As nonprofit leaders, we have a responsibility to show the country what’s working and what’s at stake on the frontlines of America’s most vulnerable communities. But social-sector hard data is sparse at best, and real-time data is even rarer. The longer our sector remains an outlier in a data-driven world, the greater the opportunity cost—and the greater the risk that others will inappropriately use what numbers there are to justify budget cuts and other misguided decisions.

“How many donors should I have on my mailing list?”
“Did our students meet their growth targets for this school year?”
“Are the goals for my organization truly long term?”

You worked hard to find and hire the best staff. You completely revamped your programs to make them new and innovative. You built a solid reputation within the community. And you have really great hair. Either you truly are as wonderful as you think, or, as research suggests, you may be the latest victim of the “Ikea Effect.”

Our current moment in the human story is often called the age of information. And indeed, we are too-often overwhelmed by the torrent of data coursing through our lives. As a society, we have developed many tools to organize the information we rely on every day. The Dewey Decimal System helps libraries organize books. UPC codes help stores organize their products. Nutrition labels help to present information about food ingredients and nutritional value (or lack thereof) in a way that’s consistent and predictable.