Nonprofits should be all-for-data to make more effective decisions

Good decision-making is vital for every company, but in the nonprofit sector, it's especially important. Charitable bodies are having to make tight budgets stretch even further, and becoming data-driven is essential to meeting this challenge.

When it comes to insight-driven strategies, nonprofits are behind the curve. A Tech Trust survey released last year shows that 59 percent of charities still don’t have a digital strategy in place. Furthermore, a lack of real-time, organization-wide access to data is hindering their ability to make better, more timely decisions.

Underpinning strategy and operations with data should be non-negotiable for nonprofit organizations. With the right technology infrastructure, intelligent insights can inform activities and maximize opportunities to make valuable resources go further, a critical factor in the current environment.

Proving progress through data insights

A data-driven organization doesn’t just use insight to generate income; it becomes more tactical about how those resources are utilized to make every donation deliver more.  

Nonprofits need strong foundational ERP systems that can centralize all activities into a single solution so that every decision is accountable to overall budgets and objectives. And a solution with in-built reporting tools makes it easy to validate strategic actions, by showing every stakeholder in the organization what’s working and what isn’t.

In addition to ensuring that all spend is allocated effectively internally, nonprofits can also use these reports to show donors the tangible impact of their contributions. Because their donations are well-spent, confidence is boosted, and donors are encouraged to keep giving. 

Plus, increased visibility and access to real-time insights means they can proactively look ahead – instead of only being able to look backwards – and adapt to conditions as they change by tweaking program delivery to improve performance.

Using data to drive smart decision-making

In the modern organization, data is power. Nonprofits realize its value, and more institutions than ever are taking it seriously; a 2018 Institute of Fundraising report found that 48 percent of charities now have dedicated data teams. 

However, collecting information is not enough. Nonprofits need to use data strategically to drive smart decision-making as part of a digital transformation framework. And they need the right ERP solution for their operational infrastructure to ensure information is accessible to everyone – including donors – to demonstrate change and validate choices.