Funders are increasingly using demographic data about the staff and leadership of the nonprofits they support to assess their impact and reach. At the same time, many of these same funders seek best practices in how to glean meaningful insights from this data. While this data is valuable, it represents a significant burden for nonprofits and, as a result, funders also want to make these processes as efficient as possible for all concerned. This has led to growing momentum for Demographics via Candid—a sector-wide initiative that empowers nonprofits to collect and share staff and board member demographics—one time—in a standardized, reusable, and freely accessible format on their Candid profiles.

Featuring lessons learned and real-world examples from funders like The California Endowment, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Siegel Family Endowment, Candid has launched a short on-demand course, “A funder’s guide to using demographic data,” outlining helpful “dos and don’ts.” Learn tips on best approaches to deploy and pitfalls to avoid in using this data for impact.

Data collection dos and don’ts 

  • Don’t collect data without a plan for what you will do with it. Identify questions you’re interested in using the data to answer.
  • Do streamline. Streamline your foundation’s due diligence and reporting processes by using existing datasets. You can lift the burden on yourself and your own grantees to collect and organize this data by accepting publicly available demographic data from Candid, rather than requiring nonprofits to complete yet another survey.
  • Do be intentional about the timing of your ask. Since a number of leading grants management systems partner with Demographics via Candid, it’s easy to include demographic data in the workflow of either your grant application or reporting forms.
  • Do assess and encourage Demographics via Candid participation among your stakeholders.

Data analysis dos and don’ts

  • Don’t expect a one-size-fits-all answer. Approach the data as an opportunity to understand grantee and overall portfolio trends.
  • Do use Candid’s demographic data for research and analysis. More than 70,000 nonprofit organizations have now shared demographic data about their staff and/or boards with Candid, and this number is poised to grow.

Data sharing dos and don’ts 

  • Do organize the data into usable formats that can surface insights. You can use the dashboard to generate data visualizations that are helpful for communicating progress with stakeholders.
  • Don’t keep it to yourself. Build trust by being transparent about your motivations. If you ask grantees for data, it’s important to specify why you’re asking for it and how you will use it. C

Read the full article about demographic data by Janet Camarena at Candid.