About

Hillcrest Advisory was founded and is led by Andy Krackov, who, over the last 20 years, has fine-tuned an understanding of what works to achieve impact with data in the social sector, thanks to his background in journalism, philanthropy for public data initiatives, and his extensive strategic communication work with social sector organizations.

Our Aim Is to Ensure Social Sector Organizations Communicate Effectively with Data

We help organizations by…

  • Crafting compelling data stories that are aligned with their outcomes.

  • Advising on strategies they can pursue to best leverage data for impact.

  • And training organizations to improve their capacity to communicate in cogent and engaging ways with numbers.

With whom do we work?

We Work with Large Nonprofits and Universities and Smaller Community Based Organizations on the Frontlines of Social Change

Through our work, we enable organizations to put their issues on the public agenda; educate key constituents; inspire audiences to take a stand (e.g. join a cause or donate); and strengthen community collaboration.

Since our founding, we’ve worked with more than 40 organizations to help them marshall data effectively. Clients include a range of industries – large nonprofits like AARP; universities such as Stanford, UCSF and UCLA; and government agencies including the Los Angeles Department of Public Health and the California Health & Human Services Agency.

Attendees of Our Data Storytelling Training Have Learned Practical Lessons They Can Apply to Their Work

  • “I love that we have so many takeaways from this course! New ideas, tools, and resources. I will be returning to all of these materials frequently, and I discovered a lot of new websites and groups to subscribe to.”

    Student Working in the Nonprofit Sector

  • “Andy is a wonderful instructor! The tools he presented are helpful, and the discussions were useful.”

    Data Storytelling Workshop Attendee

  • “I particularly liked the data storytelling portion of the day. I appreciated being able to see in real time how data can be visualized. I also appreciated the resources that were shared in regards to data storytelling.”

    Attendee at an In-Person Data Storytelling Training

  • “I liked working with our table to try to create a data storytelling tool.”

    Workshop Participant

  • “Really enjoyed Andy’s presentation. Practical and useful information.”

    Lecture Attendee

  • “Andy’s tone and answers made me feel I was safe to ask any question, and he really cared for his super short-term students, kind of like a kindergarten teacher who can relate to us beginners even though he is an expert. I enjoyed his teaching style very much.”

    Former Student