Viz for Social Good – Helping Charities With Data Insights

Many of us work for organizations that use data to improve sales, operations, or financial performance. It is rare to see industry professionals step up and help not-for-profit organizations. This article is about one such organization, Viz for Social Good, and their work with NPOs who need help with their data but do not have the financial means to engage data professionals.

Viz for Social Good (VFSG) is a not-for-profit data organization that helps other similar organizations with their data needs. The organization's website highlights its core mission: "Our community of volunteers helps mission-driven organizations create social change through data visualization and storytelling." Indeed, that's their motto. Viz for Social Good has helped hundreds of charities tell their stories through data visualization.

“I love working with data and analytics and, throughout my career, have worked on multi-million-dollar projects whose goals were to increase revenue, decrease costs, improve customer loyalty, and so on. I wanted to find a way to give back, pay it forward using my expertise,” says Vanitha Lucas, Viz for Social Good Executive Director.

Lucas first heard about VFSG at a vendor conference in 2018. She witnessed a group of data professionals working together to support a cause through data visualization. “I was so inspired that I started the Toronto chapter, joined the board, and am now co-leading as executive director,” she explains. “I have found my purpose by getting involved with VFSG.”

The VFSG process is simple. Nonprofit organizations contact VFSG with a data viz request. VFSG then follows up and gathers the materials required for the project. Volunteers then work on visualizations by competing through a hackathon or collaborating in groups. The nonprofit receives multiple visualizations and selects those most suitable for its needs.

The Impact

In addition to amplifying social causes and working with charities, VFSG invests in the volunteer community — the heart and soul of the organization. Volunteers worldwide donate their time, and the organization offers them education and opportunities to network and present at conferences and webinars.

“We are going beyond data visualization and focusing on data storytelling, which is critical to demonstrate social impact and prove value,” Lucas says.”

The results are apparent.

One charity that has benefitted from the work is Bridges to Prosperity (B2P). We take bridges for granted and never think twice about crossing a bridge over a highway or water. Imagine millions of people who risk their lives crossing water to obtain necessities. B2P envisions a world where poverty caused by rural isolation no longer exists. They build bridges to better lives in rural communities. To date, B2P has built more than 350 trail bridges in over 1.2 million communities throughout the world.

VFSG volunteers used data from B2P's catchment survey program to understand the geographic reach of trail bridges in Rwanda and how they connect to key destinations. They have found value in pairing human experience with data to help donors, and prospective donors, fully understand the impact of their efforts to create large-scale change. A key metric for the organization is the number of communities — and by extension, the number of people — served by each of its bridges.

The following quote from Abbie Noriega, B2P’s Chief Impact Officer, says it all:

“Working with Viz for Social Good volunteers has been a dream for our organization. We leverage a global community of data viz experts and enthusiasts who pool their skills to help us tell our story in a way rooted in evidence and transparency. They help us glean new insights about our data by visualizing it in new and unexpected ways. It's also a cool way to operate a volunteer program; it's this incredible intersection of service, community, and skills development. I think that's rare and special in the nonprofit sector.”

In this data-driven world, it is important to highlight people and organizations going above and beyond to help others who cannot afford the help of professionals. Viz for Social Good is one such organization. While they do not work directly on sustainability, poverty alleviation, and community health issues, their impact on not-for-profit organizations is significant. Storytelling through data has a profound effect on the audience these organizations are trying to reach. In this respect, VFSG provides an invaluable service.

About the Author

Sanjay Saxena is Chief Digital and Data Officer at Celebrity Financial Inc. He is a proven senior executive focused on digital and data strategy, digital transformation, analytics, data architecture, and solutions. He believes in enabling organizations through data-driven insights.

Saxena has worked in senior leadership in many financial services firms, including Northern Trust, Bank of Montreal, and Nationwide Insurance, playing business and technology roles.

He has been featured in a number of industry articles and interviews and continues to stay engaged with several leading data and technology forums. With expertise in data-driven business transformation, he has managed Fortune 500 global financial service organizations, concentrating on banking, insurance, and asset management.