Nonprofit leaders: “Not alone in our struggle with data”

“It's not a topic that excites me but it is necessary for my role so thank you for making it as painless as possible.” Katie Antill, CEO, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Services

Believe it or not, this is one of our favourite pieces of feedback from our recent Data for Nonprofit Leaders training courses. 

As data professionals, we’re obviously passionate about data and its possibilities. But we know from talking to people in leadership, and events like ‘CEOs Joy and Pain of Data’ that not everyone gets as excited as we do about data. Some nonprofit leaders tell us they absolutely hate it! 

We enjoy meeting people where they are at on their data journey, so we can help them build the core knowledge and confidence they need to move forward. In our experience, as people learn and improve, they do start to discover the joy of data. However, many leaders are held back by a lack of data knowledge and skills and are not able to reap the rewards and benefits. 

Yet, we know, from years of working with nonprofits and researching data maturity in the sector, senior leaders are the key to unlocking the potential of data. So, after our third cohort completed the Data for Nonprofit Leaders course in May 2024, we were excited to look back over what the participants of all three cohorts have said. (Note: we were pleased we had an 80% response to our course feedback request).

100% rated the course ‘good’ or ‘excellent’

We’ve welcomed senior leaders from a wide range of organisations onto the course. From large ‘household brand’ charities like RSPCA, WWF and Save the Children, to membership bodies like ACEVO and Social Enterprise UK, to small local organisations like the Bracken Trust. 

We’re delighted that all our leaders rated the course overall as either ‘good’ or excellent’.

Some of the comments people made include:

“It's a really good introduction to deeply considering data in your organisation” Heather Peak, DASH disability arts charity.

“It was a very useful all-round course, with good, useful models and knowledgeable delivery. Not technical, so very consumable, and in bite-sized chunks, so relatively easy to fit into a busy schedule.”

“It was a really helpful overview for leaders, and well structured” Amanda Spencer, The Royal Society of Chemistry

“It's a good course for people who are quite new to data, providing a good overview of all aspects. And the facilitation was really good - interesting content, kept to time, right level of conversation” Kayte Lawton, Save the Children

Attendees valued dedicated thinking time and sharing with other leaders

When we’ve asked attendees what they found most valuable about their time on the course, a repeat theme has been the sharing of experiences with other delegates. We’re so pleased to see this, because peer learning through group work was a crucial part of how we designed the course. 

Knowing that attendees would come from a wide range of organisations, and bring with them different experiences and challenges, we wanted to ensure that diversity would be our strength. The course is designed to allow attendees to learn from us as data experts, and offer plenty of opportunities to share and learn from each other too.

Some of the most valuable things attendees got out of the course included: 

“Learning about all aspects of data maturity and how that relates to non profits. I liked how knowledgeable the trainers were in the sector and talking to other delegates to share experiences.”

“Knowing we were not alone in our struggle with data!” 

“Good overview, with theoretical underpinnings as well as practical help for implementation. Well run sessions, a good group of like-minded individuals enabling group learning.”

“Taking time to think with the guidance of skilled experts. Being introduced to new models to support my thinking.”

The training left everyone feeling better equipped and confident to lead

After completing the course, 100% agreed (either somewhat or strongly) that it had given them a better understanding about different areas of data expertise, how their organisation is doing with data and what they need to know, and equipped them to make better investment decisions around data.

As one attendee put it:

“The course was really well structured and that gave me the opportunity to assess how my organisation is doing, but also to identify areas where I perhaps underestimated my pre-existing knowledge and experience, but also identify the key gaps that I need to develop.”

Confidence is a great thing! And understanding where you’re at with data is key to charting a journey of improvement. You can’t map out a journey without knowing where your starting point is, after all. We were particularly pleased participants finished our course saying they felt confident to lead better conversations about data in their organisation. Now our leaders can couple an understanding of their current position with increased confidence in their knowledge about the core aspects of data maturity, they can return to their organisations to lead the charge towards improvement. 

All are motivated and inspired to take future action

Speaking of leading the charge… 100% somewhat or strongly agreed that they have: increased motivation to improve with data; they now feel more inspired about the possibilities for using data in their organisation; and are more aware of the resources and support available.

This change of attitude feels like the most important outcome from our course. Helping leaders shift from a sense of fear and loathing about data (something that ‘gets done TO them’ by regulators, funders and/or their boards), to an empowered sense of it as something to nurture and build as a critical resource, is one of our key aims.   

Everyone would recommend the course

All of our leaders said they would recommend the course to a friend or colleague.

We’re pleased to see that the course passes this, the ultimate test. And in at least one case, an attendee had already recommended it to a colleague, who joined our next cohort!

Word cloud including responses for why attendees would recommend the Data for Nonprofit Leaders course

Over the summer we’ll be getting in touch with the course alumni to find out what happened next. We know many of them have gone on to implement technical, learning, and cultural changes, so we look forward to reporting back on their progress soon.

Find out more

The next Data for Nonprofit Leaders training course will run from 11 September for five weeks, ending on 9 October 2024. You can book now or get in touch if you’d like to chat more about what the course involves.