using dashboards to engage your board & staff

Using Dashboards to Engage Your Board

& Staff

Lori L. Jacobwith, President/Founder Ignited Fundraising

About Lori

Lori L. JacobwithIgnited Fundraisingwww.IgnitedFundraising.com

• 25 + years as Master storyteller, fundraising culture change expert, trainer & coach.

• Recognized as one of the top 30 most Effective Fundraising Consultants in the US. by The Giving Show on the Wall Street Network

• Since 2001 has helped nonprofit organizations raise nearly $300 million from individual donors. And counting.

LJacobwith

@LJacobwith

Your Reality?

� It’s a struggle to get others to say: "Yes! I'll help with donor engagement tasks."

� Board members and staff look away when you ask for help at meetings.

� Eyes glaze over when your team, especially board members, review financial spreadsheets and donor lists.

One of the most powerful ways to build an energetic and helpful team is to create a clear picture for them, so they can easily see what

needs to be done.

Quick Question

What is one thing you’d like to learn about USING dashboards and visual displays?

What We Will Cover Today

1. What are visual displays &dashboards & what should they do?

2. Common mistakes designing graphs & dashboards

3. Categories of nonprofit dashboards

4. Using dashboards to cause action

5. Sample financial dashboards

6. What will YOU include in your dashboards?

Visual Displays

Visual Displays

Worksheet for Today

What Actions Do You Want Board & Staff to Take?

Make a list…

On your worksheet

Actions for Board & Staff?

Make your list…On your worksheet

How do you CURRENTLY use Dashboards?

I. What Are Dashboards & What Should They Do?

“…a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives, consolidated and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance.”

~ Stephen Few, March 2004 edition of Intelligent Enterprise magazine

Fact: You are visually wired.

• Fifty percent of your brain is involved with visual processing, and you can get the sense of a visual scene in less than one-tenth of a second.

• You remember 80% of what you see,

• 20% of what you read,

• 10% of what you hear,

• Color visuals increase the willingness to read by 80%.

Dashboard Fact

• I. What Are Dashboards?

Why Dashboards?

� Bring Attention to Priorities

� Monitor Performance

� Create Accountability

� Simplify Complex Information

� Motivate Action

• I. What Are Dashboards?

Bad Use of Excel

• I. What Are Dashboards?

Creates Bad Visual Displays

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Gifts >1000 Gifts 500-999 Gifts 250-499 Gifts < 249

Gifts Since Startup

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Gifts >1000 -Last

3 Years

Gifts 500-999-Last

3 Years

Gifts 250-499 -

Last 3 Years

Gifts < 249 - Last 3

Years

Gifts in the Last 3 Years

• I. What Are Dashboards?

Is This Any Better?

• I. What Are Dashboards?

Better Data To Share

II. Common Mistakes Designing Graphs & Dashboards

• II. Common Mistakes

A. Data Doesn’t Fit on One Screen & B. Too Much Det ail

• II. Common Mistakes

C. Inadequate Context for the Data

� When?

� How much is left to raise?

� How much time to reach goal?

• II. Common Mistakes

Some Context for the Data

� Unclear when.

� Unclear much is left to raise.

� Unclear how much time left to reach goal.

• II. Common Mistakes

Better Context for the Data

� Shows when.

� Shows how much is left to raise.

� Shows amount of time left to reach goal.

• I. Common Mistakes

D. Indirect Display of Data/Measures

~ Stephen Few, Dashboard Whitepaper, 2006

• I. Common Mistakes

D. Indirect Display of Data/Measures

~ Stephen Few, Dashboard Whitepaper, 2006

~ Stephen Few, Dashboard Whitepaper, 2006

• II. Common Mistakes

E. Inappropriate Display of Data

• II. Common Mistakes

Appropriate Display of Data

• II. Common Mistakes

F. Poor or Unappealing Design

• II. Common Mistakes

Poor or Unappealing Design

Primary Goals of Dashboards or Visual Displays

A Story Well Told?

A Story Well Told?

A Story Well Told

III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

A. Business Intelligence

B. Status

C. Accountability

D. Tracking

III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

A. Business Intelligence

• III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

Business Intelligence

http://www.imamuseum.org/

June 2015

Mid 2014

• Business Intelligence

B. Status Dashboards

• III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

Status Dashboards

Image Source: Mashable Blog: Is Give2ogether a Google Analytics for Philanthropy

Programs, Fundraising, Volunteer Recruitment…

Lori’s People: Clients, email subscribers, etc.

• III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

Status Dashboard

Image Source: RoomToRead.org/OurPrograms

III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

C. Accountability Dashboards

“Accountability…Being held responsible for one's actions…

.

• III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

Accountability = Success

1. Establishing clear expectations;

2. Preparing people to meet those expectations with needed training and support;

3. Monitoring performance , and

4. Attaching consequences to the results

~ Source: London, M., & London, M. (2007). First-time leaders of small groups: how to create high-performing committees, task forces, clubs, and boards. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons

• III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

Four Necessary Ingredients for Holding People Accou ntable

Fundraising Committee Activity 2014

What’s Missing From This

Dashboard?

= Mtg Attendance

= Table Hosts Recruited

= Thank You Calls

= Greeter at Events

= Guests to Tours

= Donor Event Attendance

Image Source: MNCSU website

Accountability Dashboard

Updated Accountability Dashboard � Aligned with Strategic Framework � Focuses on performance trends & goals for

improvement � More comprehensive set of measures

• III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

Determining Measures

• Strategic Planning Discussion

• Governance Committee

• Fund Development Staff & Committee

• Program Staff & Committee

• Where else?

III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

D. Tracking Dashboards

http://sxsw14.netvibesbusiness.com/#Welcome

http://www.netvibes.com/ljacobwith#Blogs_I_Follow/

• III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

Tracking Dashboards

Discussion

1. What fundraising metrics do you feel are important to track?

2. What metrics do you feel are important to track for board engagement?

3. What program metrics do you feel are important to track?

IV. Using Dashboards to Cause Others To Take Action

• III. Categories of Nonprofit Dashboards

Encouraging Action

Image Source: RoomToRead.org/OurPrograms

• IV. Using Dashboards to Cause Action

Board Dashboards & Data Updates

Source: Blue Avocado A Nonprofit Dashboard & Signal Light for Boards

• IV. Using Dashboards to Cause Action

Board Dashboards & Data Updates

Source: Blue Avocado A Nonprofit Dashboard & Signal Light for Boards

Your Organization Name HereGovernance Scorecard Page 1

Your Organization Name HereGovernance Scorecard Page 2

What would YOU add?

Donor Data Updates

Donor Data Updates

Donor Data Updates

• IV. Using Dashboards to Cause Action

Campaign Updates

• IV. Using Dashboards to Cause Action

Donor Data Updates

http://bit.ly/HowToCalculateDonorRetentionInExcel

Easy “How -To” video on YouTube

V. Sample Financial Dashboards

Image Source: http://beyondfinancialsconsulting.com/

• Cash

• Net Assets

• Debt

• Working Capital

Over the Past/Present/Future

• V. Sample Financial Dashboards

Key Financial Information

• V. Sample Financial Dashboards

Key Financial Information

• V. Sample Financial Dashboards

Financials Should Tell A Story

Source: Nancy Lee, Nonprofit Consultant

• V. Sample Financial Dashboards

Financials Should Tell A Story

Source: Nancy Lee, Nonprofit Consultant

• V. Sample Financial Dashboards

Financials Should Tell A Story

Source: Nancy Lee, Nonprofit Consultant

List them on your worksheet

Additional Ways YOU Could Use Dashboards?

Additional Ways You COULD Use Dashboards

� Attendance at board meetings

� Meals served, bed nights, other program updates?

� # of fundraising asks v. gifts received

� # of students receiving a scholarship

� # of thank you calls by board members

VII. What Will YOU Include In a Dashboard?

• What To Include In a Dashboard

Agency Priorities

1. Program & financial drivers

2. What will move you forward

3. What will hold you back

4. Changes

5. Actions that need to be encouraged

Creating Your Action Plan

• IV. Creating An Action Plan

Your Action Plan

Write and Share:

1. What is one dashboard you’ll create after today?

2. What is YOUR next step?

3. What surprised you today?

Staying Connected

Lori L. JacobwithIgnited Fundraising

Fundraising Culture Change Expert & Master

Storyteller

ENews : http://bit.ly/voa-enews

LJacobwith

@LJacobwith

Fire Starters Blog:www.ignitedfundraising.com/blog

Books

Free Resources http://bit.ly/voafreeresources

What Gets Measured is What Gets Done

Additional Resources

• http://www.ignitedfundraising.com/accountability-success/

• http://bit.ly/HowToCalculateDonorRetentionInExcel

• http://annkemery.com/portfolio/dataviz-for-philanthropists/

• http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org/getting-beyond-nonprofit-performance-assessment-with-data/

• http://blog.kurtosys.com/storytelling-data-visualization/

• http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/community/b/tsblog/archive/2015/06/9/how-to-visually-show-your-impact-to-funders-with-silk.aspx

• https://www.silk.co/ - free for Nonprofits

• IV. Creating An Action Plan

Using Dashboards to Engage Your Board

& Staff

Thank You!