Over the last few years, NTEN has been working with nonprofits to understand how to better wrangle all the data they’re creating and what’s available to them into improved results: more mission impact.

But what about the steps an organization has to take before collecting or analyzing the data? How do we determine which data matters in the first place, and how that data will impact the direction of our work?

We are very excited to release a free resource to help nonprofits get started with this important strategic steps:

> Getting Started With Data-Driven Decision Making: A Workbook

With this workbook, we hope to provide nonprofit leaders with a set of worksheets that will help guide thinking and planning around more effective data strategies.

Download the workbook for free.

In April 2012 NTEN worked with Idealware to conduct a survey of nonprofits about their relationships with data, and what we found was a large dichotomy—either they were doing a lot with their metrics or not much at all.

In addition, we learned that internal factors--such as staff capacity, expertise, and budget--as well as external demands and stakeholders—including funders; local, state and federal governments; donors; clients; and community groups—also hinder an organization’s ability to make strategic use of data they have collected.

Download the complete report with more statistics and valuable insights and lessons gleaned from a survey of US nonprofits and focus groups with nonprofit staff, foundation staff, and nonprofit consultants:

> Download the complete report, "The State of the Nonprofit Data," here!

How can you assess the features that a software package offers to provide access to your data? In this report, Paul Hagen and Laura Quinn provide an evaluation framework that will help weigh the advantages and trade-offs of the data integration features across different applications.

This Idealware report was written in partnership with NTEN, and with generous sponorship by Beaconfire and Jacobson Consulting Applications.

> Download the Report

Nonprofits are challenged by managing their data effectively on a daily basis. This is hampering their work, making processes redundant and cumbersome, and adding precious time and costs to their operations – money and time better spent on services and programs.

APIs provide ways to more easily share data between applications. Open APIs also have the potential to bring data together in ways that create new ways of displaying information – such as bringing fundraising data to a content management system or blog, or by coupling geographic data with maps from Google.

In this paper, we’ll

• Explain what open APIs are conceptually
• Describe the technology behind APIs looks
• Give several concrete examples of how APIs are used
• Delve into some issues to think about as you consider using these technologies in your organization

Let's Talk. Download the report.