Clear Impact Blog

By: Adam Luecking
November 14th, 2022

Social Sector Hero Spotlights tell stories of exemplary social and public sector organizations that are making measurable differences in their communities. The following March of Dimes spotlight is an excerpt from “Social Sector Hero – How Government and Philanthropy Can Fund for Impact” by Adam Luecking. You can download the book for free here and read all 16 Social Sector Hero Spotlights. 

Table of Contents

1. The March of Dimes Origin Story

2. Isadora Delvecchio and the Quest for Disaggregated Data

3. Dismantling Systemic Racism to Improve Birth Outcomes

4. Isadora’s Lessons for Leaders

1. The March of Dimes Origin Story

You’ve probably heard of it, but I love March of Dimes’ origin story. There’s no way I can improve the story or spice up what they’ve already shared, so I’ll just restate that March of Dimes “has always approached its mission with a spirit of adventure. Born on the eve of World War II as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP), the Foundation achieved an instantaneous popularity that reflected the contemporary popularity of its founder, Franklin D. Roosevelt.” Roosevelt and March of Dimes’ social impact journey began with a clear destiny in mind: understanding, curing, and relieving suffering caused by polio through investments in scientific research. Today, March of Dimes fights for the health of all moms and babies — with a focus on maternal health, preterm birth, and closing the health equity gap — by supporting research, programs, education, and advocacy.

2. Isadora Delvecchio and the Quest for Disaggregated Data

Isadora Delvecchio first discovered Results-Based Accountability in 2010 while she was an Elms City Fellow in New Haven, Connecticut. The Fellowship was part of a local leadership development program funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Eventually, Isadora would join the March of Dimes in 2013. After several promotions, she is now their Director of Maternal and Child Health and Collective Impact.

As Isadora ascended the organizational mountain of March of Dimes, she realized she needed better data to get clarity in the fight for moms and babies. This would require moving beyond large data sets and taking a multivariate approach. Whether it involved preterm birth, infant mortality, or maternal mortality and morbidity, Isadora knew she would have to hurdle data disaggregation before she could reach effective strategies.

Isadora led an effort to have 30 communities across the United States create baseline data sheets that included clinical and social care data disaggregated by race. This effort told a story of systematic oppression in every single community — Black women have worse experiences when it comes to healthy births. With the urgency created by Black babies dying at much higher rates, March of Dimes performed a root-cause analysis to understand why.

3. Dismantling Systemic Racism to Improve Birth Outcomes

During the root-cause analysis, March of Dimes found that the historical impacts of systematic racism across education, legal, and healthcare are significantly driving birth outcomes and causing disproportionate suffering of Black moms and their babies. When overlaying birth outcome maps with old redlining maps in St. Louis, Missouri, March of Dimes found the boundaries to be almost identical. In these communities, there are fewer investments, clinics, hospitals, and transportation options — and these lacking resources are the primary social determinants of health.

To help communities impacted by institutionalized racism and redlining, March of Dimes created a National Birth Equity Framework, co-created with 550 community stakeholders and vetted further by national experts. Through this work, they identified five root causes or areas for improvement:

1. Access to care
2. Quality of care
3. Environmental justice
4. Economic stability
5. Safe and supportive communities.

March of Dimes then asked communities to tailor their solutions to the five root causes and invest dollars accordingly. The goal? Dismantling racism and improving local birth outcomes.

In 2020, March of Dimes implemented RBA Turn the Curve training across partner communities. It’s still a bit early to identify measurable improvements, but Isadora reports that the data disaggregation and racial equity efforts have exponentially increased the capacity to run Turn the Curve conversations. Isadora thinks of RBA as “measurement for the people” and that anyone can start down a beautiful data pathway. It’s a way to live your values and achieve your priorities through data and data disaggregation.