Data with purpose – start with the end in mind

Speaker: William Dorrington, Chief Technology Officer, cloudThing

Non-profit leaders will likely have heard multiple times that releasing the potential of data is key to making better decisions, and delivering a better service. However, it can be difficult to understand where these bottlenecks that prevent data from being shared across the organisation are without prior experience. It can also be difficult to determine in measurable KPIs the long-term benefits to modernising how non-profit uses data, and the steps to take to begin such an undertaking.

William specialises in working with senior leadership to build simple solutions to complex business problems using technology. He has helped charities to bring together insights from multiple applications, spreadsheets, paper based forms and third party sources such as Just Giving to ensure insights and automation are available and easy to implement for all staff, from Marketing and Fundraising all the way to Service Delivery and Volunteer Management.

Join Will as he discusses his view on what a successful Data Platform for non-profits looks like and offers practical steps to begin your journey to taking advantage of data.

William Dorrington is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and the Chief Technology Officer at cloudThing. cloudThing, part of the Kerv Group have delivered digital transformation projects to charities of all shapes and sizes, ranging from small regional organisations, to multi-national federated household names.

Breakout 1 – What do we mean by good data governance? 

Speaker: Helen McGrath, Senior Business Change Consultant, Hart Square & Ian McGregor, Business Change Consultant, Hart Square

Having spent time in developing your data strategy, cleaning, and collating your data sources you need to ensure bad data practices do not creep in. The purpose of data governance is to help to ensure that data is usable, accessible, and protected and that staff has access to the data they need to accurately understand members and customers, gain insight, and make data-informed decisions.  

Breakout 2 – Why you need a data strategy and where to get started?  

Speaker: Marios Chrysanthou, Managing Director, Bluelight CRM

A data strategy focusses on the purpose of your data and what you’re going to do with it. It sets vision and direction and isn’t a standalone activity. It’s driven by your business strategy, and both are needed to then deliver your engagement strategy. Getting your data strategy right and identifying your data sources is no mean feat, but once in place, you can look forward to becoming a true data-driven non-profit.  

Speaker: Rhys Evans, Head of Technology and Services, Hart Square

As with all projects it is best delivered in stages, having embarked on your data journey creating a data value map is a key stage in this process. The purpose of the exercise is to bring the knowledge of your cross functional teams together to develop the data value map to bring a shared understanding around the data plans and initiatives. The data value map will cover elements such as data acquisition, integration, analysis, and delivery.  

Breakout 4 – Getting the most out of your data for engagement, recruitment and retention 

Speaker: Alex Skinner, CEO and Co-Founder, Pixl8

For a non-profit, the data it holds is one of its more important assets. It underpins all organisation-wide engagement strategies and understanding how to maximise it for recruitment and retention is critical to success. Your members or supporters expect any communications and engagement to be personal, targeted, and relevant to their interests. What does personalised engagement look like across your website, CRM, and bulk email system, and is putting ‘Dear Sarah’ at the top of an email enough?