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Measuring the Value of Nonprofit Data Portals: An i4 Case Study on Backlinks as a Relevance Metric The information ecology of civil society is very rich, especially as it concerns the passionate issues that drive nonprofits and their supporters to do the work they do. But when it concerns information about nonprofits themselves, many thoughtful observers have been frustrated by the challenges involved in learning what people think of particular organizations, how well organizations perform, and so forth. Among the prevailing efforts to address these challenges are websites that aggregate information about nonprofits. In this case study, we call them “Nonprofit Data Portals”. We use publicly accessible information on two of these portals to explore a question that is of importance to almost every nonprofit: How do we measure the success of our online content? More specifically, how do we know that our content is relevant to the people we’re trying to inform? [Read More] Order Here |
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Exploring Email Marketing: An i4 Case Study on Applied Research Email remains the foundational online practice of most nonprofits that are serious about marketing. This wasn’t always the case. In April 2001, we conducted exploratory research into the email related practices of nonprofits who were active online in some way. This research gave rise to the Email Newsletter Marketing Model. In our ongoing effort to demonstrate use of the I4 framework for thinking about program planning and evaluation, this story serves as an excellent example of how business intelligence (in this case, our email survey results) can produce valuable insights (in this case, the marketing model). Because this was exploratory research, we start the case study with intelligence gathering. [Read More] Order Here |
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Grantmaker Collaboration: An i4 Case Study on Talking the Talk vs. Walking the Walk In philanthropic circles, collaboration is one of those “it goes without saying” ideas. In other words, it’s widely regarded as a good thing and rarely debated. But does it really go without saying? In a report on some of the largest private foundations in the U.S., The Gilbert Center compared how grantmakers talk about collaboration online and what they actually do about it. This case study examines that research through the lens of The Gilbert Center’s i4 Framework. [Read More] Order Here |
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Pageviews vs. Visitors: An i4 Case Study of Web Analytics Web analytics are among the most widespread metrics challenges. Using The Gilbert Center’s i4 framework, this case study examines an actual conflict between two different measurements of web success: visits and pageviews. [Read More] Order Here |