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Ellen,

One of the challenges we often hear from our nonprofit clients is the difficulty they have with focusing their data practice to capture and understand the data they most need. When we dig into the challenge, there are likely 3 main causes:

• The organization is attempting to meet the data needs of multiple funders, with limited or often no additional funding to ensure their success with this mandate, spending much time and resources to maintain grants vs. understand the impact of their work.

• Lack of a strategic orientation to data practice, meaning the organization has not gone through a process to align their data practice with their impact strategy to know what data they need to understand if their program is being delivered the with the quality they intend or whether the individuals in their program are achieving the outcomes intended. (Note, this is primarily because all resources for evaluation are going into root cause #1).

•  Upskilling needs for evaluation and program staff – most individuals playing a data role within a nonprofit have inherited that responsibility, and therefore must learn on the job. Most organizations have limited means to provide this, and finding the right source for learning is challenging.

Over the past month, we have supported recruiting nonprofit leaders to participate in a Community of Practice (CoP) with foundation leaders to discuss how nonprofit data practice can be best supported. The intent of this CoP is to derive solutions to familiar challenges with nonprofit data practice. We are excited to support this effort led by the Colorado Evaluation & Action Lab and are eager to hear potential solutions to these shared challenges.

If your organization is struggling with these challenges, let's do a virtual coffee. We’d love to provide some insights. 

Cindy

Founder & CEO

P.S. Check out our new service announcement sparked from this listening tour in the resources below.

July Resources

READING

• How to Reimagine the Relationship Between Nonprofits and Funders: Evaluation in Service of Community  – A panel conversation ResultsLab moderated to hear the perspectives from a nonprofit and a funder, and how meeting nonprofit needs lends itself to greater community impact.

• The Rise of Trust-Based Philanthropy – Read about how Funders are embracing a more equitable way of working alongside nonprofits.

LISTENING

• Smarter Impact: Dr Jodi York - a podcast which discusses theories of change and theories of action.

• Trust-Based Philanthropy and Strategic Giving - SSIR publisher Michael Voss discusses the differences between trust-based and strategic philanthropy.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Join our next virtual Collective Coffee on August 27th, register here! Our conversation will focus on trust-based philanthropy and strategies for elevating voice.
• Impact Accelerator Nonprofit and Funder Waitlist – our next round of Impact Accelerators will launch in October - As you go into 2025 Strategic Planning, consider developing a robust Impact Strategy to enhance your ability to achieve stronger outcomes and greater impact.
  • Learn more about the Impact Accelerator process for funders here.
  • Learn more about the Impact Accelerator process for nonprofits here.

• We're Hiring! Check out our current open positions and please share in your networks.

  • o   Impact Consultant

LET'S CONNECT

If you would like to contribute to content or would like us to include your resources in the future, please reach out to info@resultslab.com and we will connect with you!

For more resources and updates, follow ResultsLab on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter

ResultsLab is a woman-owned social enterprise that propels organizations, communities, and networks to the next level of impact through quality design and effective use of data. We are reinventing impact management by providing strategic design and capacity building for data informed decision-making to organizations and networks that exist to drive change for our communities.