MiracleFeet (B): Data for Impact

By Jaclyn Foroughi, Maureen McNichols
2021 | Case No. SI135B | Length 10 pgs.

In January 2021, Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld (MBA ’92), cofounder and executive director of MiracleFeet, a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating untreated clubfoot for good, found herself at yet another crossroad. In just over a decade, the organization, which partnered with local clinics to provide low-cost, nonsurgical solutions to one of the world’s leading causes of disability, had treated just over 50,000 children in 29 countries, nailing nearly every ambitious goal to date. Notably, it had accomplished this with just over $31 million in funds raised. And with programming costs of just under $500 per child, treatment with MiracleFeet had proven to be one of the most cost-effective, high impact health initiatives in the world.

But a hole remained. Over the prior decade, Colloredo-Mansfeld had faced a number of challenges. These included how best to harness the power of data to operate more efficiently and effectively, deliver the highest-quality programming, and provide meaningful data for donors that, in turn, informed the programming process in a continuous feedback loop. Indeed, Colloredo-Mansfeld had figured out how to use data to drive performance, retain and inform major donors, and manage impact but she struggled with how to scale the organization beyond the low-income model. Since inception, MiracleFeet had focused primarily on countries with poor access to health care. However, in order to solve the issue of untreated clubfoot globally, Colloredo-Mansfeld would have to figure out how to leverage data to forge a new pathway beyond low-income countries.

Also see: SI135: Miraclefeet.org: Fundraising and Financial Sustainability

Learning Objective

This case is designed to help students learn concepts useful for understanding the power of data and how to harness it to operate more efficiently and effectively. Students discuss the situation in the case to think about and develop the steps they would use to better use data.
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