When a nonprofit organization reaches a high level of data maturity and uses data to drive its decision making, it opens the door for all kinds of improvements. From boosting efficiency to increasing positive client outcomes to finding the best corporate giving opportunities, your nonprofit’s data can guide your organization to new heights.

But before you can become data mature and make these informed decisions, you need software that allows you to securely collect, analyze, and report on large amounts of sensitive data. We’ll explore three tools that can help you do just that.

1. Case management software

For nonprofits and public sector organizations that deliver services, a comprehensive case management solution is essential. Case management software enables you to easily collect important client and participant data and store it in one central location.

You can use this tool to track client relationships, monitor individual progress, and evaluate the success of your programs by analyzing outcomes. Some solutions also come with communication features, scheduling tools, and more to simplify administrative tasks for case workers, giving them more time to focus on what matters: delivering quality care.

With robust case management software, you can easily:

  • Compile all the important client data you need to make care decisions. With streamlined intake forms and custom needs assessment tools, case management software allows you to automatically collect and store client data in an accessible location. This way, case managers can make more informed decisions about the care they provide on a day-to-day basis.
  • Translate program outputs into clear outcomes. Case management software’s data analysis tools help you understand the impact you’re making. Translate individual data points into clear, quantitative conclusions about your organization’s impact that communicate the real-world change you’re making to key stakeholders.
  • Analyze outcomes and trends to identify opportunities for improvement. Seeing all of your client outcomes at a glance helps you recognize which aspects of your programs are working and which ones you could change to improve clients’ experience.
  • Improve your grant applications and relationships with funders. The data and reporting tools within case management software help you prove your organization’s impact to funders, whether you’re applying for a grant or reporting to an existing funder.

Ultimately, this tool facilitates data-driven decision making throughout the entire case management process, from intake to evaluation.

2. A robust nonprofit CRM

Constituent relationship management (CRM) software enables your organization to move data out of disparate spreadsheets and into one unified database. From this system, you can consolidate all of your constituent data in one place and see the full picture of your nonprofit’s operations. Zoom in on a single supporter by looking at their donor profile or zoom out to see large-scale trends across your entire donor base.

Nonprofits use CRMs to track donor relationships, fundraising revenue, program data, and more. When you can easily access all of this information, your staff can make better decisions about fundraising and donor stewardship strategies that help you boost your nonprofit’s long-term sustainability.

A few basic CRM features that will help you make more data-driven decisions include:

  • Donor profiles: Compile information about individual donors’ demographics, giving histories, charitable interests, communication preferences, and more. Then, use this data to tailor fundraising appeals and outreach to speak to their exact needs.
  • Segmentation tools: Automatically group donors by shared characteristics and save these lists in your database for future use. Segmenting using data like giving sizes, demographics, or engagement levels helps you personalize donor communications and raise more revenue.
  • Giving patterns: Analyze an individual donor or a group of donors’ past donations to find out when they’re most likely to give and how likely they are to increase their gift size. This information helps you time fundraising appeals to the right supporters for maximum impact.
  • Engagement points: Some CRMs use a numerical point system to quantify your supporters’ engagement and help you identify who is most involved with events, volunteering, and advocacy. You can use this data to choose your best prospects for volunteer recruitment or even major giving.
  • Reporting dashboards: See your fundraising and engagement metrics at a glance with custom dashboards, then use this data to decide on the fundraising strategies that will best serve your organization.

Good CRMs should also integrate with your other fundraising tools and program management software so data flows seamlessly from system to system. When exploring your options for CRM solutions, prioritize asking providers about their integration options to ensure the system will fit into your existing technology stack.

3. Online survey tools

Whether they’re built into your case management or CRM software or you use a separate solution, survey tools help you gather qualitative data and hear from participants about their experiences firsthand. Any survey tool you choose should come with survey creation, sending, and reporting features, along with security features to keep sensitive data safe.

With the right features, these tools can help you make data-driven decisions by:

  • Streamlining qualitative data collection and giving clients the space to respond honestly.
  • Giving you firsthand, actionable insights that come directly from clients and program participants.
  • Compiling and analyzing feedback to identify trends within client data.
  • Providing ideas for ways to improve your communications, programs, and services.

Survey tools are also invaluable resources for gathering positive testimonials that you can use in impact reports. Whether you need to demonstrate your programs’ results to donors, funders, or other stakeholders, impact reports that feature direct quotes from clients or participants will help you prove your work is effective.

Ultimately, these tools will help you move beyond basic nonprofit data collection and toward true data maturity. Seeing the long-term benefits will take time, so don’t get discouraged if your new tools have a learning curve. Remember that data holds the answers for improving your programs and services, and the right tools will help you get there.