Data Mining

Ownership is a dangerous word — but someone typically owns it in a nonprofit. Which hands hold your data — and is it a good thing?

This article is a must-read for people who think they are tracking long-term marketing metrics.

If you work at a nonprofit, or work with nonprofits, I bet you want to do more with data. I know that I do! Last year, NTEN put out a report on The State of Nonprofit Data that identified a lack of on-staff expertise as one big barrier to organizations making use of data. If you don’t have data experts on staff, then chances are the best person to do that extra data analysis you’ve been dreaming of is … you.

This session pulls together real data champs to help you figure out the best ways to gather that donor info and what to do with it.

Geographic information systems (GIS) mapping has widespread applications to the work we do, and for almost any nonprofit sector. This technology enables fundraisers to plot on a map the location of your: $100+ donors, loyal donors, subscribers, patients, alumni, food recipients, ticket buyers, gala attendees and so much more. The most important qualities of GIS mapping are that it is visual and multidimensional. You can overlay profiles to learn about phenomenon that can drive your strategy.

Integrated data systems are critical to enabling constituent-centric communications across channels, which, in turn, is key to your relationship with donors and fundraising results.

For a resource-strapped nonprofit, taking on data analytics can seem like a monumental challenge. With the field of data analytics booming and salaries skyrocketing, attracting top-tier talent can take massive financial resources from organizations that may already be forced to make sacrifices just to operate. Second, without prior experience, it can be difficult to know what, if any, insights data can generate that would empower your organization to better achieve its mission. Here are some tips on how your organization can learn — and grow — from data.

When making a decision, having the facts on your side — especially if it backfires — can be very handy no matter how inspired your decision seems at the time.

This information, if used correctly, paints the picture of how people connect to our organizations — and those connections are critical to helping predict the future connections.

In the August 2008 issue, creative consultant Kimberly Seville wrote in her DM Diagnosis column, "Gather Ye Data — Just Be Sure to Use It Well," that, "When [fundraisers] demonstrate with every direct-marketing campaign that we do care to know [donors], and when we use what we know to show we’re paying attention, we prove to each donor individually that he or she matters."