In nonprofit work, you gather, organize, and maintain copious amounts of data. But not all data is the same—some of it is numerical data (quantitative data), like the amount of money raised from major donors during a fundraising campaign. And, some of it is data that captures information that can’t be represented with a number (qualitative data), like testimonials from your beneficiaries about how your services affect their lives.
Understanding the differences between quantitative and qualitative data and how they complement each other is essential for gathering useful insights about your nonprofit’s impact on its community. Being data-savvy can also help you make informed decisions to improve your operations and serve your community more effectively. Let’s dig deeper into both types of data.
An Overview of Quantitative Data
Quantitative data is any data that can be given a numerical value and then measured and analyzed statistically, like key performance indicators (KPIs). This is the type of data you turn to when you want to quantify your impact and make precise comparisons between different variables.
Here are some examples of quantitative data points you might track and measure:
- The number of beneficiaries enrolled in a specific program
- Average major gift size
- The percentage of volunteers who are also donors
- Year-over-year donor retention rate
- Units of service provided (such as the number of hygiene kits distributed or pairs of shoes given)
- Number of volunteer hours contributed per month
- Social media follower counts across various platforms
An Overview of Qualitative Data
Qualitative data is information that can’t be summed up with numbers and instead focuses on the people in your organization’s community. It gives you insight into people’s characteristics, qualities, experiences, and behaviors. Since this type of data often takes a narrative or descriptive form, it brings your nonprofit’s stories to life, providing the necessary context to draw deeper meaning from the effects of your organization’s operations.
Here are some examples of qualitative data you might gather and learn from:
- Focus group feedback about one of your programs
- Open-ended survey question responses from board members
- Images and videos taken at your most recent fundraising event
- Testimonials from volunteers about their experience in your program
- Interviews with corporate sponsors who are invested in your cause
- Feedback and suggestions from beneficiaries about how your services could be improved
Key Differences
Clearly, quantitative and qualitative data are very different from each other. Let’s take a closer look at how the two types of data diverge:
Nature of the Data
- Quantitative data is numerical and easy to measure and interpret. It’s typically perceived as the more objective and precise type of data.
- Qualitative data is descriptive and is often used to explore people’s experiences with your organization. It helps to put a human face on specific aspects of your nonprofit’s operations, like certain programs or campaigns.
Purpose of the Data
- The purpose of quantitative data is to provide objective information you can use to assess your organization’s effectiveness and progress toward its goals.
- The purpose of qualitative data is to help you gain a fuller understanding of your community and how your organization influences its beneficiaries.
Collection Methods
- Quantitative data is tracked and measured over time and stored in numerical records. You likely already have access to a wealth of quantitative data in your organization’s CRM, financial records, fundraising platforms, and marketing tools. You can also gather quantitative data through public sources such as census data or academic studies.
- Qualitative data has to be gathered more intentionally. You can collect it by snapping photos at an event, asking questions on external-facing documents like waivers or signup forms, conducting interviews, and hosting focus groups.
Analysis Techniques
- Quantitative data requires statistical analysis to uncover changes and patterns across time.
- Qualitative data calls for thematic analysis, which involves codifying your data and extracting common themes.
Both types of analysis can quickly get complicated, especially if your nonprofit doesn’t have a data expert on its team or you’re working with tremendous amounts of data. This is why many organizations choose to work with a data scientist or invest in an impact measurement and management platform to handle this part of the process for them.
How the Data Is Presented
- Quantitative data is best understood through visualizations like charts, graphs, and tables that make it easy to see trends and patterns.
- Qualitative data is often presented in written form (blog posts, quotes, etc.) but can also take visual forms (i.e., pictures and videos).
The Importance of Both Types of Data
Though quantitative and qualitative data are distinct types of information, the truth is that you need both to get a holistic view of your organization’s impact.
Numbers alone aren’t enough to paint a full picture of what your organization does and why it matters, and narratives can’t communicate everything about your nonprofit’s impact on their own. By integrating both types of data, you can measure the scale and effectiveness of your operations as well as the depth and quality of your work.
So, whether you’re preparing to assess one of your organization’s programs or to create a comprehensive impact report, look for ways that you can bring quantitative and qualitative data together. Here are a few examples of what this might look like in practice:
- You take a look at the number of students who passed their math class last year thanks to your nonprofit’s tutoring program. When you report this information, you combine this statistic with stories from students who explain how your program helped them improve their study skills and math comprehension.
- Ahead of a new fundraising campaign, you analyze your donor retention rates and average donation amounts. You also reach out to your donors and ask for their feedback on your past fundraising strategies. You use all of this information to make careful improvements to your plan ahead of the campaign.
- In your nonprofit’s annual report, you share some statistics about your annual gala to show how important it is to your organization, such as the number of attendees and the event’s fundraising total. You bring the numbers to life by including a collection of photos from the gala alongside this information.
Quantitative data and qualitative data are two very different types of information. To truly know how well your nonprofit is delivering on its mission, you need to be able to understand and work with both.
However, understanding the differences between quantitative and qualitative data doesn’t mean using one or the other exclusively. The best way to understand your nonprofit’s impact and effectiveness is to integrate these two types of data to get a full, comprehensive understanding of your work.
