How Analytics and Measurement Can Improve Marketing and Fundraising for Nonprofits

Nonprofits can grow faster, solicit donations more successfully and better accomplish their missions through greater use of analytics.

If you doubt the benefits of data, you can read the book Moneyball. The book and movie of the same name relate the true story of how Billy Beane, general manager of baseball’s Oakland A’s, rebuilds his team on a limited budget with the help of a number-crunching, Yale-educated economist Peter Brand.

Ignoring scouting reports, Beane selects players based on statistics, specifically on-base percentage. The numbers-based approach, known as sabermetrics, has proven successful for the A’s. Now, most sports teams follow a statistics-based approach and increasingly rely on data to make critical decisions.