CGI skilled volunteers conducted a data analysis to help Profound Gentlemen do more to support male educators of color
G.A.I.N. – Powered by Lowe’s
Profound Gentleman is on a mission is to build a community of male educators of color who provide a profound additional impact on boys of color. Their goal is to develop, support and retain highly effective male teachers of color across the nation to positively affect the academic achievement of all children in traditional public and charter schools, with particular attention to the achievement of boys of color.
Apparo’s G.A.I.N. (Growth, Agility and Innovation for Nonprofits) Grant Program provides nonprofit participants with the tools, training and other support they need to implement and sustain their technology and process improvements. G.A.I.N. delivers a one-year journey of technology and process improvement to a cohort of nonprofits to help them overcome their technology challenges and amplify their nonprofit impact. The G.A.I.N. program is generously sponsored by Lowe’s.
Profound Gentlemen has been collecting survey data from the Gentlemen they serve for the past eight years (~200-300 surveys total) using Google. The surveys are collected mid-year, end-of-year and also after Gentlemen attend specific conferences. Profound Gentlemen was in need of a partner to analyze the survey data they have collected in order to identify trends, impacts and other important metrics that could help them tell their story of impact over the years and also give them the power to make data driven decisions.
In this phase of their G.A.I.N. journey, skilled volunteers from CGI and Baringa worked to analyze survey data for each survey type to better understand the meaning behind the data. Volunteers analyzed trends and themes, the impact created and value delivered, and other key metrics that will allow the organization to spread awareness of their mission to their most important constituents. They also provided important insights on how to improve the organization’s survey design going forward.
- Nonprofit Team: Profound Gentleman
- Leah Rapley
- Wayne Terrell
- Volunteer Team: Baringa
- Amar Keshani
- Ryan McBride
- Yev Nikitin
- Volunteer Team: CGI
- Venkatesh Kulkarni
- Tristen Spruill
- Jon Daniele
- Prasad Nair
- G.A.I.N. Mentor: Divergent IT
- Matthew Galimi
Nonprofit data analysis and improved survey design will help Profound Gentlemen deepen their impact on educators of color and the students they support.
Upon completion of this project, we checked in with Leah Rapley, Director of Development, and Wayne Terrell, Senior Impact Director, to learn about the significance of this work and its anticipated impact.
Leah shares, “When the volunteers asked us, we really didn’t know what we wanted to know from the data. We knew we had good data and that there was something in there. We needed to make sure we could communicate our outcomes and impact measures when telling our story. We knew we needed to be more granular and more specific on how we’re moving the needle in the education field.
“One of our goals is to strengthen retention of male educators of color and become thought leaders in this space. The data analysis will help us identify which methods are most effective, so that we can help increase retention moving forward.
“Having stronger data will help us with fundraising. Foundations invest in projects because they want to learn and measure their impact. When they know you have data and knowledge, they want to align with you. We will be better able to report on our impact on ongoing basis, which builds integrity into our work and strengthens our reputation as an organization. This will help us grow. ”
Wayne adds, “The insights from the data will help save time, from a strategic planning perspective. I have a better road map for my department. I know where to focus my time, so that we drive impact going forward. I’m excited about our ability to launch new programs and increase our impact that on all the educators we support, so that they can do more to positively support their students.”
They also shared that by implementing the survey design described by the volunteers, they will be able to:
- Reduce risk of duplicate, dirty and unnecessary data
- Save time spent of data analysis time
- Improve their ability to assess trends over time
Project participants shared their appreciation for this opportunity to work together
Leah Rapley: “We will use this data to continue to progress in our field and share how we have made impact over the years. I am grateful for that and appreciative of everyone that that worked on the project.”
Yev Nikitin: “My education made a very big impact on my life. It felt so good to be a part of driving the impact of work in the education space; it was personally rewarding.”
Tristen Spruill: “I had a great time working on this project. I want to thank Apparo and Profound Gentlemen for giving us the opportunity.”
Ryan McBride: “Getting the opportunity to help Profound Gentlemen tell their impact story through data was extremely fulfilling. The PG team is one of a kind, and I look forward to seeing how they continue to provide invaluable support to black male educators for years to come.”
