Data visualization is reshaping how nonprofits analyze their data and communicate their stories effectively. In this article, we explore the practical benefits for nonprofits, important considerations for data visualization projects, and how organizations can utilize tools like Tableau and Power BI. Through real-world client examples, we demonstrate the tangible impact of data visualization in supporting nonprofit missions.
“Data visualization projects force organizations to have conversations about the state of their data. Are there gaps? Are there questions we can’t answer? When different teams can see the story the data they collectively track tells, it only encourages good management data practices.”
– Hetile Dlamini, Senior Success Engineer, Vera Solutions
The Benefits of Data Visualization Tools
By harnessing the visual representation of data, nonprofits can enhance decision-making, drive impact, and foster stronger connections with stakeholders. Some ways that Business Intelligence (BI) tools help achieve these outcomes include:
- Enhanced Reporting: BI tools offer users greater control over visual design and formatting, extending across not only Salesforce objects but other data sources as well.
- Facilitated Data-driven Decision-making: BI tools act as catalysts for crucial conversations that drive organizational growth.
- Streamlined Data Collection: Automation features simplify gathering information from multiple sources.
- Unified Data View: BI tools can seamlessly aggregate data from multiple sources, providing a unified view.
- Operational Efficiency: Leveraging BI can drive more efficient resource allocation within nonprofit teams.
- Data Quality Assurance: Dashboarding capabilities enable nonprofits to identify and address data quality issues.
“We have integrated our Salesforce solution with Power BI and this has been great for us. Going forward, we will be able to track our progress and analyze our data across the organization. The new solution we have with Amp Impact has really helped us to become more sophisticated in our analysis and reporting.”
– Joe Fletcher, IT Systems and Project Manager, Elton John AIDS Foundation
Which Data Visualization Tool Should You Choose?
When reviewing data visualization tools for your nonprofit, there are key questions to consider: Do you use any BI tools already? What limitations do you face? What is your long-term BI vision? Do you have internal capabilities or would you need to outsource these to a partner?
While the market offers many data visualization tools, two have been most widely adopted across the nonprofit sector: Tableau and Microsoft Power BI. These solutions seamlessly integrate with Salesforce Clouds and Amp Impact. Let’s examine how five clients have successfully utilized these tools to gain deeper insights and support data-driven decisions.
Salesforce Tableau
Salesforce Tableau is a data visualization and analytics platform that enables organizations to see, understand, and act on their data to accelerate decision-making. Tableau Foundation is the data equity hub enabling nonprofit organizations to effectively and ethically use their data to advocate for change, and smaller organizations can leverage donated licenses.
A global health organization brings its Amp Impact project data to Tableau to enhance data-driven decision-making, supporting 300-400 users. A funder client focused on expanding equality and opportunity utilizes Tableau to visualize financial and grant data, embedding dashboards back into Salesforce. An international graduate school initiative leveraged Vera’s Managed Engineering Support Services to extract data from Amp Impact for comprehensive KPI reporting.
Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI for Nonprofits is an interactive data visualization and analytics platform enabling organizations to turn data into visuals leveraging advanced data-analysis tools and AI capabilities. Power BI offers free technology grants and discounts for nonprofits.
The Aga Khan Foundation links Salesforce reports to Power BI to create dashboards visualizing each country’s and theme’s annual results, shared with over 3,000 staff globally. The Elton John AIDS Foundation leverages Amp Impact alongside Power BI to significantly enhance transparency in reporting across internal departments, grantees, board members, and the public.
Taking Nonprofit Data to the Next Level
The evolution of nonprofit data management from digital transformation to the adoption of data visualization and analytics tools has revolutionized the way organizations operate and make decisions. By centralizing data in solutions such as Salesforce and Amp Impact, and leveraging advanced tools like Power BI and Tableau, nonprofits can extract actionable insights, enhance transparency, and drive meaningful change.