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Data: The Key To Your Fundraising and Marketing Success by Sonia Pandit, CEO, The Pandit Group

February 28, 2017

 

Guest Blog by Sonia G. Pandit, MPH MBA, CEO, The Pandit Group

In an age where funders and donors are evaluating nonprofits quantitatively, an organization’s fate is increasingly tied to its data management strategy.

A well-designed and executed data management system will not only fulfill grant requirements by measuring the impact of a program, but it will also accelerate fundraising and marketing efforts.

My clients often ask how to create an effective and efficient data management strategy. Having consulted for a wide variety of organizations such as Catholic Charities of Baltimore, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the World Health Organization, I have developed the following six-part approach:

  1. Strategize: Why do you want to collect data?
  2. Identify: What metrics do you want to track?
  3. Design: What is the most cost-effective and user-friendly data collection system you can use?
  4. Execute: What is the best way to transition the organization from the previous data management system to the new one?
  5. Monitor: How well is the data management system working?
  6. Analyze & Leverage: How can you leverage the insights gained from your data analysis to benefit the organization internally and externally?

The nobly intentioned – but ultimately misguided – literary hero Don Quixote launched all his effort and energy into battling windmills that he mistook as enemy giants. Along similar lines, well-intentioned data management efforts often succumb to common, but conquerable, errors in both design and execution. Such mistakes can jeopardize an organization’s funding, marketing, and ultimately, viability.

I will be discussing five common data management strategy mistakes at Maryland Nonprofits’ upcoming conference, Tech to Tell Your Story, on March 21 at the Bon Secours Retreat Center. All those interested in learning more are welcome to attend!

 

 

Sonia G. Pandit, MPH MBA is the CEO of The Pandit Group (www.thepanditgroup.com), a consulting firm that specializes in maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of nonprofits and government. Ms. Pandit is a graduate of Yale University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and MIT Sloan School of Management. She can be reached at sonia@thepanditgroup.com.