Howe quoted in Peak Grantmaking's Weekly Insights on Tracking Grantee Demographics
Lauren Howe shared her insights on collecting and leveraging grantee demographic data in a recent article by Peak Grantmaking: CONNECTing on Tracking Grantee Demographics. Lauren is the Program Administrator for Healthy Food for Denver's Kids and a 2018 Switzer Fellow.
Lauren noted that collecting demographic data is necessary so that they can track and ensure that their investments are reaching the populations intended. Understanding the larger social context of food insecurity was key, to confirm that the grants would go to the communities most disproportionately affected by the issues they seek to address.
She added on to say that her organization navigates the challenges of data collection by creating surveys that are tailored to each grantee’s unique situational challenges. Data is collected on a quarterly basis in an estimated, aggregate form. “Collecting demographic data is also a struggle considering some of the fear and mistrust with accessing social services, for example, immigrants who fear being legally classified as a public charge,” Howe writes. “Several of our grantees do not regularly collect demographic data because they don’t want to discourage their community members from accessing the services, especially in immigrant communities.”
