specific populations of precious years. Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Systems sought technology to reduce barriers for community access to healthcare and used AWS cloud to identify disparities with multi-sector data to inform pathways forward.
Use your own experience to create a solution — and find the tools to do it simply. Flikshop founder, Marcus Bullock, turned the hardest time of his life — from a bad decision as a 16-year-old and 8 years of incarceration — into a way to pay forward the connection he gained through his mother’s daily letters and pictures that got him through. Using AWS, he created a simple concept of an app that allows individuals to send pictures and postcards directly to incarcerated individuals to offer support and connection.
Identify where data is needed and not needed, balance confidence versus humility with the right partners, and differentiate progress versus success. Chelsea Clinton spoke of her work at the Clinton Foundation. In her words, “data and technology can help you to understand the magnitude and contours of challenges. Which partners you work with help to solve where to do this with confidence versus humility.” She also spoke about how some issues don’t need more data to know what is needed — for example fundamental human rights. Differentiating progress versus success is also essential in looking at change we want to make — for example, child marriage is still legal in 40+ US states. However, girls married before 18 years old cannot legally sign contracts (e.g., for legal counsel or housing services), which can prevent them from leaving unhealthy intimate relationships. She closed on an optimistic note, highlighting the importance of persistence and the encouragement: “don’t stay in your lane”.
Data insights for prevention can be gleaned through forensic data analysis / data autopsy. Stop Soldier Suicide was experiencing a lack of individualized information on suicides. In the CEO, Chris Ford’s words, “at some point we need to stop pulling people out of the river and go upstream to see why they are falling in.” This led to the Black Box Project, an initiative in which loved ones of suicide victims donate personal devices to analyze texts, social media, emails, browser history. Using AI/ML, this initiative was able to start identifying pre-suicidal behaviors to help look for signs and prevent future tragedies.
Measuring impact based on unique needs of population and unifying data across systems for faster insights. International Myeloma Foundation needed to grow education in the field on increasing life expectancy for those diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and, to do so, unify data and processes across systems. The foundation focused on measuring impact as: 1) ‘Time to hope’ — reduce time from diagnosis to understanding that there is life with the diagnosis; 2) ‘Time to treatment’; 3) Increase health literacy in Multiple Myeloma community; 4) Connection with patients & caregivers to reduce loneliness; and 5) Health equity. These metrics were informed through patient, care and opinion leader communities to help bring hope, treatment, literacy, connection, and equity to patients faster.
Open source provides new ways of gleaning insights where research and analysis have previously been siloed by medical studies. When innovator, tech leader, and beloved father and husband, Peter Cohen, was diagnosed with ALS, he and his wife — now founder of EverythingALS, Indu Navar — found that 1 in 6 people are at risk of neurodegenerative disease and there are minimal solutions for those diagnosed. EverythingALS was created as an AWS opensource solution for citizen-driven research to break down the silos of studies, research, and analysis to drive towards solutions faster.
The cloud can offer an opportunity for scaling solutions and experiences across membership organizations, regardless of the size or ownership of the chapters. PBS had 300+ individual stations that are owned by different people and needed to provide similar resources and opportunities across all these locations. PBS also needed to address the digital divide for child viewers, many of whom had older generation hand-me-down devices. Through transitioning to the cloud, PBS was able to offer all 300 stations the same services — from the 9-person team in TN to 200+ team in DC. The organization made sure to support older generation devices with live streaming and move away from satellites. Through targeted focus on resources and efforts, PBS balanced the AWS ‘think big’ approach with limited resources, ensuring the right solution was built to meet the needs of the stations and viewers.
The cloud is the right solution for shifting to effective remote work quickly, cost effectively and securely. Chicago Lighthouse is a 117-year-old social enterprise that employed people with disabilities and visual impairment in a live call center that funded 61% of the organization’s revenue and employed 600+ people. However, when COVID lockdown took place, teams needed to shift to remote work within a week. As the CEO, Janet Szlyk, shared, “technology levels the playing field for people with disabilities.” Using this mindset and AWS, Chicago Lighthouse was able to shift to a virtual call center, while opening new opportunities and expanded job offerings to people with disabilities. This shift was cost effective, fast, allowed for collaboration in the cloud, and kept personalized healthcare protected and payments secure.
If your organization is seeking ways to advance your mission by more efficiently and effectively leveraging data or moving to the cloud, Slalom can help you navigate regardless of where you are on your journey.
Meet the author:
Amy Whittaker leads Slalom’s Nonprofit consulting practice for US/Canada. She is a consultant, coach, and facilitator with ~20 years of experience in strategy, operating model, organizational effectiveness, change management, and building & scaling programs. She has worked with hundreds of nonprofit, government, and commercial organizations on solving their business challenges. She believes deeply in the power of systems-thinking for positive impact and finds purpose in driving creative, collaborative, community-focused outcomes.
Slalom is a global consulting firm that helps people and organizations dream bigger, move faster, and build better tomorrows for all. Learn more about our work with nonprofits today.
