Data Driven Nonprofits

Data Driven Nonprofits is a non-fiction book by Steve MacLaughlin. The book was published on August 3, 2016 by Saltire Press. In the text, MacLaughlin argues that data should be a valuable asset that enriches nonprofits and helps them grow. Instead, many get overwhelmed by the flood of data, fail to maintain it, or choose to ignore it altogether."^[1]

Summary

MacLaughlin opens the book with a series of historical tales about early fundraising efforts, but soon gets to the here and now, and he doesn’t pull punches about the current state of data use in the nonprofit sector.^[2]

The rest of Data Driven Nonprofits can easily be divided into two sections. The short first section consisting of a fact-filled journey through history and the current data climate today, looking at where we’ve been with data collection and where we are now. The second, and longer, section of the book breaks out some of the challenges nonprofit organizations will face as they try to use data in their overall strategy.^[3]

Reception

Data Driven Nonprofits went on to be listed as a #1 Best Seller in Nonprofit Organizations & Charities on Amazon.com.^[4]

Roger Craver of The Agitator reviewed the book and noted: "Data Driven Nonprofits is must reading, because it will not only change your mind, it will inspire you — by fact and example — to start measuring the right things for the right outcomes, and begin experiencing real growth."^[5]

Third Sector commented: "The book has an easy, anecdotal style and some persuasive arguments. It should be useful to anyone struggling to use data more intelligently after the batch-and-blast methods that contributed to recent fundraising scandals."^[6]

Fundraising UK noted that "as a fundraiser’s guide to the power of strategic data use over tribal learning – it’s a handy addition to the bookshelf." The review also went on to say that "more importantly it provides case studies from a range of nonprofits (a handful of which are from the UK).^[7]

Ken Burnett, fundraising expert and author of Relationship Fundraising said, "here in Data Driven Nonprofits we have fundraising’s modern-day equivalent of Moses in the wilderness telling us that we are failing our beneficiaries, our donors, our colleagues and ourselves because as a sector, almost since fundraising began, we’ve not invested properly or wisely in data and analytics...Then, from his viewpoint – perhaps the best possible vantage point in our entire industry – Steve sets out, step by step, precisely what we should do to change that."

^[8]

References

External links

• Official website

0.00 (0 votes)