Giving a Voice to the Story of Impact

Summary of Client Results:

• UWWMC can more easily answer the questions: How much work are partners doing? How are residents better off as a result of that work? Are there different gains in education, financial security, health, or safety net services? What do the individual contributions of partners mean at an aggregate level?
• UWWMC now has an automated system that communicates the impact of funded partners in education, financial literacy, health, and safety net services. Partner data instantly updated and aggregated numbers are immediately visible in Impact Framework Scorecards.
• UWWMC has made great strides towards tracking, understanding, and communicating the aligned contributions of funded partners towards making a difference on community-level goals and objectives

The city of Waco, Texas is nestled on the Brazos River, midway between Austin’s hipster chic and the Dallas metroplex. It’s the birthplace of Dr. Pepper and Waco has recently basked in the national limelight due to Fixer Upper, a home design and renovation show filmed there. In part because of the show’s buzz, Waco carried a vibe as a city on the rise prior to COVID-19. Major employers in the area include Baylor University, the health care system, and the school districts serving the region.

Yet despite the growing positivity, the city has its share of entrenched challenges. The median household income in 2018 was $37,735, far below the Texas median of $60,629. Waco’s poverty rate is 26.8%, representing more than twice the national average. A look at the data, disaggregated by race and ethnicity, tells an even starker story; 24% of African-Americans and 21% of Latinos live in poverty compared to 12% of Anglos. This contrasts with the general demographics of the area. 46% of the people living in Waco are Anglo, 24% are Latino, and 23% are African-American. The community-at-large has recently begun to address inequity through racial equity training and collective impact.

To address these challenges, United Way of Waco-McLennan County invests in trusted partners in the areas of education, health, financial stability, and safety net services. Many partners are longstanding pillars in the community; Caritas of Waco, for example, has worked to offset poverty and hunger for more than 53 years. Regardless of how long they have served the people of Waco-McLennan County, all partners supported by United Way share a defining characteristic – to work hand in hand with residents and help them to build better tomorrows.

Clear Impact was approached by United Way of Waco-McLennan County about the Clear Impact Scorecard in 2018. They saw it being used by the local collective impact initiative, Prosper Waco, and were interested in its capabilities. More than anything, United Way of Waco-McLennan County needed a way to clearly give voice to its story. How much work had partners done? How were residents better off as a result of that work? Were there different gains in education, financial security, health, or safety net services? What did the individual contributions of partners mean at an aggregate level?

To begin, United Way mapped out how each of its four pillars was structured, starting from the overall priority of the work to the goals and objectives, as shown in the example below. This system became the basis for the set of Scorecards that gathered and aggregated data from Waco’s funded partners.

Figure 1. Education Impact Framework, United Way of Waco-McLennan County

Next, United Way implemented RBA training to build capacity with performance measure development and data-driven decision-making. For all 28 funded partners and their associated programs and services, Clear Impact built a unique Scorecard that includes required reporting measures and a section for additional data. Clear Impact then developed a set of aggregated Scorecards for each of the four Impact Frameworks.

Why is this important to UW? Because it now has an automated system that communicates the impact of funded partners in education, financial literacy, health, and safety net services. Partners update their unique information from the privacy of their home or office. Not only is partner data instantly updated, but aggregated numbers are immediately visible in the Impact Framework Scorecards.

Figure 2. Financial Literacy Scorecard (excerpt), United Way of Waco-McLennan County.

Although this is an important step towards tracking, understanding, and communicating the aligned contributions of funded partners towards making a difference on community-level goals and objectives, United Way of Waco-McLennan County is determined to continue making strides in its strategic management capacities, particularly when it comes to equity. This is why, in 2021, the organization will build on the success of its Scorecard system by layering in disaggregated performance measures with its funded partners. Not only will partners be able to monitor and improve on measures related to How Much, How Well, and Better Off, but they will soon be able to track this information based on race and ethnicity, gender, and zip code. United Way will be able to highlight bright spots in the community and identify where challenges continue to exist. If the old adage, “what gets measured gets done” can offer any clues to the future, all residents in Waco – regardless of race or ethnicity – will experience improvement in health, education, and financial security outcomes.

Interested in learning more about Clear Impact training and tools for United Ways? Contact heather@Clearimpact.com.

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