DataArts just dropped some neat videos on data literacy for arts nonprofits

“Data” can be a scary word. But DataArts knows it doesn’t need to be.

The organization formerly known as the Cultural Data Project serves arts and culture nonprofits across the continent with its web-based data collection and insight platform.

Yesterday, it launched Everyday Data, a series of videos about how four small arts nonprofits use data to plan ahead, assess their impact and tell their story to funders, along with some free online courses and reports on data literacy specifically for arts professionals:

• DanceWorks Chicago — Data for decision making
• Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble — Audience data essentials
• Sones de México — Financial data essentials
• Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project — Advocacy basics

The project stemmed from the understanding that funders often ask nonprofits to track their data — but “we don’t always do a great job of explaining to people what this means,” said Carise Mitch, DataArts’ communications and marketing director. That ask “can seem big and overwhelming,” especially for smaller and arts-focused organizations that have never done so before.

But tracking data can mean something as simple as tracking, say, whether people return to your theatre after they see a show on a free ticket.

“Data is just information, and organizations are taking in information every day. It’s just a question of framing it as … using information to make decisions,” Mitch said. “You can get really fancy, but you can [also] get really simple.”