 Thanks for joining us. We are honored to have you here to join us today for another episode of The Nonprofit Show. Today we have Dr. Abhi Subedi, who is CEO of Commu Info. And Abhi is here to talk to us about data and nonprofit donors. But before we jump into the conversation, we of course want to give a nod to Julia Patrick who started this fantastic episode three years ago. We are marching towards our 600th episode and she is the CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. I am honored to play alongside Julia each and every day as the co-host. Sometimes her personal nonprofit nerd, but I like to remind all of you watching and listening, there's enough nerdiness from me to go around. So I am also the CEO of the Raven Group. And again, honored to be here. We keep going and growing with the great support from our presenting sponsors. So thank you so much to Blimmering, American Nonprofit Academy, your part-time controller, nonprofit nerd, fundraising academy, staffing boutique, and the nonprofit thought leader. If you have not checked out these companies, I really encourage you to do so. They are fantastic people, fantastic companies leaning into your mission to help you do more good in and around your community. I just mentioned 600 episodes. You can find all of them on Roku, Fire TV, YouTube and Vimeo, as well as today's episode with Abhi. And if you're a podcast listener like I am, you can also queue us up wherever you stream your podcast. So go ahead and do that. If you're taking a hike or a walk or maybe even a drive, you can listen to this episode later today or even tomorrow. So I mentioned our guest and I'm just thrilled to have him here. And I want to tell a little bit of our background of how we met because we met online. And I'm not sure if it was LinkedIn or what platform it was, Dr. Subedi, but we met, we connected, we emailed and I said, I love what you're doing with Commu Info. Could I please twist your arm and ask you to be a guest on the nonprofit show? So again, Dr. Abhi Subedi, lots of letters behind your name, CEO of Commu Info, welcome. Well, thank you, Jared. And it's a pleasure to be here and appreciate all of you who are online, joining, taking your lunchtime and being here to listen to what we need to talk about really around data and analytics, which is, it's a hot topic these days. So thank you for again, your time and joining here with us today. So as Jared said, sorry, Jared, good. I was just gonna say, please tell us a little bit about Commu Info, what it is that you do day in and day out with this amazing company. Yeah, so the Commu Info really started few years back when I was working with United Way here in the local level. I'm really working around impact data and being able to tell the story of the nonprofits nonprofit community. So the idea really was born out of that the challenges that I saw within the nonprofit community, especially around data analytics, reporting, really being able to tell the story. So we got together, we huddled up, we talked to a lot of people, a lot of nonprofits and say, it could there be a way where smaller ones specially allow them to kind of have a platform where they would come in and plugging their program level data, visualize those data, right? Be able to recruit volunteers and tell a story at the end and tell that impact that you're making. So in a nutshell, Commu Info is a web-based, self-serving platform designed only for nonprofits. The platform really allows nonprofits to share their programs, their outcomes data, and we use what everybody should know, which is called a logic model framework, right? And allow them to kind of come in, add their upcoming events, recruit volunteers, manage track volunteers, whether there's hours, attendance, what have you, and really be able to share some of the good stats, whether it's your financials, whether, you know, number of lives you've impacted, number of volunteers you've got, right? And also, you know, when you think about a tool, you know, our idea really is very simple, which is, you know, it is really designed for any nonprofits, right? Whether you are a program officer, a voluntary staff or simply put, you know, anybody who is responsible for maximizing impact. Love it. So Commu Info, am I correct to consider it's community information? Correct. Okay. Well, I love that. So for those of you looking at the screen, you can see his website, those of you listening, it's commuinfo, c-o-m-m-u-n-i-n-f-o, is that right? Dot com. So excited to have you here with us today to get, you know, we've talked about this before, that data is in fact sexy. And sometimes data, you know, tends to gloss over for people, but today we're really talking about how you can best use your data, tell your story in the community, you have a lot of information to share. So let's start off by like, what is the DNA that we should be seeing in our data? Talk to us about that. Yeah. So again, you know, this is to many of us, and especially when we talk about nonprofit and the capacity that we have and that we operate under, right? You know, it's a very, you know, a new topic. So the DNA, you know, it's really is, it's data that you already have or you're collecting or have collected or in the process of collecting, right? And analytics, right? And how do you then compile that data to tell a story in a simpler form for the people that you either serve or, you know, that you report to, right? So in a nutshell, you know, data and analytics in a simple form is the process of analyzing data to find trends or correlations and answer questions as it relates to your nonprofits, your customers or donors. So I had a conversation not too long ago and I used the term KPI or the acronym, right? Key Performance Indicators. And then I also said, you know, in narrative form, like what are your measurements of success for this program? And the person, sadly, did not know any of that, what I was talking about. So I'm curious if you could share a little bit about how we can infuse the importance of data with everyone on our team. Again, be it staff, be it volunteers, be it board members, like how do we share the importance of data? Cause it's not just the fact that we open our doors, we serve our clients in our community. We have to collect the data. And I love, I love to, right? Like I always say, what is the data we're collecting? How might we improve it? And what are we analyzing from, you know, the previous data that we have? So all of that to say, Dr. Subedi, like would you tell us maybe a tip on how we can impart the importance of data to everyone on our team? Yeah, I mean, look, you know, you can spend days talking about how do you best collect data, right? And I, you know, I always tell in a non-profits or people that I work with that, you know, start simple, right, don't over complicate and don't rush it, right? You know, don't panic as well because when you do panic, then you're not focusing, right? So, you know, and, you know, data should be, I think at least personally, it should be a single sort of truth for you, right? And whether that is you're trying to solve a problem, right? Oftentimes we all are in that space because impact is our business, right? So, you know, with the data, you know, it's, and to your point, Jared, you know, KPI is, it's nothing but what's important for you as an organization, right? Is it impact that you're making? Is the number of people that you're serving, right? It's the locale, it's a reason, it's a number of other businesses that we're bringing on. What is that? And have you defined that, right? And once you do that, you know, the basic way to do it is it kind of frame it and make a plan against it, right? And don't go overboard just because now all of a sudden you're super excited because trust me, it is very tempting. And also, you know, the fact that we all have some level of data, right? In which we don't recognize. So understanding what you already have and finding the gaps within the data. And, you know, whether it's descriptive or you want to, you know, talk about making it more advanced analytics, whether in the predictive or, you know, make it a prescribed analytics, you know, track your businesses, what have you, you know, and that's really the second step. But the first really, you know, the rule is make sure you have a plan in place, understand what's been tracked, what are you thinking of tracking and what else you don't have that you would like to have. That is so fantastic. And we've touched on this a little bit about why should we be collecting data? And for those of you looking at the slide, you know, it's really why should nonprofits collect data? Now, you mentioned early on two things. One, you're a former United Way employee and two, the logic model, which I think is synonymous, right? It's like, I wonder, and maybe you could tell me, Abhi, like, did United Ways create the logic model? I don't want to say no, but I also don't want to say yes. But I think the logic model really started back, God, I don't know, maybe, you know, 30, 40 years ago, when, you know, especially the federal government was, you know, trying to figure out the best way to start tracking their programs around health, education, you know, what have you, right? And it's one of those frameworks that kind of really explains, you know, what is your plan and how do you go about, you know, meeting those, you know, a plan or strategies, right? It's really in a logic, right? If you do this, then you would expect y to happen or x to happen, right? And when you put it in that way, you know, it makes so much sense, right? Because these days, when you do apply for a grant, that is one of the things that your, you know, funding organization is going to ask for, right? And it shouldn't be complicated as well, right? As long as you have a logic that, look, and we are looking to serve x many people for x many days in providing x services, that is in a nutshell, your logic model, right? And of course you can tweak it based on your need and how complex you want to get to and what have you so. Yeah. I will tell you, I'm not a huge fan of logic models, mainly because they make my head hurt. It can be complex, yes. Can be complex. So let's talk about more why we should be collecting data. You just mentioned grants, I could not, you know, express that further. I started my career truly as, you know, a grant writer and I understand the importance of collecting the data. But as I just gave this other example, you know, there's so many grants out there that require this information. They also require a compliance component of the reporting the data. Why else might we collect data? Well, I mean, especially these days here, I think, you know, with the help of social media and you've got different variety of social channels. There's just so much out there, right? But you know, let me go back to the point where I said before which is, you know, what's really important for you as an organization, right? Is it the number of people that you're on a track, right? You know, it's a family that you're serving that are actually, you know, doing better. Are you maximizing the impact? Are you building the capacity, right? Are you helping the community grow and thrive? What is that that drives your nonprofit? What's your business of making an impact, right? And if you frame it in that regard, right? No matter how you collect it, you know, you have a good start and point, right? And I always say to people that, you know, do a couple of things and do them best, right? Master at it and then go about expanding and then exploring further, right? It's pretty much like, you know, look inside the box before we can explore the box outside the box. Yeah. And I think there's so many data points. And as you said, keep it simple. Don't go too heavy, don't go too far. I am curious because I like to see data. I like to ask a lot of questions. Where is this coming from? How are you measuring it? How accurate is it, right? Data in, data out. But I also like to see where else might we improve our data collection? Because data integrity is really important. In fact, I had to grab my pen and write down data. You said this, data is your single source of truth. And that speaks volumes to me. So talk to us a little bit about, you know, if we're collecting data, when do we maybe reassess that data to say, is this still relevant? Is this what we still want to track and share? I can think of impact reports. I can think of annual reports, social media, electronic newsletters, ways that you can use this information. But when might we find ourselves, you know, obviously saying, I think we need to be tracking something differently. What does that look like? Right, right. And that's really the conundrum, right? Because then you get into this rabbit hole of, oh, I don't think we've got this. Let's go ahead and try to make a plan of, you know, like, you know, perhaps, you know, gather more demographic data right now. Yes. Is it important? Absolutely, right. But do you have a capacity? Do you have internal resources to do that, right? Do you have a tool to actually do that, right? Is it a manual process, right? Are you, excuse me, are you maintaining excel upon excel upon excel, right? Where does this data live? To your point, Jared, you know, who owns this data, right? Who is responsible for maintaining the data, right? Do we know how many people have actually moved, right? Do we have a new address? Do we have a new email address? Are we tracking, do not contact, right? You know, are we providing same information to our, you know, funding organization or to the board or annual report, right? Where in the process, you see a gap and really identifying that, you know, and it takes time, doesn't happen right away, right? But as long as you understand, you know, the utilization of that data to do whatever, whether it's, you know, fundraising campaign, whether it's expanding your program, whether it's bringing new, you know, blood into the mix, whether for your board and what have you, right, you need more data to analyze that, right? To also kind of cross breath who others in my area are actually doing the same thing, right? So always trying to figure out what else is out there, right, just being, you know, data curious as well, so. Great. You know, I was talking with an organization the other day and we were talking about the increase of client services that they've provided this year over last year and it was a huge increase. And I, of course, asked why was there an increase, right? Like, what is, what are we seeing in this analytics? Like, what is your interpretation of this essentially? And that was fascinating. And so when I think, you know, for me, I'm a huge visual learner. And so for me to see that number on a chart or an infographic, I also really appreciate the narrative, Abbi, that says why we believe there is a difference and it doesn't always go up. It could absolutely go down. And I think, you know, COVID-19, we need to also address why we're seeing that data going down as well. So, you know, that's pretty powerful. So there's a lot of ways of why, or reasons rather, why we should be collecting data. And I'm curious if we can talk a little bit more too about how we share this data. And I'm curious how often we could share it. That's again, you know, well, more often than not, I think I would say that, right? And that also, you know, speaks volume in terms of how updated your website is or whatever your platform that you're, you know, drawing people towards, right? Whether it's your Facebook page or Instagram or, you know, a simple, you know, a good looking website or you're still working on your website, right? How, you know, what does your policy say in terms of refreshing your data, right? And who are the audiences of, you know, looking to your data, right? So, you know, based on your, I guess, the target customers, you know, your stakeholders, constituents, donors, your boards, right? Are they, you know, are they data ready? You know, are they looking for information? Are they finding the information in the right place, right? Are we making or creating a lot of noise? And oftentimes I kid you not, there's a lot of noise when we talk about data, right? And to your point of, you know, being visual is a quick way of learning. So is the summary, right? The summation of it, right? So, you know, if you couple, you know, data with analytics, which is really to tell the story using, you know, tools to visualize your data. And a quick note as to what the data is really speaking on and towards, I think, you know, you're on a good start. Yeah, I agree. And I love that you mentioned noise because that's kind of the elephant in the room. There's so much noise out there right now. There's a lot that we're consuming. There's a lot of channels to consume from. And, you know, if we can niche down our audience, and I'm just thanking, I like to say, you know, I'm shooting from the hips here, but these hips have 20 years of nonprofit experience. You know, maybe we share certain data and narrative, the summation, as you said, with our volunteer newsletter, our volunteer group, differently than how we share it with the board, differently than how we share it with our funders. And so I can see this being, I hate the word manipulation in this, but manipulated in a way that highlights what that demographic is most inclined to be interested in, right? And so it's very prescribed when it comes to grants because you write a grant for X amount of dollars to do X amount per the logic model. And then the report is essentially this is what we said we would do and this is what we have in fact been able to do. So that's very prescriptive. But I feel like there's a lot of creativity in these other areas. No, you're right, you're right. And I'll remind folks that the way Kami info is set up to your point, Jared, it's just that, right? How do you avoid noise so that, you know, and believe it or not, you know, donors and stakeholders and people that you serve are getting advanced, right? They want information like now, you know, give me a place where I can actually go and learn what you do, right? Tell me if you've got a recruitment event for volunteers coming up, I wanna sign up. Don't send me 20 pages long report. Who's got time to read that? No one, and you know, I mean, to that point, right? People don't even read emails anymore. People don't even read the full text on, you know, on your text phone anymore. So I do think, you know, to really create these kind of like spoon size information, I love your mention on the website. I've heard Julia Patrick, my co-host share, you know, to update your data in a, not all data, but like a data document quarterly, you know? I like to do this monthly and to say, okay, here's where we are this month, this month. And of course you have that big milestone of quarterly and then you have your six month, which is another big milestone. Of course you can track that from the previous year. So I think there's so many ways to slice and dice and serve the data but I'm curious if you could talk to us. If you had a crystal ball, we love this question. Like what are some of the top data pieces that people just eat up? Like what would you say, if someone's listening right now and they want, and this might be a curve ball, so I apologize Abhi. What would be the five data sets that we want to make sure we have? Yeah, I think, you know, and now, you know, let's go back to when we started Converses and Data Integrity, right? So, you know, really being able to maintain your donor base and donor database is absolutely key, right? And figuring out where the gaps are, right? You know, and to my point early on, you know, are there, you know, the right addresses, right? Is the email still working, right? Because, you know, again, you're in the business of making an impact, right? And you're in the business of increasing your revenue so you can actually maximize your impact as well, right? So, you know, donor database, you know, however you maintain it, right? Whether it's an Excel file or you've got it in a CRM setup, you know, that's great, right? But start simple, make sure that you're capturing right data, right time, right? That's absolutely important. Then come, since you're in the business of making an impact, you program, right? So going back to the idea of the logic model, right? If you can frame your data points around your logic model, then think about this, right? When time comes for you to write your grant, you've got it in front of you, right? You don't need to go hustle and go through your 20 pages long reports and trying to figure out where the data is and what have you, right? Really, you know, if you nurture and cultivate them properly, right? Chances of them turning as a donor, it's very, very high, right? So you want to maintain that database as well, right? So that means you want to be in constant communication with them, right? You want to respect their privacy, right? You want to make sure that they're getting what they're asking for, right? They're treated well, you know, with respect and what have you, right? And you just maintain that database of knowledge so that if tomorrow you need to call help, these guys are ready to help you as well, right? And then you've got other, you know, stakeholders such as your board members or your, you know, followers on your social media, what have you, because we're just in such a digital world, you also need some part of that, you know, within your data set as well. All great information. One of the shortcuts I like to do is, you know, when you have an impact report or an annual report created is to take snippets of that report, albeit data, infographics, story, and repackage and repurpose that on so many different channels. As you mentioned, social media, newsletter, there's so many ways to, I'm gonna say regurgitate, but really like continue to share that information with your audience. And another thing that I love to do, because I've worked with too many organizations that don't, I feel they don't track enough, like personal data of their clients. So one of the things I like to do is look at their intake form to see, you know, what data are they collecting from day one from the start? And I often see that they're not asking some what I would consider simple questions about, you know, are you a single parent? Are you a domestic violence survivor? Are you an LGBTQ individual? Are you a veteran? And I've literally, Dr. Abbey, you know, had people say to me, oh, well, but we don't care. And I said, okay, what I'm hearing you say is you serve all people that come to yours. Of course you care, but what you're saying is you serve all people. I said, here's the purpose of why I wanna collect this data and why I want you to collect this data. It's because the more information we have, the more opportunities of support. So I'm really proud to share that one of these conversations did move to collecting data. And in one month, the question of LGBTQ collected the information of 27 individuals in one month. And so June is Pride month, right? And so again, when you think of how might we infuse additional questions that are optional, right? Optional on this intake form. And you also share with the clients in the community why, right? And for me, it's the purposes, the more we know, the more we can tell our story of who our audience is. And it provides additional opportunities for dollars, for fundraising, for more impact. So that's just a story I wanted to share because if any of you are thinking, okay, we've got a long way to go, start today. Correct, yes. And into my point early on, start simple, right? Start basic, you know, map out, you know, what are some of the things that's really important for you, right? And how are you going about, you know, tracking and managing and maintaining that? And should you plan to expand whether it's your services, you know, anything that you do within your landscape of, you know, a nonprofit, you know, you will have a better understanding of, you know, what are some of the things that you will need to do, you know, on the next phase and the next cycle and what have to. And be mindful as well, you know, when you, you know, do start collect data, you know, you need a place where you can actually easily access, right? And you have, you know, kind of like the data policy around it, you know, follow the donor bill of rights, you know, if you can, well, if you must, and you should follow the donor bill of rights and yeah, and create a guardrail around and how do you maintain, you know, donor information or client information and what have you. So, you know, you're there out there, so people trust you and people see the importance and hopefully they're more willing to, you know, give you more information. That is fantastic. And you have just been a wonderful guest to talk to. I wanna pull up your slide here so that everyone knows if they wanna get nerdy with you on data and how to do this with, you know, Commu Info that you can absolutely do that. So, Dr. Abhi Sibedi and I'm curious, tell me about these letters, C-N-M-C-E-M. Yeah, so the C-N-M stands for Certified Nonprofit Management. Of course. And the C-E-M stands for Certified Economics Measurement. So both around program and data, you know, realm. I have not seen that one. So that's a new one that I've just being educated on. So thank you so much. Now, we're not quite done, but I am curious because you'd mentioned you wanna talk a little bit more, of course, on another day about capacity building. And I'm sure data and data collection and how you share it is a big piece of capacity building. So for all of you listening, watching, I hope that you've enjoyed this conversation with Dr. Sibedi as much as I have. And I'm gonna hold you to that, Abhi, that you come back and share more with us. I would love it. I, you know, a matter of fact, you know, that's one of the sole reason for us to, you know, start in coming info to your point, you know, how do we best provide services to, you know, nonprofits? They are really, you know, in the field making an impact, right? So there's this avenue of not them get bogged down with maintaining a website, reporting, you know, tracking their impact data and what have you, right? So they can focus their resources, energy to do, you know, even more good in the community, right? So that's really, you know, our core focus here. Well, fantastic. Thank you for what you do. And thanks for joining Julia and I today on the nonprofit show being such a fantastic guest. Again, I knew when we met and started sharing emails, I mean, they were, they were quick emails. I knew that we were gonna have such a fantastic conversation. I, of course, wanna thank our presenting sponsors for allowing this conversation. Thank you to Bloomerang, to American Nonprofit Academy, your part-time controller, nonprofit nerd, fundraising academy, staffing boutique and nonprofit thought leader. Now's a great time to check out these companies. They are doing so much good in and around your community to help you do more good in and around your community right there with them. So Dr. Subeti, again, I cannot thank you anymore. I'm just so grateful to know you exist in our sector and that you are helping us tell our story through our data collection with Commu Info. So thanks to all of you that joined us. Please join us again tomorrow. And as we end each and every episode, I'd like to remind you to please stay well so you can do well. Thank you. And Dr. Abbey, thank you so much.