[Case Study] Curating Data and Establishing Brand Authority to Drive Partnerships for The Concilio

The Concilio is a Dallas-based nonprofit dedicated to building stronger communities by unlocking educational, wellness, and economic opportunities for Latino families. In operation for more than 40 years, they strive to achieve equity and opportunity for every family through providing direct services to low-income residents and facilitating systemic change in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW).
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In a 2020 that was tumultuous for their constituents, The Concilio raised $2M in grant money to provide rent assistance to community members in danger of eviction. The Concilio’s president and CEO, Florencia Velasco-Fortner, realized that there was a need for a comprehensive report that elucidated the extent of need and identified disparities in education, wellness, and economic opportunity.

“We needed to tell a comprehensive, data-driven story about what was happening in the lives of our community members and families,” she said. 

The Concilio partnered with Mustard & Moxie on their seminal State of Latinos (SOL) report. The report combined existing, third-party data on Latinos in the DFW region as well as survey data from The Concilio’s constituents. The success of the 2022 report led to think tank discussions with local Latino leaders as well as corporate sponsorships and academic partnerships.  

Developing the Report

Mustard & Moxie approaches communications for nonprofit clients through the lens of the most effective marketing strategies employed by corporations. This includes telling stories with data that both hit at the meaning behind the numbers and are impactful for the full range of potential audiences.

In developing the SOL Report for The Concilio, Mustard & Moxie synthesized data collected by the organization directly and incorporated extensive secondary research by governmental organizations, universities, and other nonprofits. Combined with quotes and stories from people who had received services from The Concilio, the report shared compelling and clear, data-driven stories that highlighted key performance metrics of Latino families in DFW and Texas. In addition, for each of the focus sectors, the SOL Report offered thought starters and actionable steps for further conversation, including proposed systemic solutions to issues currently being mitigated merely through high-demand direct services.

In addition to researching and managing the writing of the 25-page, downloadable report, Mustard & Moxie provided art and design. They translated data into visually impactful and accessible graphs and charts, and featured photography of community members: the heart of The Concilio’s mission.

It was essential that beyond simply gathering and relaying the facts, the report had to hit at the “why” of it all. By connecting broader national, state, and regional data around Latinos’ successes and barriers with the lived experiences of those in the DFW Latino community, the SOL Report is a representation of the intentionality behind The Concilio’s efforts to improve opportunities and wellbeing of their constituents. 

“The numbers are more than data points – they’re people,” Velasco-Fortner said. “We shared the voices of the people in our community who are so low on the bell curve that their data gets lost in averages.”  

Goals of the Report

Mustard & Moxie was engaged to manage the research, development, and creative execution of the SOL Report as a tool to create deeper understanding, both within and outside the Latino community, about the wellbeing of Latinos in DFW in three key areas: health, wealth, and education. 

Internally the report can serve a few distinct functions. First, it can act as a benchmark-setting tool and a way to identify areas of significant opportunity in programming going forward to best serve the community. Second, it opens up conversations around potential partnerships with other organizations focused on similar work, or those who have intersecting goals with The Concilio, including governmental, NPO, corporate, and academic entities. Third, it identifies areas where systemic or governmental solutions may be appropriate or necessary to better meet the needs of those The Concilo serves.

The SOL Report shares both expected and surprising information around the health, wealth, and education status of DFW Latinos, including: 

• Texas has the second highest rate in the nation of citizens without health insurance, with 13% uninsured as of March 2022. This is nearly 1.5x higher than the national uninsured rate of 8%. Latino Texans are more than twice as likely than non-Hispanic white Texans to lack health insurance: 27% versus 12%. Of the population The Concilio serves, 86% are uninsured – more than 6x the rate of all Texans. 
• In 2019, 70.9% of the Latino population and 72.1% of the foreign-born Latino population in DFW were active in the labor force, compared with 68.1% of the non-Latino population. 
• 75.4% of Latinos and 94.2% of non-Hispanic white adults nationwide have a high school diploma or higher, and 18.6% of Latinos and 38.9% of non-Hispanic white adults had a bachelor's degree or higher. In Texas, the state that has the second-lowest percentage in the nation of high school graduates, 70% of Latinos have a high school diploma or higher, and in DFW that number drops to 53%. Among the population served by The Concilio, only 40% have a high school diploma or higher. 

Compiling this data allows for benchmarks to be set and performance towards those goals tracked over subsequent months and years. Not only does the report offer insights into the inequities facing DFW Latinos, it also provides the context for how The Concilio and other organizations like it, in coordination with broader social and governmental initiatives, can make changes at a systemic level. 

When viewed through an external lens, the SOL report serves as a communication point and conversation starter for The Concilio to nurture partnerships, gain exposure to important issues through various media channels, and establish authority as experts in effective advocacy for the North Texas Latino community. 

Outcomes

The Concilio has used the SOL report as a springboard for think tank discussions and a summit. Representatives from 80 organizations across 13 sectors participated in their March 2023 think tank. This event brought decision makers to the table to collaborate, ideate, and commit to steps to eliminate root causes of disparities. 

The SOL Report has also generated positive PR for The Concilio in news outlets, such as Texas Public Radio. In fact, demand for attendance at the report’s launch event was so immense that it had to be moved to a larger venue to accommodate.

Beyond the positive engagement and important conversations initiated in response to the data and stories showcased in the SOL Report, multiple partnerships were formed. A large university engaged with The Concilio to lead the research of their 2024 report, and a major commercial bank offered to sponsor the wealth section of this next iteration. The report also allowed The Concilio to secure a major corporate sponsor, McKesson, for the 2023 Power of Latinos Summit. Conversations from this summit are leading the way for research in the next State of Latinos Report. 

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Start the Conversation

Are you interested in generating a state-of report for the community your organization serves, but you’re not sure where to start or how to make it worthwhile? Connect with us now to discuss how Mustard & Moxie can help you build and market a compelling report that supports your goals.