Individual Training
- Only data person on the team?
- Looking to improve your Excel skills?
- New to data, or are your funder requirements getting intense?
- Ready to take your data to the next level? Do more with your data?
Group Training
- Does your team understand why you collect the data you do?
- Does everyone understand how to read tables, charts and graphs?
- Could your team use some new Excel skills?
Data Trainings
We offer a variety of trainings to support creating and maintaining a data culture in your organization. We cater all of our sessions to the unique needs and values of community-based organizations, with examples and data that is more familiar and meaningful than other trainings that are out there. All trainings are all virtual. Contact us to talk about your needs and how we can customize a training for you and/or your team!
DATA FOR DECISION MAKING + IMPROVEMENTS
Level: Intermediate
Audience: Program Managers
How do you know if your program is working, and working the same for all clients? How do you know if you are keeping up with the evolving needs of the communities you serve? You collect data for funders; what about collecting data for yourself, and using that data to make program improvements? In this session we share tips for using data for decision making, including Continuous Quality Improvement, so you can make data-driven decisions to better serve your communities.
View a recording of this training here.
Get our “Data for Decision Making” emPower Tool here.
DATA FOR NONPROFIT ADVOCACY
Level: Advanced
Audience: Program Managers, Directors
Your work creates positive change for people in the community you serve. You can have an even bigger impact by bringing social change through advocacy, or “speaking up with” the people you serve and the issues that are important to their well-being. In this workshop you will learn how to participate in city, county, and state level advocacy from legislative meetings to delivering a compelling testimony in front of lawmakers. We will show you the basics of finding and tracking legislation, how to understand bills, and how to participate in the legislative process. Finally, you will learn how to strengthen your advocacy by leveraging the power of the data you are collecting about your communities.
View a recording of this training here.
Get our “Using Data in Advocacy” emPower Tool here.
DATA VISUALIZATION FOR DIVERSE AUDIENCES
Level: Intermediate
Audience: Program Managers, Data Coordinators/Managers
How can you use data visualization to effectively share your program’s story? We’ll cover data visualization fundamentals, including word clouds, basic charts and graphs in Excel, and other free/low cost data visualization platforms. We’ll share our favorite tips and tricks for accurately and clearly communicating to diverse audiences, including program context and data equity.
ENGAGING STAFF: CREATING A DATA CULTURE
Level: Beginner
Audience: Program Managers, Directors, Data Coordinators/Managers
Your staff are a crucial part of your program and its success. They are also core to the quality of your data. As you know, staff turnover impacts your ability to keep clients, and training new staff takes a lot of time and money, so it is important to retain staff. In this session we will discuss how to create a culture where staff are actively involved in and understand the power of high-quality data.
View a recording of this training here.
Learn more with our “Engaging Staff in Data Quality” emPower Tool here.
ENGAGING STAFF: STAFF INPUT FOR PROGRAM CHANGE
Level: Intermediate
Audience: Program Managers, Directors, Data Coordinators/Managers
Staff are key to program effectiveness. Through relationships, staff are on the front line for observing and understanding what is going on with families and communities and seeing the direct and indirect impacts of programs. Still, many programs do not have systematic ways of collecting and using staff suggestions to improve programs. Staff input can also support evaluating organizational values, program goals, and staff satisfaction for attracting and retaining the best staff. In this session we will share our favorite ideas for incorporating staff voices into your programs and organizations.
View a recording of this training here.
Learn more with our “Including Staff Voices for Program Management” emPower Tool here.
GETTING GREAT FEEDBACK: DESIGNING SURVEYS FOR STAFF AND CLIENTS
Level: Intermediate
Audience: Program Managers, Directors, Data Coordinators/Managers
Surveys are a great way to collect feedback from staff and clients, but it can be difficult to determine what questions you need to ask and how and when to ask them. This training offers step-by-step guidance to help you determine what you really want or need to know from your survey data, how to make sure your survey gets you the type of data you need, and best practices for survey dissemination and data collection. Reduce your workload and get the data you want by getting your surveys right the first time!
View a recording of this training here.
Qualitative Data i: Storytelling as Data
Level: Intermediate
Audience: Program Managers, Directors, Data Coordinators/Managers
Storytelling–-like focus groups, interviews, photo voice and case notes–-is another method for collecting qualitative data. Stories can be analyzed for themes using qualitative data analysis, then used as data for fundraising, grant applications, decision making, advocacy and more. Learn about Storytelling as a form of data, then learn how to analyze stories (and other qualitative data) in the second part of this series (Qualitative Data: Analyzing Qualitative Data).
Learn more with our “Using True Storytelling as Data” emPower Tool here.
QUALITATIVE DATA II: ANALYZING QUALITATIVE DATA
Level: Intermediate
Audience: Program Managers, Directors, Data Coordinators/Managers
‘Qualitative data (stories, text, images and so forth) are so much more than numbers. It is an opportunity to capture some of life’s complexities and nuances and allows us to make meaning of our data. The data becomes richer this way, but the analysis can also be more challenging and time-consuming. In this session we will show you the fundamentals of analyzing qualitative data and get you ready to analyze your own data.
Get our “Analyzing Qualitative Data” emPower Tool here.
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS
Level: Advanced
Audience: Program Managers
We get so wrapped up in our programs and getting through all our work that we rarely get to take a step back and really reflect on, a) the impacts we are having, and, b) our approaches to the changes we want to see in our communities. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a method for systematically uncovering root causes behind the issues that the communities we serve are facing. This analysis helps us make programmatic decisions, apply for funding, and evaluate programs based on root causes—not just the symptoms. Learn the fundamentals of Root Cause Analysis and explore the root causes to inform your programming and advocacy.
View a recording of this training here.
Get our “Conducting a Root Cause Analysis” emPower Tool here.
USING DATA FOR GRANT WRITING
Level: Advanced
Audience: Program Managers, Directors, Development
Grant writing is one of the most important aspects of working in the non-profit sector. It requires planning, creativity, and the ability to demonstrate your need while celebrating your impact. In this training, we share a few best practices for using qualitative and quantitative data in grant applications. We will discuss how to use data in three key areas of a grant application: the introduction, the institutional background, and the needs statement. Using data to highlight your program needs and demonstrate service gaps will strengthen your application and make you more competitive for funding.
View a recording of this training here.
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH DATA? DATA FUNDAMENTALS FOR NONPROFIT STAFF
Level: Beginner
Audience: Direct Service Staff, Program Coordinators
What is data, and why should you care? Data can be frustrating and tedious. Data has also not always been used in positive ways, especially for those of us from marginalized communities. The good news: data can be more than this! Data can help you bring together the voices and experiences of communities to celebrate your successes, demonstrate your impacts, elevate stories and advocate for social change. In this training, we explore what data is, how to understand it, why it matters, and how to make it meaningful and high quality.
Excel Trainings
We receive rave reviews for our Excel Trainings. We use real, meaningful examples (about people, not sales!), and we provide hands-on opportunities and comprehensive resources to continue your learning after the session. And we actually have fun! All trainings are all virtual. Contact us to talk about your needs and how we can customize a training for you and/or your team!
INTRODUCTION TO EXCEL
Level: Beginner
Audience: All
Formatting worksheets, design, tables, using tabs, navigating worksheet, filters, removing duplicates
INTRODUCTION TO FORMULAS
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Audience: All
Basic formula construction, formula builder, basic formulas
DATA QUALITY IN EXCEL
Level: Intermediate
Audience: All
Conditional formatting, sorting and filtering, find and replace, data cleaning, more formulas
PATTERNS AND TRENDS IN EXCEL
Level: Advanced
Audience: Program Managers, Data Coordinators/Managers
Finding stories in your data; pivot tables, charts, graphs, slicers, dashboard design
REPORTING TO FUNDERS WITH EXCEL
Level: Advanced
Audience: Program Managers, Data Coordinators/Managers
Pulling together data from multiple sources, date formulas, pivot tables, more formulas
“Data and Excel do not have to be scary. When we know how to use them, they can tell stories and can become part of the way we tell stakeholders about the great work our team is doing.”
– Haruko Watanabe, Program Manager, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Program, Navos
Training Pricing
Existing Trainings
We can provide one of our engaging and interactive trainings, specifically for the unique experiences of nonprofit staff, for groups of varying size. During the Covid pandemic, all of our workshops are conducted virtually, using Zoom.
Contact us with your group size and your annual budget (for pricing) for a customized quote: meredith@thecapacitycollective.org
Custom Trainings
We can work with you to create a custom training to meet the unique needs of your team on any number of topics related related to data, research or evaluation. Currently all of our trainings are conducted virtually, using Zoom.
Contact us with your needs and your annual budget (for pricing) for a customized quote: meredith@thecapacitycollective.org
