Tips for Writing About Nonprofit Data
Most nonprofits need to turn their data into written information for supporters and decision making. Your annual report, grant proposals...
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Counting Bubbles
Sometimes insightful, sometimes sassy blog about nonprofits, data management, and building a better future. Opinions expressed are our own...and they are based on indisputable facts.
Ryan Brooks
- Oct 5
- 10 min
What Data Should Nonprofits Collect
If you are new to a data-oriented role at a nonprofit or your nonprofit is “getting serious” about data for the first time, then the...
17 views
Ryan Brooks
- Sep 15
- 10 min
Simple Data Analysis for Nonprofits
Your social service nonprofit will collect lots of data about your participants (aka clients, consumers, guests) and services. Some of...
7 views
Ryan Brooks
- Aug 30
- 8 min
Demographics Basics for Nonprofits
If you run a social services nonprofit that provides case management, mentoring, basic needs assistance, adult education, housing, or...
33 views
Ryan Brooks
- Jul 14
- 9 min
Making Good Tables and Charts
You will probably use tables and charts to analyze your data to find important patterns and key results for your nonprofit. You’ll work...
8 views
Ryan Brooks
- Jun 20
- 13 min
How Nonprofits Measure Their Impact
Your nonprofit’s mission statement demands that you do something, rather than nothing, to change the world for the better. It gives you a...
5 views
Ryan Brooks
- May 31
- 9 min
Year-Over-Year Comparisons for Nonprofits
Our nonprofit can use year-over-year comparisons to gain insight into our programs, services, and participants. They allow us to see...
11 views
Ryan Brooks
- May 17
- 11 min
Likert Scales: For Fun and Nonprofits
Most of us have been to a conference and were asked to give feedback at the end. We filled out that little green sheet of paper that...
71 views
Ryan Brooks
- May 4
- 9 min
Levels of Measurement for Nonprofits
In a recent post, we talked about the measures of central tendency - mean, median, and mode. In that post, we explained how certain types...
27 views
Ryan Brooks
- Apr 19
- 10 min
Simple Statistics for Nonprofits
When we examine our organization’s data, it’s great to have one number, one value, to summarize the big picture and help us tell your...
25 views
Ryan Brooks
- Apr 5
- 8 min
Counts and Percentages in Nonprofit Data
In another post we talked about how nonprofits can use duplicated and unduplicated counts to understand their data and present it to...
21 views
Ryan Brooks
- Mar 21
- 8 min
Duplicated and Unduplicated Counts in Nonprofits
Duplicated and Unduplicated Counts You will often see the terms duplicated and unduplicated counts when discussing nonprofit data. They...
286 views
Ryan Brooks
- Mar 6
- 6 min
Inherently important outputs in nonprofits
In prior posts, we defined outputs as the things you do, and we defined outcomes as the things you achieve through your outputs. We have...
14 views
Ryan Brooks
- Feb 23
- 7 min
What are outcomes? How can nonprofits pick them?
In another post, we defined outputs as the things you do and outcomes as the things you achieve through your outputs. We also gave lots...
13 views
Ryan Brooks
- Feb 6
- 5 min
What are outputs? How can nonprofits pick them?
Outputs and outcomes are building blocks of nonprofit data collection. It’s easy to overcomplicate these ideas, so here are simple...
19 views
Ryan Brooks
- Feb 6
- 4 min
Nonprofit Data Bootcamp - Intro and Topics
Introduction You don’t need an advanced degree (or any degree really) to learn how to effectively manage and use data at a nonprofit....
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Ryan Brooks
- Jan 25
- 5 min
Why is Measuring Nonprofit Success So Hard?
I’ve often wished that nonprofits could point to a single “bottom-line” value, like profit, as an indicator of success. For private...
24 views
Ryan Brooks
- Jan 10
- 5 min
Nonprofit Data Collection: Make Space for Human Connection
Tracking data at your nonprofit can be time consuming and frustrating. It can be hard to make space for genuine human connections when...
36 views
Ryan Brooks
- Dec 6, 2022
- 11 min
Different Ways Nonprofits Can Think About Data
Most nonprofits collect data of some kind, either because you have to or because you want to. You might collect outputs and outcomes...
33 views
Ryan Brooks
- Nov 18, 2022
- 5 min
Nonprofit Data Strengths, Challenges, and Obstacles
Over the past couple of months, I've spoken with staff at numerous nonprofits across the country to learn some of the strengths,...
35 views
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