Nonprofits have gotten the message that evaluation matters. In the past few years, grant makers and donors have put increasing pressure on organizations to prove their programs work, and more and more nonprofits are tracking results these days. And many are finding that strong data helps raise more money from donors.
The key to using data to attract gifts is to shift from a “deficit mind-set to an asset mind-set,” says Meg Long, president of Equal Measure, which helps nonprofits evaluate their work. That means not simply collecting and reporting information to be accountable and comply with foundation requirements but using it to build a compelling case for support. As an example, Ms. Long points to a study that Big Brothers Big Sisters promotes on its website, which shows how the program improves the lives of the children who participate. The results, displayed as big purple statistics, show that participants are less likely than nonparticipants to begin using illegal drugs and alcohol, less likely to skip school, and less likely to get involved in fights. It’s one of the first pages that pops up when users click on the “About Us” section.
Decide What to Measure
Experts advise nonprofits to use data both internally, to improve programs, and externally, to convey the results to others.
When preparing data for supporters, think first about what kinds of information will interest them. Consider polling them to ask which aspect of your nonprofit’s work matters the most to them, suggests Amanda Babine, director of Evaluate for Change, which offers classes to teach nonprofit employees how to improve evaluations.
Another way to gauge donor priorities is by using A/B testing to compare how different versions of a message perform in email appeals. Evaluate for Change did this with its own appeals by sending one that highlighted qualitative information — quotes from students explaining why its programs helped their careers — and another that highlighted quantitative information, statistics about how students fared after participating in its programs. Both approaches drew on data about programs but communicated it in different ways. The qualitative email got a better response.
This suggests that even in an era when more donors are looking for data that proves nonprofits are successful, many people still like human stories, Ms. Babine says, and charities should consider how to make data more personal and emotional. (To learn more about evaluating programs, check out The Chronicle’s tool kit, “The Basics of Measurement.”)
Tell a Story Donors Want to Hear
“Does your data tell a story?” Ms. Babine asks.
Before collecting data, nonprofits should consider what story they want to share. It helps to have a design in mind from the very beginning and to collect data that can be presented in a variety of ways for different audiences. If you want to tell the story about how efficiently your program runs, measure factors such as speed, cost, results, perceptions of staff members, and perceptions of clients. If you plan to create an infographic for donors, measure the program components donors care about in multiple ways, because a successful infographic displays a variety of data through graphs, maps, and illustrations, Ms. Babine says.
At the Tahirih Justice Center, which advocates on behalf of immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence, donors wanted to know if clients were satisfied with the nonprofit’s services. So in 2015 the group conducted a survey. Rather than simply asking how satisfied clients were, the survey asked quantitative and qualitative questions, some requiring written responses so the answers could be quoted, Ms. Babine says.
Once the survey was concluded, the center published a blog post sharing the results and sent donors a link. Of special interest were the personal stories that demonstrated how much clients valued the center’s help. One example: “The staff were wonderful. They gave me my life back. They worked so hard to improve my health and overcome my depression.”
The center won a foundation grant to conduct its client survey and to hold forums to share its techniques with other nonprofits. It was very satisfying to have a donor see the value of measuring work and support it, says Kristen Uhler-McKeown, director of legal and social services for the center.
Show Data in Attractive Ways
Once you have data on the effectiveness of your work, think about how to present it in ways that are concise, useful, and easy to digest. Infographics, one-pagers, dashboards, lists, and webinars are among the formats that are quick and easy to process.
Tahirih Justice Center uses a colorful infographic to make a case for support with donors. It shows that the nonprofit has a 99 percent success rate when it represents asylum-seekers in court. Other lawyer have only a 46 percent success rate.
However, due to a lack of funds, the center is able to help only one in six people who call.
“That’s a compelling point to show the need for support and the scale of the issue,” Ms. Uhler-McKeown says.
GreenLight Fund, a nonprofit that works with communities to identify needs and bring in proven social programs to address those needs, creates portfolio reports, which are full of visually appealing graphics to inform its donors — mostly high-net-worth individuals who work in technology and investment — about program progress.
“I think one reason donors are attracted to GreenLight is we are results-oriented,” says Margaret Hall, national executive director. “What makes them light up is the fact that we are going to be focused on results: measurable, significant results. Then we are going to report back to them.”
Here are some free or low-cost tools for making visually appealing charts, graphs, and infographics:
Piktochart
Chart Chooser
Canva
Infogr.am
Venngage
