For the past few years, it seems like our world has evolved in a way that we’ve never witnessed before. Welcome to the generation of data, where almost any kind of data available can be stored onto an integrated system. From our day-to-day lives, we rely on technology to keep track of agendas, make appointments, set reminders, check emails, and keep in contact with our friends and family. If you’re not jumping on the tech bandwagon, why not? Sure, it’s an investment—but won’t it pay itself off over time, and won’t you and your team be more efficient in your day-to-day business operations?
You may be scratching your head, wondering, “Does my nonprofit really need this? We are doing fine importing our data on spreadsheets and filing them away on our organization’s shared network.”
But are you doing… just fine?
Here are a few questions that I want you to ask yourself right now:
- How efficient is your data system? Are you just logging in information on Excel?
- Are you using that information to the best of your nonprofit’s ability (e.g. is the information demonstrating the impact your nonprofit is making)?
- Can you create customizable reports and share them with your colleagues?
- Can your employees be more efficient with what they do… without all the grunt work (paperwork)?
If your answers fall in the no-category for most of those questions, it’s about time to re-evaluate how you’re collecting your data, how you’re recording and tracking that data, and how you’re using that data to better your nonprofit. Because, folks, data is king, and can help you transform your nonprofit in many ways.
Why You Should Your Nonprofit Track Data?
Investing in a software that holds the capability to collects and track data provides a multitude of benefits. First, all the information that your nonprofit collects—donor data, financial data, program data—is now funneled into one place, which makes it easier to find and keep track of your data. Long gone are the days where you have to shuffle through papers and papers to find what you’re looking for. Keeping track of your data also enables your nonprofit to track its progress and discover what kind of impact it’s making, which is a surefire way to show you constituents that your nonprofit deserves their continued support and funders that your nonprofit deserves that grant!
Data helps your nonprofit thrive. And if you’re not convinced yet, let me share a few more reasons why data is king.
Looking at your data as a whole, are you able to measure how your nonprofit is delivering on its mission? Are you doing well in communicating how much impact your nonprofit has made on the world? Better yet, when applying for a grant, how many papers are you shuffling through to and how much time does it take for you to piece together evidence that your nonprofit is worth investing in?
With a case and data management solution, you have all this information on the tip of your fingertips! It gives you the numbers—and you can create customized reports to fit your every need. And better yet, you can analyze these data reports on a quarterly basis to ensure that your nonprofit continues to improve overtime, and when it declines, you will understand where the weaknesses are and tackle them!
Click here for an additional resource on what funders are looking for and how your nonprofit can create powerful data-driven reports.
Nhu Te is editor-in-chief and content director for NonProfit PRO. She is also the editor of DMAW Marketing AdVents. Reach her at nhute@napco.com.
