The Data Story Your Board Actually Wants to Hear

We all know the feeling – you’ve gathered your information, metrics, data, and trends and are presenting to your board. You’re diving into the data. KPI’s! Analytics! The facts and figures roll off your tongue, and are boldly displayed on your powerpoint. Trends and shown – graphs and charts. You look out and see…. Blank stares.  

“But they love facts and data!” you say to yourself. “They’re always asking for more data. Why do they look like they’re about to fall asleep?”  

The problem may not be with your data, but your data story. If you present your board with endless numbers and figures, you’re giving them data points, sure. But those points don’t paint a picture until you connect the dots. Your data story is what they’re really interested in.  

Take a step back and ask: What is the data telling you?  

 Start with that. Work on your headline, and keep it short and memorable.  

“Donors are down but average gift is up”  

“Donor retention increases year over year”  

“Event sponsorships grow at double digit pace”  

“Gifts from donor advised funds triple in past two years”  

All of the great data you track is ultimately to give you a picture of what’s happening in your development office – which areas need more attention, where the growth is, and where your donors are. Think of all these data points like a meteorologist looks at barometric pressure, wind speed, and dew points. It might be fascinating to you. But the guy watching the news just wants to know if it’s going to rain tomorrow or be sunny.  

So start with the story, and then let the data points back up your story. Once you have the story set, the question becomes do you have the right data to tell this story? What else might give you a clearer picture? Is your data informing your decisions? What might give you better information to help make a decision?  

Boards are there to support, encourage, participate in (that’s important), and lend expertise. You’re there, as the development director, to make the decisions – sometimes with your CEO / ED, and sometimes on your own. The data story your board wants to hear is the story of trends, directions, and how your activities are making a difference.