On Wednesday, June 21, GuideStar partnered with Atlantic Media Strategies, the creative consultancy of The Atlantic, to present “Narrating the Numbers: Getting to Human Results Through More Powerful Data Stories,” a panel of leaders from across the nonprofit community. Panelists included Jean Ellen Cowgill, President of Atlantic Media Strategies; Lori Kaplan, President & CEO of Latin American Youth Center; and Rella Kaplowitz, Evaluation and Learning Program Officer at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. The discussion was moderated by Jacob Harold, President and CEO of GuideStar.

“No numbers without stories, and no stories without numbers,” GuideStar President and CEO Jacob Harold explained as he introduced the panelists.

Philanthropoids, donors and nonprofit leaders want (and use) data for different reasons. Philanthropoids and donors hope to compare options and allocate investments while nonprofit leaders hope to learn and prove impact using data. But in all cases, the data they seek needs to tell a story and have a narrative in order to provide the full power for which it is sought.