Having data isn’t an end in itself—numbers don’t do anything for you unless you know how to use them to your advantage.

In our increasingly data-driven world, access to data is no longer a “nice to have.” It is essential for any organization across every sector. As such, data is transforming how the philanthropic sector understands and drives impact. But analyzing impact doesn’t have to be complex. Here are four steps to take to leverage data to start analyzing impact. 

Hint: Numbers matter.

UpMetrics Managing Director, Vinay Mullick (formerly of Perspectives Charter Schools in Chicago), has been invited to join a panel on the importance of data in building sustainable athletics programs at the Sports Philanthropy Network World Congress, set for August 9th, 2019.

“The MVP organization was started by Jay Glazer and Nate Boyer back in 2015,” explains Executive Director, Jacob Toups. “Jay Glazer has been in the sports industry for 25-plus years, so he’s been interviewing and tracking athletes for most of his career. Nate Boyer was a Green Beret, and was on the Seattle Seahawks—he landed in Los Angeles after his time in the NFL.

Soccer Without Borders, a youth soccer program built to serve refugee children in the United States and disadvantaged youth abroad, has long been a leader on the field. But their approach to data collection is putting them leaps and bounds ahead off the field as well.

UpMetrics and the GRAMMY Music Education Coalition have been working together since the Spring of 2018 to build a data-driven approach to music access and curriculum across multiple program sites. We recently connected with Strategic Programs Director, Ryan Zellner, from GMEC on why the coalition is committed to collecting and learning from program data.

As CEO of UpMetrics, I have the pleasure of working closely with a variety of social impact organizations and funding sources. There are millions of mission-driven organizations all over the world improving the lives of those they serve, whether it be in affordable housing, health and education, or women’s empowerment, to name a few. Here’s the problem: while nonprofits are working to solve new challenges every day, the sector lacks a sustainable model that will help them scale their impact.

Talk to Jen Salerno for even five minutes, and you already understand how much thought and care she puts into her work at the San Francisco YMCA’s Youth Workforce Development program. As the Director of a five-person department dedicated to helping end the cycle of poverty that affects many urban youth, Salerno brings together an understanding of the challenges facing program participants with a commitment to support them over the long term as they pursue careers in their chosen fields.

Walk into the office at Create Now in Downtown Los Angeles, and it’s immediately obvious that everything centers on the kids. In the second story of what looks like a former warehouse, rooms are filled with music equipment and art supplies, with a recording studio located near a drumming room that’s lovingly built into a closet, the egg crate foam insulation hand-applied to the walls.