Bringing Your Organization's Data to Life: NPdata Tweet Chat Recap

The work social-benefit organizations do is powered by data. Data guide day-to-day decisions and make a case for why donors and volunteers should lend their support. Yet as much as we recognize the importance of data, for many it’s difficult to know how to use data in a meaningful way.

Recently, TechSoup Global partnered with The Guardian for a seminar titled "Transforming Your Charity by Bringing Your Data to Life." TechSoup kept the conversation going by hosting a tweet chat on data for social-benefit organizations. Tweet chat participants were invited to share how their organizations were using data and what tools they use and to ask their own questions.

The chat specifically centered on "big data," a term that refers to collecting, managing, and analyzing large amounts of data. An increasing range of technology tools and data experts interested in working with social-benefit organizations are making it easier for organizations to use their data for the public good. Organizations can use this information to help communities, obtain funding, and make their work transparent.

Useful data are available everywhere from an organization’s financial transactions to web analytics to the number of constituents served. Effectively using these data starts with making the shift to a data-driven culture.

In a data-driven culture, an organization identifies what data matters, implements an ongoing process of collection, and reviews data on a regular basis. Continuous data collection and review allows organizations to become nimble and make changes as needed in their operations for better impact.

Another aspect of effectively using data requires making the data easy to understand for audiences beyond your staff, such as your board or the public. Traditionally, organizations have tapped into their data to create annual reports. Organizations that want to move beyond this should consider using visual imagery to translate big data into something anyone can understand.

Charts, graphs, and infographics can bring numbers to life and make a bolder statement than words often can. Another advantage of visuals is that they are often easy to share – broadening the reach of your data. IBM’s Many Eyes, Data-Driven Documents, Gephi, or Visual.ly are some of the online tools available for creating compelling graphs and simple infographics. Some CRM (customer relationship management) software also includes tools to do this. Visit the TechSoup catalog to learn more about CRM software and other technology tools available to bring your organization’s data to life.

Susan Chavez
Online Community & Social Media Team, TechSoup Global
@Susan_Chavez

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Bringing Your Organization's Data to Life: NPdata Tweet Chat Recap

Bringing Your Organization's Data to Life: NPdata Tweet Chat Recap

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