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Download our free guide to learn how to handle overwhelming data requests, practice your communication skills, and prioritize your professional development as your nonprofit's data team of one.
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Download our free guide to learn how to handle overwhelming data requests, practice your communication skills, and prioritize your professional development as your nonprofit's data team of one.
Data is an integral part of so many nonprofit roles. If you know that you love working with data and also want to contribute to supporting a good cause, here are five roles in and adjacent to the nonprofit sector for you to consider as you take the next steps in your career.
Behind every good fundraising team is the database guru. This is the person who knows the CRM inside and out, constructs informative, aligned reports like an absolute champion, and can reconcile data with the finance department with their eyes closed. In most cases, your team will provide you with some training on the software that they use, but it may not be as thorough as you would like it to be. In this role, it’s important to be a self-starter who is deeply interested in making systems as efficient as possible. You may also find yourself in a teaching/educating role as you interpret and explain what data means for your director, major gifts officer, and other members of your team.
This role informs decisions about major donors, grant applications, and overall fundraising strategy. If you want to be the glue that holds a team together, this is a great entry point into using your data skills for a cause that you care about.
Fun fact: This is how I got my start in data management and analytics, in case you were wondering why I’m hyping this role so much. 😊
Program evaluation “is the process of gathering data about a specific program to help make informed decisions about that program.” Nonprofits use program evaluation techniques and methods to determine:
Some organizations have in-house evaluation teams that produce reports and recommendations for program staff to improve outcomes. They may work closely with fundraising and development teams to provide data necessary to demonstrate the need for grant funding. In other cases, program evaluators work for firms that contract with nonprofits to do evaluations, or they work independently. The program evaluation path can give you lots of options for when, how, and where you work, so it’s a great option for those looking for more flexibility.
Strategic planning “is a written roadmap for where an organization is going, how it will get there, and specific ways to determine if the organization has “arrived” at the destination.” It is a consensus-building process that involves extensive qualitative and quantitative data collection from staff, volunteers, board members, and other stakeholders.
Having a strong data background can increase the quality of the analysis that goes into the development of the strategic plan. But be forewarned – this process isn’t only about the data. It’s important to be a strategic thinker, a skilled facilitator, and someone who can navigate complex political terrain to build a useful strategic plan. This is also a nonprofit-adjacent role. Typically, nonprofits hire a strategic planning firm or individual consultant to help them with this process. It also helps to have some experience in the sector before launching into this career path to build trust with prospective organizations.
If you are a data engineer looking to apply your skills to a good cause, good news- large organizations working with complex data sets are actively seeking candidates like you to fill open roles. As of June 26th, a quick search on Idealist.org, a top website for nonprofit job openings, shows 65 jobs listed under “data engineer” and over 1,500 jobs under the general umbrella of IT. If working in-house doesn’t appeal to you, there are also outside firms that provide third-party IT services to nonprofit organizations.
With the right skills in data collection, analysis, and communication, you can develop needs assessments and other research projects to determine:
• What problems communities are experiencing
• How they would describe the effects of those problems on their lives
• Community-generated ideas for how to fix the problems
• How other, similar communities (or cities, counties, and states) have addressed the problem and how much success they’ve had in reaching a solution
Advocates and policy analysts can then take the information they collect and analyze and present to people in positions of power to make policy changes, like state and local lawmakers, agency leaders, and the courts.
Other fun fact: after my stint in development, this is the kind of work I did for years before launching The Data Coach. If you ever have questions about the Massachusetts child welfare and juvenile justice systems, I’m your gal!
As you can see, there are lots of options for you if you’re interested in using your data skills to do good in the world. If you have questions about any of these career paths, please email me at lindsay@the-data-coach.com. I’m always happy to help early career professionals and career transitioners find the fit that’s right for them.
Data is an integral part of so many nonprofit roles. If you know that you love working with data and also want to contribute to supporting a good cause, here are five roles in and adjacent to the nonprofit sector for you to consider as you take the next steps in your career.
Behind every good fundraising team is the database guru. This is the person who knows the CRM inside and out, constructs informative, aligned reports like an absolute champion, and can reconcile data with the finance department with their eyes closed. In most cases, your team will provide you with some training on the software that they use, but it may not be as thorough as you would like it to be. In this role, it’s important to be a self-starter who is deeply interested in making systems as efficient as possible. You may also find yourself in a teaching/educating role as you interpret and explain what data means for your director, major gifts officer, and other members of your team.
This role informs decisions about major donors, grant applications, and overall fundraising strategy. If you want to be the glue that holds a team together, this is a great entry point into using your data skills for a cause that you care about.
Fun fact: This is how I got my start in data management and analytics, in case you were wondering why I’m hyping this role so much. 😊
Program evaluation “is the process of gathering data about a specific program to help make informed decisions about that program.” Nonprofits use program evaluation techniques and methods to determine:
Some organizations have in-house evaluation teams that produce reports and recommendations for program staff to improve outcomes. They may work closely with fundraising and development teams to provide data necessary to demonstrate the need for grant funding. In other cases, program evaluators work for firms that contract with nonprofits to do evaluations, or they work independently. The program evaluation path can give you lots of options for when, how, and where you work, so it’s a great option for those looking for more flexibility.
Strategic planning “is a written roadmap for where an organization is going, how it will get there, and specific ways to determine if the organization has “arrived” at the destination.” It is a consensus-building process that involves extensive qualitative and quantitative data collection from staff, volunteers, board members, and other stakeholders.
Having a strong data background can increase the quality of the analysis that goes into the development of the strategic plan. But be forewarned – this process isn’t only about the data. It’s important to be a strategic thinker, a skilled facilitator, and someone who can navigate complex political terrain to build a useful strategic plan. This is also a nonprofit-adjacent role. Typically, nonprofits hire a strategic planning firm or individual consultant to help them with this process. It also helps to have some experience in the sector before launching into this career path to build trust with prospective organizations.
If you are a data engineer looking to apply your skills to a good cause, good news- large organizations working with complex data sets are actively seeking candidates like you to fill open roles. As of June 26th, a quick search on Idealist.org, a top website for nonprofit job openings, shows 65 jobs listed under “data engineer” and over 1,500 jobs under the general umbrella of IT. If working in-house doesn’t appeal to you, there are also outside firms that provide third-party IT services to nonprofit organizations.
With the right skills in data collection, analysis, and communication, you can develop needs assessments and other research projects to determine:
• What problems communities are experiencing
• How they would describe the effects of those problems on their lives
• Community-generated ideas for how to fix the problems
• How other, similar communities (or cities, counties, and states) have addressed the problem and how much success they’ve had in reaching a solution
Advocates and policy analysts can then take the information they collect and analyze and present to people in positions of power to make policy changes, like state and local lawmakers, agency leaders, and the courts.
Other fun fact: after my stint in development, this is the kind of work I did for years before launching The Data Coach. If you ever have questions about the Massachusetts child welfare and juvenile justice systems, I’m your gal!
As you can see, there are lots of options for you if you’re interested in using your data skills to do good in the world. If you have questions about any of these career paths, please email me at lindsay@the-data-coach.com. I’m always happy to help early career professionals and career transitioners find the fit that’s right for them.
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