Little Data Solutions

Little Data Solutions Little Data Solutions helps nonprofits of all shapes and sizes with their analytics and data needs.

If your nonprofit's data feels like a mess right now, I promise you're not doing anything wrong.Most of the organization...
06/19/2026

If your nonprofit's data feels like a mess right now, I promise you're not doing anything wrong.

Most of the organizations I work with are stretched thin — not enough time, not enough hands, and software that was never really set up to work for them in the first place. Of course things feel chaotic.

When I'm working with a new client, I always say: don't try to fix everything at once. Just find the one thing that feels the most unclear or frustrating. That's almost always the right place to start — and it's usually where things start to click.

For a long time, the role of data in many organizations was simple: report what already happened.Monthly dashboards. Qua...
06/16/2026

For a long time, the role of data in many organizations was simple: report what already happened.

Monthly dashboards. Quarterly reports. End of year summaries. These are all still useful, but they're not the end goal.

More orgs are starting to ask a different question: "What decisions should this data help us make?" When reports shift from documenting history to guiding action, they become far more valuable.

💡 The best data reports don't just explain the past, they help shape the next decision.

It's easy to jump straight into analyzing data. But a lot of time can be spent analyzing data that never gets used. So l...
06/12/2026

It's easy to jump straight into analyzing data. But a lot of time can be spent analyzing data that never gets used. So let's take a quick pause and make the work much more valuable.

Before you dig into the numbers, ask yourself:

1️⃣ What decision are we trying to make?
2️⃣ Who needs the insight?
3️⃣ What action could this drive?

Answering these questions help make sure the analysis actually supports something meaningful instead of becoming an interesting report that sits on a shelf somewhere.

💡 Analysis should always be connected to decisions that move work forward.

With AI everywhere right now, the word "data-driven" has started to feel a little intimidating — like if you're not runn...
06/10/2026

With AI everywhere right now, the word "data-driven" has started to feel a little intimidating — like if you're not running machine learning models or letting an algorithm make your decisions, you're somehow behind.
That misconception is real, and it's creating a quiet kind of imposter syndrome for a lot of nonprofit leaders and staff. Like, if we're not doing all of this, are we even data-driven at all?

Here's the thing: data-driven work can start really small. Looking at your donor history — whether that's in a spreadsheet or a CRM report — to figure out the best segmentation strategy for your next appeal? That's data-driven. That counts.

When an organization describes itself as "data-driven," it doesn't mean decisions are made entirely by numbers with no human element. That's rarely how effective orgs work. Data alone seldom tell the complete story, and strong decision-making usually involves both. Numbers can highlight patterns and outcomes, but they don't always explain why something is happening. Experience, context, and human insight will always play an important role.

💡 Data and intuition aren't opposites. They're partners. And you don't need AI to get started — you just need to start.

A lot of this work isn’t really about numbers.It’s about those moments where you’re looking at a report and thinking…“th...
06/08/2026

A lot of this work isn’t really about numbers.

It’s about those moments where you’re looking at a report and thinking…
“this doesn’t make sense.”

I see this all the time. You’re already doing so much with limited time and resources and your systems aren’t always set up to support you.

So things feel confusing
or harder than they should be.

What I actually do is help you move from
“this doesn’t make sense”

to
“okay… I know what to do next.”

And once you have that kind of clarity,
everything starts to feel a little easier to manage.

Nonprofits and mission-driven organizations are out there doing incredibly important work — and sometimes all they need ...
06/05/2026

Nonprofits and mission-driven organizations are out there doing incredibly important work — and sometimes all they need is someone to help them show it. That's my favorite part of this job. Taking the data that already exists and helping it actually mean something to the people who need to see it.

Polk County Housing Trust Fund, thank you for this beautiful review. Working with your team was such a joy, and we can't wait to do it again.

Why work with me?Most of the nonprofits I work with aren't starting from scratch. They've got data. They've got tools. T...
06/03/2026

Why work with me?

Most of the nonprofits I work with aren't starting from scratch. They've got data. They've got tools. They've even got reports...kind of.

What they don't have is a system that actually works for how their team operates day to day.

I've had clients who were spending a full week every quarter just pulling numbers from different places to build a board report. Manually. Every time.

I've had others who couldn't tell you which donors were at risk of lapsing because their CRM was set up for data entry, not decision making. A little reorganization changed that.

The work I do doesn't look dramatic from the outside, but when a team goes from dreading their reporting process to actually trusting what they're looking at, then that is a success!

If you've ever thought "I know the information is in here somewhere" about your nonprofit's systems, that's probably where I come in.

06/02/2026

I had a great time presenting on this topic, and the team at CharityHowTo.com did an awesome job turning it into a resource nonprofits can actually use. If your organization is drowning in data but struggling to make real decisions from it, this is worth a read. We dig into how to simplify your KPI framework, what metrics actually matter, and how to build dashboards that drive strategy instead of just collecting dust.

Give it a read: https://blog.charityhowto.com/how-to-build-a-smarter-fundraising-kpi-dashboard

Welcome to part 3 of my series: CRM Spring Clean Up 🌱We've covered constituent records, households, addresses, and givin...
05/29/2026

Welcome to part 3 of my series: CRM Spring Clean Up 🌱

We've covered constituent records, households, addresses, and giving records. Today we're finishing with three areas that don't always get attention but really should.

📨 Acknowledgements and Letters
☐ Review your active acknowledgment templates — remove anything outdated, duplicate, or mislabeled
☐ Check that your tax language is consistent across all templates
☐ Make sure in-kind letters are not mentioning the value of the donated item — that's the donor's job to determine, not yours

🗂️ Segmentation and Reporting Readiness
☐ Can you identify board members, staff, volunteers, and estates without digging through notes?
☐ Check whether critical reporting information is hiding in free-text note fields — if it is, it's at risk
☐ Run a duplicate check and merge where appropriate, but review relationships and giving history first

⚙️ System Settings
☐ Review user access levels — not everyone needs admin rights
☐ Remove former staff and volunteers — inactive users are a compliance and security risk

If you've made it through all three parts of this series, your database is in better shape than most.

And if you got to the end of this list and thought "we need help actually doing this" — that's exactly what I do. CRM assessments and cleanup are one of my specialties! Feel free to reach out.

Yesterday we talked about constituent records and households. This week we're getting into the stuff that directly affec...
05/28/2026

Yesterday we talked about constituent records and households. This week we're getting into the stuff that directly affects your budget and your compliance.

Welcome to part 2 of my series: CRM Spring Clean Up 🌱

Outdated addresses cost real money if you're mailing. And giving records that don't align with your finance team's structure make reconciliation a nightmare every single year.

Here's what to check on today:

📍 Addresses and Contact Info

☐ Audit how many records have no usable mailing address — is that intentional?

☐ Remove any names or notes that have crept into address fields

☐ Schedule an address hygiene update (NCOA or equivalent) if you mail regularly

☐ Scan for malformed emails and phone numbers

☐ Confirm opt-outs and contact restrictions are actually being tracked

🤝 Giving Records and Fundraising Hygiene

☐ Review your campaigns and funds — do they align with how finance reconciles?

☐ Check for old or duplicate funds cluttering your lists

☐ Audit non-deductible benefit tracking for events and sponsorships — are you acknowledging those correctly?

That last one catches a lot of people off guard. Event sponsorships and registrations are often not 100% tax deductible, and your acknowledgment letters need to reflect that.

Tomorrow part 3: acknowledgements, segmentation, and system settings.

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