Charities significantly depend on statistics. Whether it is in relation to measuring the number of people affected by a specific problem or determining the organisation’s contribution to curtailing the problem, non-profits have to depend on the actual facts for lobbying with policymakers, being accountable to their donors and more. These statistics should further have the flexibility to be categorised on a national, regional and international level. In this respect, one of the most significant advantages of technology today is the ability to make accurate data-driven insights. It is in this regard data analytics become relevant. This article will consider the types of data analytics and how they can help non-profit organisations execute their operations better.
What Sort Of Data Do Charity Organisations Need?
The type of data that a non-profit will require differs from the type of organisation it is. For instance, consider that there is a charity organisation whose central aim is to preserve the environment. One such project they could execute is to reduce plastic consumption in a country. For this purpose, they may introduce a range of plastic bins around the country, where people can dispose of plastic items, which the organisation will collect to recycle. In this situation, the data that would be helpful for this organisation includes service user, engagement, impact, and donor data. While the service user data will collect information on those involved in implementing the project and categorise them into multiple factors, engagement data will monitor how effective the project is by assessing whether the public uses the bins daily. Impact data demonstrates the effect the introduction of bins has on the environment. Hence, questions such as whether the rate of plastic pollution has gone down are regarded. Donor data will analyse the quality of managing relations and keep them updated.
Five Ways Data Analytics Help Non-Profits
Data analytics is an excellent way for a non-profit organisation to be smarter with its limited resources and finances. Even a charity organisation’s most organised and responsible team may succumb to errors. This is precisely due to inaccurate data or human errors in assessing the data. As data analytics is now a part of digital solutions, good software does all the hard work with maximum accuracy. Keep in mind that organisations need to identify which type of data is most relevant for their purposes. Hence, take note to choose the most suitable metrics. Here are five ways data analytics can help charity organisations perform different functions.
Budget Your Finances Accurately
Forming a financial budget is challenging as it is more than just adding various sums. Instead, it takes a futuristic mind to consider all the possible variables that must be regarded to make a well-thought-out financial budget. Whether an organisation is making a project budget or an annual budget, a charity organisation has a higher burden of ensuring its budget is correct due to its high dependence on its donors or sponsors. A wrongly calculated budget would not only be accurate but would make it hard for the donor. Data analytics considers various consumer price changes if the project requires it. It would consider past projects the organisation had executed and allowed teams to cross-check what factors they missed that should now be included.
Stategrising For Fundraisers Intelligently
Analytics, such as donor retention rate, helps the organisation keep track of how involved a donor is in an organisation. It is no surprise that getting new donors for every project is arduous. That is why it is important to keep past donors happy so they can be approached again at a future date. This can only be done towards donors who seem to have an active interest in the charity. To retain their interest, organisations also put in the right effort by maintaining meaningful relations with them. Such analytics helps organisations to strategise ways to keep such ties. Offering monthly flexible plans for them to donate, appreciating their generosity, and other creative methods are ways to test whether the retention rate increases. Donor demographics are also a way of categorising donor interest based on age, employment and income rate. These can help teams decide whether a specific donor should be approached for a one-off project or whether they occasionally have the financial means and interest to donate more.
Creating Accurate Reports For Transparency
There are multiple documents a non-profit takes ample time to make. From project proposals to finance reports, charity organisations are highly responsible for ensuring all information is accurate. This is especially true when it comes to finances. All expenses incurred must be recorded with transcripts saved for proof. This is due to the organisation’s dependence on donor money. In some organisations, there are shareholders who ensure that the money is well spent. Hence, the team is constantly required to produce monthly reports to them with a breakdown of how each donation for each project was used. This same report is thereafter also shared with the respective donor that did donate. All this helps the organisation to brand itself as a trusted charity organisation staying true to its underlying goal.
Analytics In Terms of Email Campaigners
The most effective mode of marketing for non-profit organisations is through email campaigners. A charity management system which offers a module to manage emails will generally have the option to check analytics. In this, the organisation can assess the rate of those who open the emails, click through the content and engage, and the conversion rate. The conversation rate refers to how many people acted on the call to action. This could be anything from donating, volunteering, or registering for another specific purpose. All these analytics help an organisation strategise better ways of organising campaigns and find which type of content interests readers more. It also helps to filter out how many people are interested in the work the organisation does, thereby acting further to make more connections with them.
Approaching The Right Crowds
Sometimes a key pillar of a charity organisation is not only to find donors for projects. There are instances where significant attention should be put on finding the correct type of volunteers. In other words, volunteers with a similar interest in the organisation’s cause, those who are responsible and essentially eventually take control in the future. As volunteerism by nature is not a paid role, finding such people can be hard. This is why it is important to have a team of passionate people. Analytics can help you find the right crowd to approach to when you require such assisstance. This can be done by considering the analytics in a webpage or social media page. While neither platoform will express note the name of such individuals it gives you hints as to how they were directed to the site or page. For instance, if more clicks on a website is present based on their visits to a specific social media page, it indicates which social media app potential volunteers mostly look at. This information also helps organisations to direct your curated content and updates on which social media platform. As a chairty organisation, the content and images posted is key to framing its reputation.
Getting Data Collection Sorted For Accurate Analytics
For an organisation to rely on data-driven insights, the data analytics that are received must be accurate. For this to be so, the data collection and organisation process should be done correctly. This is where a charity management system helps you. From collecting, organising and integrating pools of data, small-scale and large-scale non-profit organisations can automate tedious, repetitive tasks accurately. Once this is done, receiving expert insights, intelligent budgeting skills, excellent marketing tips, and other valuable metrics are ways that data analytics help charities unlock significant advantages. At the same, charities will be able to organise their in-house operations, helping them to perform their functions much more efficiently. A charity management system has, therefore, so much to offer. What are you waiting for?