Nonprofit managers are badgered to conduct operations like a for-profit businesses, and then criticized if they do.

The fact is, however, that nonprofits can operate with business intelligence, as outlined by Katie Beth DeSchepper and Hilary Shore in “Analytics-Driven Fundraising” published by Blackbaud.

What is business intelligence? The authors describe it as an approach that moved beyond simply being retrospective into a focus on forward-looking initiatives. Sophisticated analytical techniques are now used not only to describe what happened but also to predict what will happen and thus provide a competitive advantage.

They maintain that different roles throughout an organization are enabled to answer questions that might previously have been unanswerable. Such as:

• How is the profile of our supporter base changing over time?
• How can we monitor key growth, revenue and profitability metrics across our organization?
• How can we identify the programs or channels contributing the largest portion of revenue?
• Which aspects of a supporter’s profile are most closely aligned with key segments, such as sustainers?
• How can reunion attendance, student activities and demographics help identify young donors?
• How do we link channel preference with an advocate’s likelihood to give?
• How can we quantify the lifetime value and break-even point of acquisition groups?
• What is the true value of our last multichannel campaign?