As part of your fundraising campaigns and online engagement, you likely collect many metrics and data points. But do you take the time to reflect on this data and use it to improve for next time? In this session, we’ll discuss metrics you can collect, share each other’s best practices for data collection processes, and demo dashboard tools that will help you see the big picture.

1. Finding meaning in
the numbers
Tools for data analysis and dashboards

2. Hi,We’re from TechSoup Canada.
Our mission is to help nonprofits
use tech effectively.

3. Nonprofits can save money on tech products through
the Technology Donations Program
Register your charity, nonprofit or library to see which products you’re eligible for:
www.TechSoupCanada.ca/Getting_Started

4. You have access to free nonprofit tech resources
facebook.com/techsoupcanada
techsoupcanada.ca/learning_centre
techsoupcanada.ca/webinar
@techsoupcanada
techsoupcanada.ca/blog
techsoupcanada.ca/newslettersubscribe

5. We are a program of
the Centre for Social Innovation.
CSI is a coworking space, community and launchpad for
people who are changing the world.
Find us @ Spadina, Annex, Regent Park in Toronto (ON)
and in New York (NY).
socialinnovation.ca

6. We are part of
the TechSoup Global Network.
TSGN is a partnership 60+ civil society organizations that
aims to improve lives globally through the use of
technology.
Together, we’ve reached more then 735,000
organizations and saved nonprofits more than $5.8 M
(USD) in tech tools and services.
meet.techsoup.org

7. About me
Joyce Hsu
• Manages TechSoup Canada's marketing and communication
initiatives including product campaigns, branding, learning
content and community partnerships
• 7+ years experience as a fundraiser, and program coordinator
at national and local charities
• Keep in touch: @fuuyin
Communications Lead, TechSoup Canada

8. Today’s agenda
• Let’s talk about data
• The journey to a data-informed culture
• Data analytics and dashboard tools

9. The real struggle with
data

10. Benefits of measuring your data
Improve your
work
Make data-informed
decisions
Multiply Impact
Understand your donor
demographics, identity
high need areas
Accountability
Demonstrate your impact
to donors, funders, board
and supporters
Better
forecasts
Predict and analyze
program and
fundraising
Know what’s
effective
Understand what is
working and what
isn’t working
impact

11. Benefits of measuring your data
Improve your
work
Make data-informed
decisions
Multiply Impact
Understand your donor
demographics, identity
high need areas
Accountability
Demonstrate your impact
to donors, funders, board
and supporters
Better
forecasts
Predict and analyze
program and
fundraising
Know what’s
effective
Understand what is
working and what
isn’t working
impact
But most of you already know this

12. “… most nonprofits are collecting
data, but simply tracking it isn’t
enough. Our findings produced
clear results stating that many
nonprofits are collecting data, but
often aren’t sure what to do with
it.”
Source:
act.everyaction.com/2016-nonprofit-data-whitepaper

13. How are nonprofits using data?
60% of nonprofit
professionals don’t use
data to make decisions
60%
don‘t use data
in decisions
97% wants to learn how to use
data more effectively
97%
want to
utilize data
49% don’t know how
their organization is
collecting data
49%
are unsure how
data is collected

14. 36%
42%
46%
55%
79%
What’s preventing nonprofits from using data?
Not enough time or staff
to focus on data
Staff doesn’t have enough
experience using data
Data isn’t kept in one place
Lack of tools to help
analyze data
Nonprofit isn’t collecting enough
data

15. 36%
42%
46%
55%
79%
What’s preventing nonprofits from using data?
Not enough time or staff
to focus on data
Staff doesn’t have enough
experience using data
Data isn’t kept in one place
Lack of tools to help
analyze data
Nonprofit isn’t collecting enough
data

16. 36%
42%
46%
55%
79%
What’s preventing nonprofits from using data?
Not enough time or staff
to focus on data
Staff doesn’t have enough
experience using data
Data isn’t kept in one place
Lack of tools to help
analyze data
Nonprofit isn’t collecting enough
data

17. 1. Denial
Anything can be
measured – you just
need to find the
right metric!
2. Fear
Knowing what works is
equally important as
knowing what doesn’t
work
3. Confusion
Start small and build
on it; don’t get
overwhelmed with
data
4. Delight
Encourage it!
Share data with
others
5. Data-informed
Lead by example and help
others struggling with data
My program is
an art, not a
science … it
can’t be
measured!
What if my
strategy/
program
doesn’t show
success?
I know I should
be measuring
our program,
but I’m not sure
how?
Hey, check out
these cool
metrics!
What does
the data
say?
5 Stages of Data/Measurement Acceptance

18. 36%
42%
46%
55%
79%
What’s preventing nonprofits from using data?
Not enough time or staff
to focus on data
Staff doesn’t have enough
experience using data
Data isn’t kept in one place
Lack of tools to help
analyze data
Nonprofit isn’t collecting enough
data

19. What’s preventing nonprofits from using data?
Not enough time or staff
to focus on data
Staff doesn’t have enough
experience using data
Data isn’t kept in one place
Lack of tools to help
analyze data
Nonprofit isn’t collecting enough
data 36%
42%
46%
55%
79%

20. What’s preventing nonprofits from using data?
Not enough time or staff
to focus on data
Staff doesn’t have enough
experience using data
Data isn’t kept in one place
Lack of tools to help
analyze data
Nonprofit isn’t collecting enough
data 36%
42%
46%
55%
79%

21. Building a data
informed culture

22. Define your
question
Choose
metrics
Collect
data
Review & share
data
Use data
Tweak, learn,
improve &
repeat
The Data Journey

23. 1. Define your question
What area would you like to explore?
What is your action question?
Recruiting clients Efficiency of a process
A specific programAnnual campaign
Email list building
Social media outreach
Which segment is more engaged, express or implied consent?

24. Example: TechSoup Canada’s data journey
Are our email
campaigns leading to
donation requests?

25. 2. Choose Metrics
What metrics should you measure? A few guiding questions:
What data
could you be
tracking? What decisions do you
want to be able to make
based on the data?
What does
success
look like?
What data
are you
already
tracking?

26. Example: TechSoup Canada’s data journey
How do we know if our email campaigns
lead to donation requests?
• # of clicks on a product
• # of product requests placed within a
week of receiving email
• Ideal: Track conversions directly from
email to website

27. 3. Collect Data
How will you gather your metrics?
One-off
• Surveys
• User testing
Ongoing
• Registration/
Donation forms
• Website visits
or Offline
• Event surveys
• Focus groups
Online
• Web forms
• Email interactions
or

28. Example: TechSoup Canada’s data journey
Our desired metrics:
• # of clicks on a product
• # of product requests placed
• Conversions
Metrics are tracked online on an ongoing
basis in MailChimp, Google Analytics &
on our website

29. 4. Review and Share Data
Pull data Analyze Record data &
insights
Share
Website?
Email?
Database?

30. Example: TechSoup Canada’s data journey
Team members are shared on
all of our MailChimp and
Google Analytics reports

31. 5. Use Data
MomsRising holds a weekly staff meeting called “Metrics Monday.”
Each program and campaign staff person reviews their reports in preparation for a group
conversation about what actions to reinforce, how refine messages, and other improvements.
Learn more: www.bethkanter.org/momsrising-key-results
“Our dashboards have multiple views –
a high level view and the ability to drill
down into specific campaigns.
This informs our discussion.”

32. Example: TechSoup Canada’s data journey
We have a recurring, weekly
marketing meetings to review
data (30 mins. max)

33. Define your
question
Choose
metrics
Collect data Review &
share data
Use data Tweak, learn,
improve & repeat
How do we
retain staff?
Is our staff
happy?
Why is our
turn-over
so high?
Job satisfaction
Ergonomics
Salary range
Benefits
Opportunities
Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Very
Satisfied
Very
Dissatisfied
The Data Journey

34. Nuts and Bolts:
Dashboard Tools

35. 4 approaches to Dashboards
Static
spreadsheet
• Excel
• Google sheets
Built-in
dashboard
• Comes with your
database: CRM, CMS,
Email platform
Reporting/B.I./
dashboard tool
• Microsoft Power BI
• SAP
• Tableau
Custom
dashboards
• Need a programmer!

36. Pros
• Familiar tools
• No IT expertise needed
• Flexible, easy to customize
• Helps you experiment
Cons
• Less powerful than other tools
• Usually involves manual effort
• No real-time feedback
Spreadsheet Dashboards

37. Example: Excel
chandoo.org/wp/excel-dashboards

38. Example: Google Sheets
zapier.com/learn/google-sheets/google-sheets-dashboard-tutorial

39. [ tip ] No time to make dashboards? Use Excel Pivot Tables

40. Built-in Dashboards
Pros
• Pulls directly from existing data
automatically
• Often update in real time
• No new systems required
Cons
• Requires a robust dashboard
feature in your existing system
• System may not include all
relevant data

41. Example: SalesForce
salesforce.org/nonprofit (10 free licenses)

42. Example: MailChimp
kb.mailchimp.com/accounts/billing/about-mailchimp-discounts (15% off)

43. Example: Google Analytics
analytics.google.com (free)

44. Pros
• Integrate multiple data sources
• Not reliant on built-in
dashboard functionality
• More features available
(e.g. compared to a
spreadsheet)
Cons
• A new system to acquire and
learn
• May require IT assistance, or at
least tech savvy staff
Reporting /B.I./Dashboard Tools

45. Example: Zoho Reports
zoho.com/reports (free & paid plans)

46. Example: Qlik
qlik.com (free & paid plans)

47. Example: Tableau
tableau.com (eligible orgs can also get it at techsoupcanada.ca/directory/423)

48. Pros
• Exactly customized for you,
maximum flexibility
• Integrate multiple data sources
Cons
• Custom development (IT)
required
• Need capacity to maintain it
Custom Dashboards

49. Example: One Acre Fund
oneacrefund.org/results/impact

50. Example: Indianapolis Museum of Art
dashboard.imamuseum.org

51. Good Data Visualization Practices

52. Further reading
• How Can Nonprofits Switch to a Data-Informed Culture?
bethkanter.org/switch-data-driven
• TechSoup Battles: Dashboard Tools for Nonprofits
techsoupcanada.ca/community/blog/techsoupbattles-dashboard-tools
• Getting Started with Data-Driven Decision Making (workbook)
nten.org/NTEN_images/reports/Data_Workbook_final.pdf

53. Questions? joyce@techsoupcanada.ca