Four steps to transform the way you use analytics to drive growth
Throughout this blog series, we are focusing on each of Five to Flow’s core elements from the lens of nonprofit organizations to help improve the sustainability and impact of your mission. In Part 1, we focused on people - both internal staff development and donor engagement. In Part 2 of the series, we addressed the need to establish consistent processes for improved efficiency and effectiveness. Part 3 dug deeper into culture development and creating an inclusive environment. Part 4 addressed the technology challenges and opportunities for nonprofits.
In our final blog of the series, we will focus on the core element of analytics. Many companies, including nonprofit organizations, tend to overlook analytics as a fundamental part of their strategic plan and process.
According to the recent Salesforce Nonprofit Trends Report:
Before we dig into solutions and recommendations, it is important to start by understanding the different types of analytics to develop a more intentional and meaningful strategy:
Nonprofits most commonly track financial and fundraising data, or website and social media traffic. Additional data collection is often driven by grant program requirements or collected sporadically without a holistic data management strategy that is linked to the overall mission and vision of the organization. In many cases, organizations may collect a lot of data, but it may not be updated or maintained properly. Especially for nonprofits with limited resources, it is important to start with a clear data management strategy to determine what needs to be collected and why, as well as what the organization will do with the data.
Once a strategy and process are in place, nonprofits will better understand the preferences and needs of different segments of stakeholders, improve communications and fundraising efforts, track and predict recruitment and retention outcomes, and build realistic financial models to anticipate the needs of the organization in the future.
While it may sound technical and scary, data and analytics are essential to driving organizational agility, efficiency, and strategic growth. The good news is, it also doesn’t have to be complicated:
Step 1: start by creating a list of meaningful metrics that demonstrate the health of your organization - it could be anything from the number of new members per week or month to membership retention, social media followers, new donor prospects, or revenue levels.
Step 2: track and report on those metrics during weekly department or team meetings to evaluate what is working (and why) and where you need to make adjustments.
Step 3: Look for trends and anomalies in real-time and make better predictions of what might happen in the future.
Step 4: Use the data to support your strategy, adjust or tweak your tactics, or try something new. Your decisions will be more timely and strategic, enabling growth.
Here are a few suggestions for how to use data and analytics within your nonprofit:
Above all, stay curious about your data and use it to make strategic decisions and changes based on the trends. Flow and organization wellness can be found at the convergence of these five essential core elements. While it may feel overwhelming, start by taking the Wellness Wave to determine which areas need the most attention. Read more about the core elements on our website, and reach out to connect with us. We are passionate about helping organizations go below the surface to reach their fullest potential and love the work they do. Your future begins now!