Better Data, Better Stories: Data Strategy Series

4-part series

Monday, March 4, 2024 at 1:00 PM (EST) to Monday, March 25, 2024 at 2:15 PM (EDT)

Event Details

This series is offered in partnership with Montana Nonprofit Association.

Many nonprofits spend years missing opportunities because they lack compelling data to tell the story of their work. Over the course of four sessions, participants will develop their impact statements, data strategy, and supporting documentation, so they can confidently communicate the value of their work. The training takes a hands-on approach and centers equity, efficiency and nonprofits’ core need to fund their critical work.

Intended Audience

Nonprofit organizations, whether newborn or 100 years old who:

Are looking for a compelling and efficient way to communicate their impact
Miss funding opportunities because they lack a Logic Model, Theory of Change, or concise and compelling language to describe how their program makes a difference
Struggle to communicate the importance of their work, or notice staff, board, and partners all talk about their impact differently
Have a piecemeal data strategy that does speak to overall organization strategy
Collect data, but don't use it
Don't know where to start when it comes to data and evaluation

Workshop Objectives

As a participant, you will:

Use an Impact Statement approach to clearly and succinctly communicate the critical work of your organization
Create a Logic Model that serves as a programmatic roadmap and can be used when applying for funding and evaluating impact
Assess your current data strategy and choose new/existing metrics that are equitable, feasible, and in alignment with your Impact Statements and Logic Model
Develop a plan to implement your new strategies

For More Information:

Montana Nonprofit Association

mna@mtnonprofit.org https://www.mtnonprofit.org/

Cost + Registration

MANP members save on individual whole org participation! Invite your whole team (staff and board) for one flat fee.
Individual: MANP Members: $95 / Nonmembers: $190
Whole Org: MANP Members: $175 / Nonmembers: $350
No discount code is required for receiving member rate
All sessions will be recorded and available for registered attendees to access, along with all session resources, for six months after the event.

Course Schedule

March 4: Impact Statements for Nonprofits: Nonprofits are often pressured to provide data that proves their impact, but the vast majority don’t have the resources to conduct rigorous studies or otherwise document their long-term impacts. An impact statement approach helps nonprofits build off existing research to explain their impact. During this session we’ll learn the impact statement approach, move through a series of hands-on examples, and teams will begin to build out their impact statements.

March 11: Create Your Aligned Logic Model: While Impact Statements are incredible at clearly and succinctly communicating your organization’s big picture impact, logic models help us drill down into the everyday work of running a program. They are roadmaps with step-by-step directions from program inputs to long-term impacts. Often, logic models are required for grant applications or reporting and then left in a virtual folder, collecting figurative dust. That’s a huge waste! When done effectively, Logic Models are powerful roadmaps that keep our work focused, help us continually improve our program’s effectiveness and help us prioritize our resources. During this session we’ll build off the work of session one and dig into how your organization does its everyday work to achieve results.

March 18: Plan Measurement and Data Collection: During the last two weeks, by virtue of creating clear Impact Statements and Logic Models, we’ve set ourselves up to identify the key metrics most essential for evaluating our program’s effectiveness and impact. During this session we’ll work from our logic models to evaluate how your currently collected data aligns with your new data strategy, and what additional metrics are now needed. This session will have a strong focus on equitable data collection practices, while also emphasizing what is feasible and efficient for nonprofits.

March 25: Implementation & Sustainability: A data strategy is only useful if it’s used. During the final session, we’ll focus on application and implementation, so teams are well set-up to continue implementing their new tools, and use their data strategy for fundraising, grant reporting, communications/raising awareness, legislative advocacy, learning and program improvement, program evaluation and more. This session will emphasize planning and include identifying and problem-solving around potential barriers, planning for additional team/stakeholder involvement, and identifying any next steps around data collection, storage and use.

About the Presenter

Lily Sussman is the owner and director of LAS Visions LLC. She specializes in supporting organizations to develop practical and effective data and evaluation strategies that quantify their work, demonstrate their impact, and raise awareness and funding. She has 15 years of experience working in education, public health and with nonprofits.

Lily holds a Masters of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from National Louis University. Her former titles include Director of Evaluation and Learning, Epidemiologist, and Special Education Teacher. She’s involved in her community as a board member of Earth Within Girls, a Master Gardener, and a Program Co-Chair for American Evaluation Association’s Independent Consulting Group.