Impactful reporting for charities with Looker Studio

My passion for all things tech started with programming a ZX81 as a kid and hasn't wavered during the 25+ years of working in the sector. Being at the helm of an agency (with my amazing business partner, Jack de Wolf) has meant that we have been able build something we are truly proud of. A brilliant team of committed, passionate individuals with a common aim - to use our skills and our 9-5 to use in making a positive difference through the work we do with our amazing charity clients.

Chris Todhunter, Founder and Technical Director

Introduction

In this blog, we explore how Looker Studio can revolutionise reporting for charities, through facilitating data-driven decisions, optimising strategies, and ensuring effective communication with stakeholders.

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The power of understanding data for charities

In today’s digital age, understanding data is crucial for charities looking to make informed decisions and demonstrate their impact. With clear, accessible reporting, charities can better understand their performance, identify trends, and make strategic adjustments to their campaigns.

We know that data visualisation and dashboards can help translate complex data into easily digestible insights. This not only supports internal decision-makers but also enhances transparency and trust among stakeholders, donors, and volunteers.

What is Looker Studio and How does it work?

Looker Studio is a powerful data analytics and visualisation platform that simplifies the process of gathering, analysing, and reporting data. By connecting to various data sources such as Google Analytics, social media platforms, and donor databases, Looker Studio provides a comprehensive view of a charity’s performance metrics all in one place.

Dashboards can be created bespoke to the charity that offer an up-to-date snapshot of key performance indicators (KPIs). This allows charities to track campaign performance, optimise strategies, and make data-driven decisions and we are on hand to collaborate with charities to support this process.

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Benefits of using Looker Studio for charitiess

One of the main benefits of Looker Studio for charities is its user-friendly interface, which makes it accessible to users without the need for specialised technical skills. This means that even small charities with limited resources can harness the power of data analytics.

Additionally, Looker Studio enables charities to create impactful reports that can be easily shared with stakeholders. These reports can boost engagement, raise awareness, and showcase the charity’s achievements in a compelling manner. The ability to visualise data effectively helps in building stronger relationships with donors and supporters.

Charities we have supported leveraging Looker Studio

We have had the pleasure of supporting a number of our clients with creating bespoke reports in Looker Studio, including Alcohol Change UK and Magistrates’ Association.

“Studio Republic built us Looker Studio reports to help us track, monitor, and report on our website and reporting. This has transformed the way we analyse and compare our year-on-year data, helping us to spot trends and key moments across the year and gaps in our user journeys. It has especially been helpful in looking at the insights of our web interactive tools and performance of our UTM codes. A huge thanks to Studio Republic for helping us to evolve our evaluation and reporting.”

Natalie Aminoff

Digital Marketing Manager - Alcohol Change UK

“The Looker Studio reports are great for getting top level numbers quickly when you don’t have time to do a deep dive in GA4. Most useful is seeing at a glance how content is performing, top downloads, and an overview of our audience stats like users and sessions.”

Maria Moore

Editor and Content Manager - Magistrates’ Association

Getting started: implementing Looker Studio in your charity

Bespoke reports can enhance a charity’s reporting capabilities as these reports pinpoint and show the key performance indicators in a digestible and understandable format. The process we take to implement reports for charity clients is broken down below.

Step 1

This process begins by understanding the unique objectives and challenges faced by each charity. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are identified through a collaborative approach with stakeholders to ensure they align with the organisation’s mission and goals. These KPIs might include metrics such as website traffic, donation growth, volunteer engagement, program impact, and financial efficiency.

Step 2

Once the KPIs are established, we set up connections to your systems and create tailored reports that capture and analyse the relevant data effectively.

Step 3

Training is given to our clients to instil confidence and ensure the reports are used to the maximum potential.

Step 4

We provide our clients with full access to Looker Studio which enables them to generate comprehensive reports that provide actionable insights. This ensures they can make informed decisions, improve transparency, and communicate their achievements and needs more clearly to donors, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders.

At any point, the reports can be reviewed and iterated upon to ensure it remains responsive to changing priorities and external requirements, which we can facilitate to ease the workload.

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Summary

Utilising platforms such as Looker Studio can provide so much impact for charities. The digestible insights provided within a report allow charities to track campaign performance, optimise strategy and share impactful reports with stakeholders. All of which helps boost engagement, raise awareness and make data-driven decisions without needing technical expertise.

Our team at Studio Republic is dedicated to helping you navigate these strategies to achieve your unique goals.