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The Importance of Data for Nonprofits: A Complete Guide

May 31, 2024

Let’s say that your nonprofit plans to host a fundraising event in the coming months to support the launch of a new program. However, at the outset of planning, your event team still has many questions to answer: Should it be in-person, hybrid, or virtual? How should we promote it to our audience? How will we recruit the volunteers we need? The answers to questions like these (and many more) lie in nonprofit data.

In this guide, we’ll help you harness the power of data to raise more funds, improve your operational processes, and increase your impact on your community. Here’s what we’ll cover:


By understanding the importance of data for nonprofits, you can incorporate it into all your strategies and activities to enhance your results over time.

Beyond the Horizon’s team knows the importance of data for nonprofits. Click through to see how we’ll help you unlock more insights in your database.

Why Is Data So Important for Nonprofits?


Your nonprofit has ambitious goals—and limited resources to accomplish them. To make the most of every dollar, staff hour, and volunteer, you need to understand what strategies and decisions will yield the best results. That’s where nonprofit data comes in.

Specifically, the importance of data for nonprofits lies in:

Four benefits that explain the importance of data for nonprofits, as described in more detail below.

Whether you’re creating a strategic plan, preparing for an upcoming fundraising auction, or pursuing new sources of non-dues revenue, your nonprofit’s data can provide the guidance you need to succeed in your goals.

What Types of Data Should Your Nonprofit Collect?


There are two main categories of nonprofit data: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data refers to non-numerical data that cannot be counted, such as survey feedback and interview responses. Quantitative data, on the other hand, is numerical data that can be measured and calculated, such as donation amounts or volunteer hours.

The difference between qualitative and quantitative nonprofit data, as explained above.

To establish a strong foundation for data-driven decision-making at your nonprofit, you should collect qualitative and quantitative data in these main areas:

Donor Data


The more you understand your donors, the better able you are to nurture meaningful, long-lasting relationships with them. Compile donor profiles in your database that include the following essential details:

If you notice any significant gaps in your donor database, such as missing email addresses or phone numbers, you can always invest in data appends. These professional services can augment your donor database with information from reliable, external sources so you can act on your data with confidence.

Fundraising Data


To continue securing the funding your nonprofit needs to fulfill its mission, you should collect data across all your fundraising activities. Some of the most important types of fundraising data include:

Depending on your other fundraising pursuits, you might collect additional data on non-donation revenue such as grant funding or membership dues.

Program Data


By collecting program data, your nonprofit can improve its impact on those you serve and better report your results to donors and other stakeholders. Some key data points to consider are:

Powerful success stories can also be a valuable addition to your marketing materials and annual reports. Before sharing anyone’s story or photo, be sure to obtain their permission and respect any wishes to remain anonymous.

Financial Data


Managing your nonprofit’s finances is no simple task. However, employing healthy financial practices is essential to your long-term success and sustainability. Therefore, your nonprofit should keep a clear eye on financial data such as:

Paying close attention to your nonprofit’s finances is not just an excellent way to improve your financial health—it’s also essential to maintaining your 501(c)(3) status. To comply with IRS requirements every year, your nonprofit must submit financial statements that detail your cash flows, functional expenses, and more.

Marketing Data


Chances are your nonprofit leverages numerous marketing channels to get the word out and encourage people to support your cause. To ensure that you’re prioritizing the most promising channels and implementing the most effective tactics, you can collect data such as:

If you use other channels, such as search ads, you’ll want to assess your performance through additional metrics such as your ad CTR and cost per click.

External Data


Pulling from data outside of your nonprofit can yield important insights into the populations you serve and keep you ahead of any challenges that may come your way. For example, depending on your mission, you might review:

A nonprofit that is dedicated to promoting literacy in the U.S. might track the country’s literacy rate in comparison to other countries around the world. Another nonprofit that aims to improve community access to technological resources might research the number of people who aren’t able to access the internet in their homes.

How Can Nonprofits Use Data?


Amassing the right data in your constituent relationship management (CRM) system is a good start. The next step, however, is to learn how to analyze and apply your data in a continuous process of improvement.

With a thoughtful approach, your nonprofit can harness its data to:

Several ways your nonprofit can use data to improve its strategies and results, as explained in more detail below.

1. Enhance donor engagement.


By creating fulfilling and meaningful donor experiences, your nonprofit can sow the seeds for lasting, fruitful relationships that power your mission year after year. Reference information such as your donor demographics, interests, and feedback, then tailor your engagement strategies to resonate with your specific audience.

For example, you might:

Recognizing the need to provide more seamless, personalized online experiences for donors, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance (the Alliance) partnered with Beyond the Horizon (BTH) to integrate their various digital tools with Salesforce. The result: The Alliance was able to improve its giving process to receive hundreds of new donations and capture mobile opt-ins for hundreds of supporters.

Click through to explore real-life case studies that illustrate the importance of data for nonprofits.

2. Increase program impact.


Your nonprofit’s program participants have shifting needs and priorities. Data allows you to stay one step ahead so you can adjust your offerings and measure your outcomes, ultimately increasing your impact over time.

By monitoring your program data and collecting input from participants, you can:

The more you understand about participant experiences, the better you can align your programs with what they need and expect. For instance, Twilio.org found that while only 36% of nonprofits plan to focus on text messaging, 49% of program participants want to receive text communications. With this in mind, an easy way to improve program experiences is to adjust your communication strategy to appeal to this preference.

3. Improve volunteer management.


Volunteers contribute significant time, skills, and energy to support your nonprofit’s goals. However, to keep these individuals invested year after year, you need to provide them with rewarding opportunities and a sense of community.

Measuring volunteer engagement and satisfaction can yield insights that might prompt your nonprofit to make the following improvements:

It takes a lot of effort to recruit dedicated volunteers for your cause. By using your data to continually improve your volunteer program, you can boost retention, productivity, and engagement.

4. Secure more major gifts.


It’s no secret that securing major gifts for your nonprofit requires time and effort. After all, you need to find promising prospects and nurture one-on-one relationships before asking for a significant contribution to your cause.

To facilitate your major fundraising efforts, you can use data to:

Plus, many major donors are inspired to give to nonprofits because they want to help generate a lasting impact on their communities. By sharing specific statistics that illustrate everything you’ve accomplished with your programs so far, you can convince more potential major donors that your nonprofit is worthy of support.

5. Refine marketing strategies.


In today’s technology-driven world, the sky’s the limit when it comes to marketing for your nonprofit. However, there’s only so much you can focus on, given your budget and limited staff time.

By examining your marketing data, you can hone your marketing strategies by:

For example, if you’re trying to increase donations for your GivingTuesday campaign, you might notice that your beneficiary interviews have received a lot of attention in the past. To encourage engagement in the months leading up to your campaign, you might post a weekly series of success story videos to social media.

6. Host more engaging events.


There are many factors to consider when preparing for a successful nonprofit event. Your event planning team needs to choose a format, outline audience engagement tactics, and find sponsors to help offset your expenses.

Assessing your previous event data can allow you to:

A nonprofit might notice that its virtual events have a much higher attendance rate than its in-person events. However, audience engagement at these events is not as high as it would like. To improve engagement going forward, it might add more interactive opportunities, such as live polls and breakout sessions.

7. Retain more staff.


According to NonProfitPro, hiring and retaining high-quality staff members is one of the top three staff struggles faced by nonprofit leaders across the sector. Fortunately, you can unearth many insights into improving your workplace culture and employee satisfaction through your data.

By measuring staff performance and regularly collecting their input in quarterly or annual surveys, you can:

No one understands your staff’s experiences better than they do. Make them feel supported by encouraging them to share their feedback, especially if you’ve undergone a recent change within your organization. For example, if you’ve just implemented a new CRM platform like Salesforce, check in frequently with your staff to make sure they’re comfortable with their training and know who to turn to with additional questions or suggestions.

Beyond the Horizon’s team knows the importance of data for nonprofits. Click through to see how we’ll help you unlock more insights in your database.

What Are Some Nonprofit Data Best Practices?


While having an abundance of data is valuable, it can quickly become overwhelming if you don’t manage and maintain your database. To tap into the full potential of your nonprofit data, follow these best practices:

Essential best practices for nonprofit data collection and more, as described in more detail below.

At any point in your data journey, consider partnering with nonprofit technology experts for support. At Beyond the Horizon (BTH), our consultants are committed to helping nonprofits streamline their operations and amplify their impact by harnessing the power of their technology. We’ll leverage our nonprofit expertise and technological savvy to meet your individual needs—whether your goal is to implement a new CRM or unlock more insights from your data.

With third-party experts on your side, you can rest assured that you can access the full benefits of your database without having to worry about silos or a frustrating user experience.

Wrapping Up: Maximizing the Value of Your Nonprofit’s Data


Data is every nonprofit’s secret weapon—all you need to do is learn how to collect, maintain, and harness it. With thoughtful data collection and management practices in place, you can discover new ways to engage donors and secure more funds for your mission.

Whatever your data goals are, you don’t have to pursue them alone. Contact the BTH team to learn how we can help you realize the full value of your database!

For more nonprofit technology tips and tricks, check out our additional resources:

Click through to contact the BTH team and learn how we can support your nonprofit’s technology and data goals.