The following blog,
Before Spending on a Client Tracking Database, Consider Your Goals, first appeared on MAP for Nonprofits MapTechWorks on March 15, 2013.
Post DateMarch 15, 2013;
AuthorKaren Graham;
CategoryNonprofit Software
What can data do for you? In this guest post Leah Goldstein Moses of The Improve Group shares one organization’s evolution toward more sophisticated data management and tools. I spoke with Leah while researching for my session theUltimate Guide to Client Tracking and Case Management Software. Join me on April 10th at the Minnesota Nonprofit Technology & Communication Conference for that session and learn about the powerful tools and techniques I’ve learned from nonprofits like yours.
- Karen Graham, director of innovation & technology, MAP for Nonprofits
What is the most important thing to understand when investing in new data management tools?
Software should work for you, not vice versa. Before you spend money on software, think about what you want it to do for you. When they work well, and you are fully using your systems, your data can answer a number of questions. Some possibilities:
- Keep track of your participants in real time
- Track results, such as specific outcomes your participants have achieved
- Document your activities
Start by considering how you will use the software, when, and for what purposes. Then, think about how you can make small, initial investments before committing to a costly, custom or off-the-shelf product.
When you don’t have good data, you run the risk of facing a difficult decision unprepared. Imagine a potential supporter approaching you and asking for outcomes, or a board member asking where resources should be placed. Bad or missing data leaves you unable to answer those questions. With great data, you can easily assess opportunities and risks and answer questions. While decisions may still be difficult, you can at least eliminate some of the uncertainty.
Several years ago,
Nonprofits Assistance Fundbegan using a customized Microsoft Access database to track all of the data they collected as organizations sought financial support. As they began offering additional technical assistance, more fields were added, including an organizational assessment developed to capture critical issues their loan and technical assistance clients faced. They could use the data to help them serve individual clients and aggregate data to understand trends and outcomes.
While Access met their needs for a while, over time they needed a database that was more aligned with the loan fund, which has very specific data requirements. Their search for a new system led them to one that was built specifically for loan management but could be adapted for other needs. They’ve gradually been adding other components, such as assessment data and technical assistance tracking.
This is a great example of how major data needs can force compromises, or at least sequencing, of other tools. Other organizations may find themselves in a similar situation – after assessing what they hope software, data management, and analysis will do for them, they will likely find that one need dominates their initial plans.
Guest writer Leah Goldstein Moses founded The Improve Group in 2000 to help the public and non-profit sectors make better use of available information and find creative, data-supported ways to answer questions. Drawing on her decade of experience with dozens of organizations, Leah is recognized as an expert in evaluation, community-based research, planning programs and services, and engaging stakeholders.
Click here to learn more at MAPTechWorks.
Start by considering how you will use the software, when, and for what purposes. Then, think about how you can make small, initial investments before committing to a costly, custom or off-the-shelf product.
When you don’t have good data, you run the risk of facing a difficult decision unprepared. Imagine a potential supporter approaching you and asking for outcomes, or a board member asking where resources should be placed. Bad or missing data leaves you unable to answer those questions. With great data, you can easily assess opportunities and risks and answer questions. While decisions may still be difficult, you can at least eliminate some of the uncertainty.
Several years ago, Nonprofits Assistance Fundbegan using a customized Microsoft Access database to track all of the data they collected as organizations sought financial support. As they began offering additional technical assistance, more fields were added, including an organizational assessment developed to capture critical issues their loan and technical assistance clients faced. They could use the data to help them serve individual clients and aggregate data to understand trends and outcomes.
While Access met their needs for a while, over time they needed a database that was more aligned with the loan fund, which has very specific data requirements. Their search for a new system led them to one that was built specifically for loan management but could be adapted for other needs. They’ve gradually been adding other components, such as assessment data and technical assistance tracking.
This is a great example of how major data needs can force compromises, or at least sequencing, of other tools. Other organizations may find themselves in a similar situation – after assessing what they hope software, data management, and analysis will do for them, they will likely find that one need dominates their initial plans.
Guest writer Leah Goldstein Moses founded The Improve Group in 2000 to help the public and non-profit sectors make better use of available information and find creative, data-supported ways to answer questions. Drawing on her decade of experience with dozens of organizations, Leah is recognized as an expert in evaluation, community-based research, planning programs and services, and engaging stakeholders.
Click here to learn more at MAPTechWorks.