How to put data to work for your fundraising

Do you pay attention to your fundraising data?

If you do, you are unusual.

It’s not hard to collect or have a lot of data. It’s considerably harder to use it to improve things.

Here’s a great post at Know Your Own Bone about the nerdy roles you need to have in your organization to get the most from all that data: The Few, The Proud, The Nerdy – Why Your Organization Needs Data Advocates:

1. Data needs an insider. Someone familiar with your program and what the data means.
   
2. Data needs a storyteller. Even knowledgeable people often misinterpret data because it’s hard to understand until someone turns it into a story.
   
3. Data needs a translator. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen people read data and get exactly the wrong understanding. We need people who can make it clear.
   
4. Data needs a champion. Because it will get ignored if you don’t have someone who pushes it.