By Barbara Blumenthal - Funders dream about collecting data from agencies that will answer important questions about participant progress and agency performance. Read more >>
News & Views
A blog for those interested in what affects, motivates and drives the New York City Nonprofit Sector — written by CRE’s crackerjack consulting team. We hope you use this space to share your thoughts, ask questions and engage in conversations about our city, social justice and the nonprofit sector.
Is Your Agency (or Grantee) Starved for Data?
1
Find us on:
Tags
Nonprofit Quarterly Jean Lobell Needs Assessment queens guest blogger CRE News Advocacy New York City Government Nonprofit leadership Barbara Blumenthal government Randall Quan executive media Neighborhood Based Capacity Building Initiative National Committee of Responsive Philanthropy lower Manhattan collaborations cre Beth Kobliner evaluation Holly Delany Cole fundraising Huffington Post nonprofit leaders grantmakers capacity building Daring to Lead bookkeeping Data Ximena Rua-Merkin nonprofit mergers Data Starved Ero Gray Albany Valyrie Laedlein National and Community Service Nonprofit Sustainability Mohan Sikka Philanthropic Collaborative Coaching accountability nonprofit ownership staff harvard business school strategic alliances record keeping NYCCCOC Stanford Social Innovation Review Fran Barrett Nonprofit Tools generative MAC AIDS Fund Useful Links publications Funding Updates mergers What is Core? grantmakers for effective organizations CRE POV nonprofit accountability New York Community Trust Board of Directors Featured Items Sector Research Bill Ryan case statement Governance as Leadership tips computers rockaways CRE Executive Search IT foundations RFP I.T. without I.T. arts postponed event handling the unexpected Michael Hickey New York Times internal controls President Obama HIV/AIDS services providers Louisa Hackett nonprofit management proposal writing jobs hard times New York 30th Anniversary community Mark Light Fran's Corner Harvard Kennedy School Nonprofit News Peter Block website, resources, announcements executive transition nonprofit start-ups CRE Tips House Party board and staff relations board leadership announcment Client News Alliance for Nonprofit Management Pavitra Menon Government News
Subscribe via RSS feed
Comments
Very well written and relevant piece. I like your style. You write about complexities in a very simple, straightforward manner. Nice work. (And, yes, I do think you should submit it for press...)
Your comments are right on target! As I was reading, I felt like shouting, "Yes! This is exactly what nonprofits need to hear!" There is a huge pool of data that could be collected and used, but isn't.
One addition I would make is in the power of collaborations bringing nonprofits together to increase their purchasing power. Software can be pricey, but that doesn't mean it is inaccessible. I wrote about some of our clients who came together to purchase our software, ClientTrack,in an interview with Amy Sample Ward (see http://www.clienttrack.com/OurCommunity/Blog/tabid/83/PostID/7/Amy-Sample-Ward-Interview-re-Collaboration.aspx). By joining together, three community action agencies were able to get state funding to implement an integrated software solution.
Additionally, the interview references another of our clients who implemented our software to track client progress across 60+ affiliated organizations. It's not about service outcomes anymore, but about individual outcomes across a wide continuum of care. That's a powerful level of analysis that we haven't seen happening, but is now possible. I urge you to look into our software a bit more because I believe it addresses an overwhelming majority of the issues you mention. There ARE accessible solutions, and nonprofit leaders need to know about them. There is no need to be "data starved," as you say, in a world of amazing technology.