When the Co-op coaches special education leaders, one of our main objectives is to help them build strong, data-driven systems that allow their team to focus their time and energy on what matters most – student outcomes. This year we are taking our own advice and looking inward at our organization’s systems! Just like charter schools, small nonprofits like the Co-op need to maximize every resource to support our staff and serve our community.
The Co-op’s most recent strategic plan included organizational efficiency as a priority for the organization. By focusing on streamlining and improving our internal systems we can increase our capacity and better serve our members. One area we knew was impeding our work was our data systems. Our team needed help to better visualize data and capture metrics on program impacts. We connected with Compass Pro Bono, an organization that connects purpose-driven volunteers with nonprofits for free consulting services. Compass assigned us a team of data experts and we got to work!
Over the course of several months we worked closely with the team at Compass to analyze our data systems to answer two key questions:
- How can we enhance our capacity to utilize data effectively for informed decision-making and articulating the Co-op’s value to stakeholders?
- Does our current data collection align with our strategic goals and is it the “right” data to tell our story?
Working with Compass helped us identify where we need to maximize our data systems to support our organization’s growth and expanded programming. Our team has grown by 30% in the past 5 years and we’re spending more time training, coaching, and building strong special education programs throughout DC than ever. With this growth comes the need for better tools to automate reporting, reduce workload, and empower our team to tell success stories with compelling data. With the help of our Compass volunteers we are entering FY26 with a data and technology roadmap aligned with our strategic plan. Overhauling systems takes time and resources, but just like we tell our schools, building strong systems now will allow us to focus our future time and energy on what matters most – our members and the students they serve.
Thanks to Hari, Niels, Jennifer, Melanie, Punita, and Chris – our fabulous Compass Pro Bono team for challenging and holding us accountable in this work. The journey continues, but we have the support we need to keep moving forward toward our goals.