A Proven End-to-End Data Strategy for Federated Nonprofits

Civis has developed a solution framework to help federated organizations - such as chaptered nonprofits, consulting agencies, government agencies and more - build comprehensive unified data infrastructure that improves program measurement, management coordination, and - ultimately - cultural improvements between HQ and chapters.  

Federated Nonprofits face distinct data management and analytics challenges compared to traditional, centralized nonprofits. Addressing these challenges requires a fundamentally different approach to building a successful, cross-chapter data program. Our experience demonstrates that this can be achieved through a unique combination of AWS’s powerful infrastructure and Civis’s Analytics and AI Platform, supported by mission-driven subject matter expertise.

In the following sections, we’ll explore the unique data management and analytics challenges faced by Federated Nonprofits, outline our solution, and explain how we can implement our technology at scale. 

The Challenge: Federated Nonprofits have greater data challenges than centralized nonprofits.

Here are some of the differences we’ve seen in our work with centralized and federated organizations:

The result is that successful data transformations can take longer, cost more, and have higher failure risks. Here’s a short story from a chapter team that illustrates the challenges and dynamics between HQ and chapter leadership regarding data technology:

“Headquarters tells me and the other chapters that we need to implement a data infrastructure to standardize my reporting based on some recommended design that a consultant sent to us. They’ll provide some licenses, the consultant will give us some mandatory training, and that will be that. We have a 3-month deadline to get this done. 

But let’s be real: I don’t have the time, energy, or resources for this. I have some of my data in a legacy IT stack, I get self-reported data in 10 different spreadsheets with a bunch of pivot tables that we hate but we rely on, and I don’t have anybody to manage this because everyone has a day job serving the program. 

So, we’ll try - but I know where this is going to go because we’ve gone through it before - and we’ll probably just wait it out.”

So, what’s the right approach? The truth is, there’s no simple path to building a federated data and analytics program — it’s an inherently complex challenge. Here’s our approach. 

Our solution: the Modern Federated Data System

Enabling Technology: The Civis Platform

The heart of our federated data system is the Civis Platform: a comprehensive data management and analytics platform built on AWS infrastructure, specifically designed to meet the unique needs of federated nonprofits. Our customers include federated organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, Greenpeace International, the National Education Association, and USAID’s President’s Malaria Initiative. 

The Civis Platform offers four essential capabilities tailored to federated nonprofits:

Civis is a fully cloud-based platform that utilizes AWS Redshift as its back-end data warehouse and S3 for scalable data storage. Non-technical users can easily build and share reports with permissioned groups, while technical users can create advanced reports, analytics tools, or custom applications. Here are some of the key elements on our product page. 

Federated Data System Architecture 

A final federated data system can differ from one nonprofit to another, but every system we’ve implemented includes three essential layers:

1. Headquarters Layer: Core infrastructure for headquarters to unify data across their CRMs, self-serve analytics, build templated data models and reports for chapters, and view their chapters’ published dashboards. 
2. Chapter Layer: Core infrastructure for in-chapter teams to unify their own data, self-serve their analytics, and build standardized reports they can share with headquarters. 
3. Value Exchange Layer: A connective layer that facilitates the exchange of tools, templates, and data assets between headquarters and chapters.

Below is a representative diagram illustrating how we implement this system for a representative federated nonprofit: 

There are several key differences with this approach:

• The value exchange between HQ and chapters enhances collaboration: Successful federated nonprofits focus on creating value between headquarters and chapters from the start. Headquarters must provide infrastructure, templates, and support for requested reports, aiming to reduce implementation costs by 80%.
• It minimizes chapter disruption: This approach leaves chapters' systems unchanged. The Civis Platform on AWS integrates nonprofit CRMs and spreadsheets with minimal setup, easing technical demands on chapters. To accomplish this, Chapters receive private deployments or governed spaces in shared infrastructure. 
• It creates a flywheel of transformation: A self-sustaining flywheel fosters cross-chapter value creation. Chapters learn, grow, and enhance the system continuously.

Services to support this system:

Civis provides a comprehensive set of professional services to implement a cross-chapter, highly comprehensive federated data system. Here’s a page with the services we provide. 

Conclusion

We provide a powerful blend of critical infrastructure, a ready-to-use data platform made for federated nonprofits, and specialized expertise tailored for federated nonprofits. Our proven track record with nonprofits worldwide underscores our commitment to supporting organizations as they tackle complex challenges and build a data-driven future to advance their missions.