How Groundwork Outreach Turns Grassroots Insight into Measurable Outcomes

Turning real-time community insights into data-driven decisions that expand access and impact

This month, Groundwork Outreach is celebrating three years of connecting communities to the resources they need to thrive. Our canvassing team is often the most visible part of that work, meeting residents at their doors and building trust through direct engagement. Behind the scenes, however, is a critical piece of our approach that makes this work more effective: turning community insights into data that drives action.

That is where Alteryx for Good plays an essential role.

Through the Alteryx for Good program, Groundwork Outreach has access to a powerful data analytics tool that allows us to transform raw, on-the-ground information into clear, actionable insights. Every conversation our canvassers have generates valuable data about community needs, barriers to access, and opportunities for connection. Alteryx helps us clean, process, and analyze that information quickly so it can be used in real time.

For a small but nimble back-office team of three, this efficiency matters. By reducing the time spent on data preparation, we are able to focus more on what matters most: sending our canvassing team of 60+ individuals to the homes that need our support most. Whether it is identifying gaps in service access, refining outreach strategies, or informing program design, these insights allow our clients to make decisions grounded in the lived experiences of the communities they serve.

One example of this in practice is our Community Connections for Older Adults campaign with The Senior Source, Meals on Wheels, and the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas. Using Alteryx, our team built a map that visualized market penetration of services for residents ages 60 and older. This allowed our team to see which households were currently accessing services and which ones were not. Our canvassers were then able to go door-to-door, helping 160 individual seniors access over 483 services (an average of more than three services per person).

At Groundwork Outreach, we believe that data should not sit in spreadsheets or reports. It should be usable, shareable, and directly connected to decision-making. Tools like Alteryx make that possible. As we celebrate this milestone, we are grateful for the support of the Alteryx for Good program. Their investment in organizations like ours makes it possible to turn community voices into insights and those insights into action. We look forward to continuing this work and expanding how we use data to support stronger, more responsive communities.

A special thanks to the Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, and Lyda Hill Philanthropies, who provided funding for the Community Connections for Older Adults campaign.