Science-Based Decision Making for Nonprofits

We make decisions all day every day. From something as simple as deciding what to wear to things more complex like deciding what fundraiser to launch.?

You are making decisions all the time at your nonprofit, but how do you arrive at your decisions? Is it a random process? Or do you have a decision making process and evidence to support your decisions?

In episode 57 of the Lead with Heart podcast, Sheela Mahajan , CEO of the Nonprofit Science Institute, shared how you can use scientific reasoning to make informed decisions backed by evidence that lead to significant outcomes.

I’ll add the episode player below so you can tune into the full episode where we discuss practical strategies for science-based decision making.

During our conversation, Sheela shared that as a young leader, having a decision making process to fall back on was helpful for her, not only in making decisions but in being confident that her decisions were backed by evidence.

So, in this article, we’re going to learn more about making data-driven decisions in your nonprofit.

1. The Signals Framework for Decision Making?
2. Approaching Problems with Curiosity
3. The Signals Framework Case Study

1. The Signals Framework for Decision Making

I recently shared that many people face a level of imposter syndrome because we're put into leadership roles, but we're not trained. We're not given the education we need, but we're expected to do it all.

“We have these unprecedented problems in our space because we're solving these really pernicious problems. How is one person supposed to tackle that? Where do you even begin?” - Sheela Mahajan

Sheela explained that if you're standing in front of your board of directors and they ask you how you came to your decision, you can’t always say it seemed like the best thing to do.

You're going to have to back up your decision with some information.?

To do this, Sheela came up with the Signals Framework which is essentially a derivative of the scientific method.?

She shared that framework with us:

1. Identify the Problem

“It starts with identifying the problem and getting really specific on what that problem is.” - Sheela Mahajan

2. Gather Information and Generate a Hypothesis

“What information do we have about our problem? What information can inform our decision making process based on the information we have? What hypotheses can we generate?” - Sheela Mahajan

3. Test Your Hypothesis

“You're going to run an experiment. Investigate how you can test out that hypothesis, and then analyze the data and figure out if your hypothesis was true or false.” - Sheela Mahajan

If your hypothesis was right then you have potentially solved your problem, if not, you can start the cycle again.

“For me, going through iterations of that cycle really helped me conquer those imposter thoughts. They seem so disconnected - imposter syndrome and this process of scientific thinking - but to me, it was the thing that made all the difference.” - Sheela Mahajan

2. Approaching Problems with Curiosity

In the nonprofit sector, experimenting with fundraising and marketing is not something that is widely encouraged.?

“Science is a way that we approach problems with scientific thinking. To me, that means having a sense of curiosity and questioning the way that we operate.” - Sheela Mahajan?

Here are some examples of approaching things with a sense of curiosity that Sheela shared:

1. Writing an Appeal Letter

If you want to raise a certain amount of money from an email, how do you know what to say in that email?

“The simplest thing to do is to test it out.” - Sheela Mahajan

Luckily, we have the benefit of running a split test in this case. You can send half your donors one email and half your donors a different email and see which one performs better.

2. Working with People in a Leadership Position

This is a more complicated example. What do you do if you’re in a leadership position and someone isn’t performing?

In this case, Sheela explains that you don’t necessarily have to run an experiment.

Can we be curious about why this person isn't performing? Let's ask some good questions to achieve the positive outcome we want.?

3. The Signals Framework Case Study

Sheela shared a success story where the application of scientific thinking resulted in significant measurable outcomes.

One of Sheela’s clients ran into an issue where they didn’t have the staff capacity to steward the amount of donors they had.

“The top 10,000 plus dollar donors were getting a very high touch workflow [...] but then they had this huge cohort in the middle who was giving a significant amount of money [...] but they didn't have the staff capacity to give them those high touch interactions.” - Sheela Mahajan

They needed a way to engage with those donors without draining resources. Without curiosity, the natural tendency would have been to hire another staff person to steward this cohort of donors

However, they came up with an experiment to try a virtual stewardship process. They sent an email thanking the donors for their recent gift and gave them the option of a Zoom call.

These calls were to thank the donor and give them information about upcoming events or other ways to get involved.

“These Zoom calls are such a simple process. Let's just test it out and see if it works. If it doesn't work, no harm there.” - Sheela Mahajan

Sheela explains that the campaign has really taken off.

“Donors seem to love the idea. They want to connect with us as an organization [...] but even they don't have the time to meet up for lunch. [...] It ended up being this win for the donor and for the organization.” - Sheela Mahajan

Sheela explains that this outcome would not have been possible if the organization wasn’t curious and creative in solving their problem.

In conclusion, integrating scientific reasoning into your decision making process can transform how your nonprofit tackles challenges. Your nonprofit will be able to approach challenges with greater clarity and achieve more impactful results.

Nonprofit teams often work in silos, which can lead to staff burnout and donor attrition, ultimately, hurts the people we serve. I help nonprofits raise more money through fundraising training, “done for you” fund development strategy, and campaign implementation.?

?? If you want to learn more about ways we can collaborate and work together, please visit my website, https://thesavvyfundraiser.com/ .

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