John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” — Luke 3:11

I started writing this blog post to point out the beauty and power of statistics, and for the first time in my life, I completely scrapped a few hours’ worth of writing.  About 99% of the time, I can salvage something. Nope, not this time. My first attempt was terrible, simplistic, and boring. This is a fresh attempt.

The reason I’m writing this blog post is that I – and one or two others – expressed great enthusiasm during a Soul Sonshine team Zoom meeting when the subject of statistics came up. If I remember correctly, we were talking about the types of writing we enjoy, and I mentioned that I relished writing grants and editing books that contained statistics, as they often tell a fantastic story. I think I heard a pin drop when I blurted out, “I LOVE statistics!”

Once the conversation recovered, our fearless leader, Susan, issued a challenge: those who love statistics should write a blog post about why we love them so much. Challenge accepted.

Before I go further and extol the virtues of statistics, I want to make something very clear: statistics are just numbers. They are neither good nor bad; they just exist. Their goodness or badness lies in how we derive, understand, and use them. Like the words we wield, the statistics we sling can be used for neutral, great, or evil things. For me, carefully gathered statistics are a powerful and precious tool I utilize to help others. 

You’re probably well aware of the value of statistics when it comes to business (think customer retention numbers, profit margins, etc.) and education (think test scores and student demographics), but not many people realize the value and versatility of statistics to a nonprofit, particularly when seeking grants. They are, bar none, one of the best tools in a grant writer’s arsenal. They paint a picture of an organization’s impact, effectiveness, progress, and needs. In fact, the very first grant I touched – with the help of statistics – drove the need home so effectively that the grant application resulted in the award of a building. And that, my friends, has been a glorious thing for the people in my community.

When I first started writing grants, it was for Servolution Network, a small nonprofit in my local area. They needed help, I loved statistics and storytelling, and the building that resulted from our collaboration is history. Little did I know that I would have to calculate impact statistics from scratch: the numbers had to be carefully gleaned from raw, disorganized client data. As the organization matured and pursued more grants, data collection became easier, more automated, and more complete. Deriving the statistics from that data also became much easier. The more information we gathered and analyzed in pursuit of grants, the brighter the picture of the organization’s impact began to dawn upon us.

For the first time, thanks to clean data and reliable stats, we were able to see just how many elderly widows and Veterans we’d helped to age in place in their own homes. The picture of those in need in our community became clearer, revealing gaps in services and opportunities to enhance other services. Our statistics, compared with local, regional, and state numbers, helped the organization make minor course corrections rather than flying blind and potentially wasting precious donor money. Not only did statistics guide programming, but they also guided the organization financially, bringing inefficiencies into stark relief and shedding light on better ways to support operations. 

Through it all, statistics helped us tell our story and win grants – including the one for the organization’s current building.

The best part? This statistic: over 400 homes have been revitalized, a 250% increase since the building was received in 2021. And that, my friends, is the beauty and power of statistics.