3 Tips for Sharing Program Data with your Board

Is your board curious about your organization’s programs?  Or are you looking for opportunities to spark that curiosity?  Either way, sharing program data can help!  When board members follow your program’s high-level metrics, your staff and leadership become more closely aligned on your organization’s measures of success. And that’s a win!  To get started bringing this strategy to your organization, check out our top three tips for successfully sharing program data with your Board. 

Train Board Members on Your Program’s Essential Metrics

Don’t assume that your board members know what programs you run, let alone the key metrics you use to determine their success!  Train your board on the program data you value most, taking the time to articulate why each data point matters. (Is it aligned to your strategic plan?  Is it required by your lead funder?)  Connecting these dots is essential if you genuinely seek your board members’ strategic support in using the data to make informed decisions for your organization. Of course, data training can get a bit dry, so be sure to check out these tips to make your board training interactive.

Maintain a Data Dashboard for your Board

Data dashboards are effective tools for tracking real-time data for your organization. If your program team is consistently monitoring several key metrics throughout the year, it may be time to create a data dashboard. A data dashboard can make it easier for you to consistently showcase your program’s progress to your board. To create and share dashboards, try free platforms like Google Sheets or check out TechSoup for reduced pricing on paid platforms. You may also consider creating a series of customized dashboards with unique data points for unique audiences. This way, your finance team can explore financials, your directors can dig into required grant metrics, and your board can focus its attention on the most essential, high-level measures of success. 

Find the Balance Between Words and Images

Some information is best shared through images, not words. Research tells us that 65% of the population are visual learners. For your organization, that means about 65% of your Board Members probably won’t find that 50-page technical report as valuable as you had hoped. To avoid having to overexplain or potentially losing your audience, ground yourself in effective data communication tips and tricks. These include selecting clear headers, meaningful icons or images, and appropriate charts to highlight the most important program data for your Board to explore.