AI Charts Can Fool You. Here's How to Avoid That.

When four of the world's leading data visualization experts used AI to remake the same chart, they were thrilled with the results. Aesthetically gorgeous. Impressive. Done.

Then someone checked the numbers.

Some of the key performance indicators were wrong. And here's the thing: these are not beginners. These are people who have spent careers thinking critically about data. Yet a polished-looking output threw them off. As one of them put it, "if something looks pretty, we love it, and it weakens our defenses against verifying the numbers."

That's the core risk of AI-assisted data work. It's not that AI always gets things wrong. It's that when it gets things wrong, it does so confidently, and the output often looks too good to question. Imagine asking AI to summarize your program's outcome data, and it reports that 68% of participants improved. Even though that number may sound plausible, it could be calculated on the wrong group. If you didn't pause to ask where that number came from, you might repeat it to a funder.

So how do you protect yourself? Ask AI one question at a time, and check each answer against what you already know before moving on. And always ask: does this result match what I'd expect based on my experience with my community or programs? If something looks off, trust that instinct. It's a signal to slow down, not speed up.

The good news: you don't need to be a data expert to catch AI's mistakes. You need to know your data and apply the same critical eye you'd bring to any summary someone handed you. The tools have changed. That habit of mind hasn't.

Drawn from Chart Chat 71: Supercharge v. Sabotage, with Jeffrey Shaffer, Steve Wexler, Amanda Makulec, and Andy Cotgreave. Watch the full episode here.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Sure Data Confuses You. You Are An Early Human.

Here’s a great article which suggests that, if we avoid a large catastrophe, we may be living at the early beginnings of human history. That is sort of mind-boggling. But even if we are not early humans, we are certainly at the beginning of our journey with data.

We aren’t so good at processing words and numbers and making sense of them. Think about the last time you looked at a spreadsheet and got the gist of it in a few seconds. By contrast, we can all get the gist of a photo in less than a few seconds. That’s because our brains have evolved over millions of years to process visual information — color, shape, size, placement — at lightening speed. Indeed, our survival depended on it. Think about detecting predators in the tall grass at a distance.

Processing words and numbers is a quite recent activity for humans, as the timeline below shows. Perhaps, as our brains evolve, we will be able to discern a spreadsheet at a glance. But, until then, we should consider visualizing our data by translating words and numbers into color, shape, size, and placement in the form of charts, maps, and graphs.

AI, in my opinion, makes data visualization even more important. It allow us to see our data ourselves which, in turn, helps us to have more productive interactions with AI about our data. Our grasp of the data leads to asking AI better questions and to better assessment of the quality and relevance of its answers.

To see past data tips, click HERE.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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The Why of the Y (Axis)

Reposted from May 2018

Here’s one of my first data tips. It’s number 29! (I’ve now posted more than 300.) But the advice is evergreen.

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When was the last time you pondered the Y-axis? Wait, you might be thinking, what’s the Y-axis again? In a typical chart (think bar chart, line graph), it’s the vertical axis. For example, in a bar chart, the Y-axis indicates the length of the bars and thus how much of something is in a category or at a certain point in time. The categories or time periods are indicated along the horizontal or X-axis. You might recall from your middle school days that the X and Y axes are part of the Cartesian coordinate system that René Descartes (pictured here) invented in the 17th century.

What's to ponder about a Y-axes? Well, at least two questions:

1. What should be the lowest and highest number on the axis?

2. What should be the interval between numbers on the axis?

The lowest point is called the “origin.” It’s where the Y and X axes intersect. Much has been written about the importance of starting the Y-axis at zero because, when you don’t, you can make a small difference look like a big one (see the two bar charts below for a case in point.) However, when all the numbers you are charting are not anywhere near zero, then starting at zero can make differences hard to detect (see the two line graphs below for examples.) And, if your high points are too high, your data will be crammed into the upper part of your chart, leaving a lot of useless empty space below.

Think of the low point and the high point as reference points for your data. Do you want to show progress compared to historic low or high points? Do you want to show progress in relation to goals? The answer to such questions will help you decide where to start and end your Y-axis.

As for what falls in between these two points, you should consider the range of your data points and how much accuracy and ease your viewer will want. If the data ranges from 2 to 12 with slight differences between points, then you might want intervals of .01. However, if the data ranges from 6 to 10,000, then intervals of 10, 100, or even 1,000 might be sufficient to give viewers a general, easy-to-interpret sense of the data.

If you’d like to ponder the Y-axis a bit further, check out this great video from Vox.

See other data tips in this series for more information on how to effectively visualize and make good use of your organization's data.

Frans Hals - Portret van René Descartes, André Hatala [e.a.] (1997) De eeuw van Rembrandt, Bruxelles: Crédit communal de Belgique, ISBN 2-908388-32-4.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Why You Should Know About Connected Dot Plots

Reposted from May 2022

Let me introduce you to the connected dot plot. The name might not ring a bell, but I think you’ll recognize the face. It’s a pretty intuitive and useful chart for nonprofits.

Active Ingredients (What is a connected dot plot?)

A connected dot plot, aka “dumbbell plot,” shows the differences between two categories or two points in time. Usually circles indicate the values of each category or time period. For example, this segment of a larger chart from Pew Research Center gives us an intuitive way of comparing two age groups on their social media use. We can easily see where the gap is larger (Germany) and smaller (India). The stats to the right help to distinguish lines that are close in length such as the ones for Germany and France. Here are instructions for creating a connected dot plot with Tableau and Excel.

Source: Pew Research Center

Uses

Connected dot plots can be much more effective in showing differences or changes over time than their more popular cousin: the grouped bar chart. Check out the two examples below which show the average score (on a five point scale) among respondents to a survey in 2018 and 2019. See which gives you a better sense of the change over time.

Grouped Bar Chart

Connected Dot Plot

Warnings

In the examples above, the relative positions of the two categories or time points are the same in all cases: social media use was always greater in the younger group of users than in the older group, and the average score was always higher in 2019 than in 2018. What should you do when the positions flip flop? A good strategy is to call out these direction changes using arrows, colors, and/or legends as in this chart:

Fun Facts

Connected dot plots are sometimes called “Cleveland dot plots,” named for William Cleveland who, along with Robert McGill, studied different types of “encodings” in charts such as the length of a line, the area of a “slice” of a circle, and the position of a point along a common scale. They looked at what types of encodings humans decode most easily and, based on their findings, they designed a chart well-suited for human perception: the connected or “Cleveland” dot plot.

To see past data tips, including those about other chart types, click HERE.

Sources: Storytelling With Data and UC Business Analytics R Programming Guide

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Ideas You Should Steal From This Viz (Installment 7)

Reposted from April 2023

Today I offer up yet another steal-worthy viz: Emergency Calls Dashboard created with Tableau by Pradeep Kumar G. This one is genius. It seems to defy basic graphic design rules. It includes many charts and lots of small text and numbers and yet it’s readable and not overwhelming.

As you can see, the charts are contained within four rectangular views, each with the dimensions of a phone screen. Tableau dashboards can include layouts for different types of devices with varying screen sizes. When you publish these layouts, people viewing your dashboard experience a design optimized for their device (phone, tablet, or desktop.)

If you view the Emergency Calls Dashboard with a phone, you will see just one of the four views and can use the icons at the bottom of the screen to navigate to the other views, as shown in the image to the right.

Effective phone layouts usually:

• Limit a dashboard’s focus and content (you can only get so much on this small canvas),

• Reduce interactivity (dealing with filters on a phone can be annoying*), and

• Use a vertical orientation (vertical scrolling is easier than horizontal scrolling).

The Emergency Calls Dashboard has all of these features, so the phone view works quite well. Indeed, these phone views are so effective that they also work when laid out side-by-side in the desktop view.

When building dashboards for multiple device types, dashboard designers often start with the desktop view and then simplify that larger, more detailed design for the phone view. The Emergency Calls Dashboard demonstrates the benefit of beginning with the phone view. If you design a simple, readable phone view that makes effective use of its limited canvas, you can use this design to fit more information in the desktop or tablet layout. Even if you aren’t designing for multiple screen sizes, following the tips for effective phone layouts will serve you well, opening up possibilities for including more data in one view without overwhelming the user.

I’ve embedded the dashboard below so that you can interact with it.

*The Tableau Mobile app optimizes filters for phones, making them pop and easier to use. It also allows for logical scrolling, swiping, pinching, and zooming. However, some of your users may not use the app.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Ideas You Should Steal From This Viz (Installment 13)

Reposted from September 2024

“All creative work builds on what came before.” —Austin Kleon in Steal Like An Artist.

Today I offer up another steal-worthy interactive viz that I came across in the Tableau Public Gallery. Scroll down to see what you should steal from it.

Source: Nir Smilga on Tableau Public

Here’s what I suggest you steal from this viz:

• Small Multiples. To highlight each country and to allow for easy comparisons across countries, Smilga created one small chart per country and placed them alongside each other, aka a “small multiples chart.”

• Gray comparison trends. While Smilga highlights the trend for the featured country in each chart using color, the trends for other countries are also in each chart but in a light gray. This allows us to easily compare the trend for the featured country to that of others in general.

• Color distinguishes trend types. Recent downward trends are highlighted in red, and recent upward trends are highlighted in blue.

• Choose your view. Smilga allows the viewer to customize the view by selecting the number of columns, time period, and countries shown.

To see past data tips, click HERE.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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"I Am This Stat”: Pairing Charts with Human Stories

Reposted from September 2025

Numbers show scale. Stories show stakes.

If your chart says “12% of local teens have dropped out of school,” that’s powerful. But you add meaning with a face, a voice, or a name, something like: “That 12% includes Kofi, age 15, who left school to support his family.”

Here’s how to do it:

• Pick one stat. Choose a single data point that’s easy to grasp.

• Pair it with a single person. Feature a short quote, photo, or name (with permission) that represents the data. One real voice can speak volumes.

• Let them speak. Keep the story in their own words if possible.

This simple formula may create what behavioral scientists call identifiable victim effect. This is the tendency of individuals to offer greater aid when a specific, identifiable person is observed under hardship, as compared to a large, vaguely defined group with the same need. What makes an individual “identifiable”? Personal data such as names, ages, and photos, according to research, are deemed identifiable. And the effect appears stronger when only one person is identified. Check out this example:

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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What If Your Next Data Presentation Got Everyone Out of Their Seats?

Most of us share data in ways that inform. A data walk is designed to do something more: build shared understanding and spark collective action. And unlike a presentation, it keeps everyone moving both literally and figuratively.

The concept, developed by the Urban Institute, is simple. You print out a small number of charts (four to six, no more), mount them around a room as stations, and invite a diverse group of stakeholders to rotate through them in small groups. The physical movement matters. There's no passive back-row seat at a data walk. Everyone is on their feet, circulating, leaning in, pointing at charts, and talking to people they might never sit next to at a traditional meeting. By the time participants finish the last station, they've traveled spatially and intellectually somewhere new.

The discussion questions do a lot of the work. Not "what does this data show?" but "what does this raise for you?" and "what factors might contribute to this?" That shift from reporting to sense-making is where the real value lies, and it's particularly well-suited to nonprofits, whose work almost always involves communities whose lived experience needs to be in the room alongside the data. A data walk creates a rare level playing field where a longtime resident and a program director are both analysts, both contributing, both learning.

And the charts themselves matter enormously. Because each station needs to communicate quickly and spark conversation rather than settle it, your visualizations need to be clear, focused, and simple enough that a mixed audience can engage with them without explanation.

Rockford, Illinois used this approach in 2018 to mobilize their community around third grade reading. Eighty people showed up. People who came in thinking the problem had an obvious fix left with a much more nuanced understanding of why it didn't. That's the data walk at its best: not a presentation of answers, but a structured journey toward better questions.

Learn more: Rockford's Data Walk on 3rd Grade Reading by Sylvia Cheuy, Tamarack Institute.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Are Your Charts Social-Media Ready?

A chart that works beautifully in a report or website falls completely flat on social media. Different context, different rules.

Flourish recently ran a webinar on exactly this, and the core insight was simple: on social media, you have about two seconds to earn someone's attention. That changes everything about how you design.

Here are the principles that stuck with me.

Lead with the hook, not the data. Your chart title isn't a label. It's a headline. Find the surprising moment, the unexpected outlier, the pattern nobody saw coming and put that in the title.

Strip it down. The instinct when making charts is to add: more labels, more context, more color. For social, go the other direction. Ask yourself what you can remove and still have the story come through. Less color, less text, less clutter.

Pass the 5-second test. Can someone read it, grasp the key message, and understand who made it in five seconds? Check for readable text size, strong contrast, clear labels, and your logo, because if it gets reshared, you want credit.

Think format, not just chart. Carousels are getting 11x more interactions on LinkedIn right now. A single chart is a standalone moment. A series of charts is a mini-article with a beginning, middle, and end. Decide which one you're making before you start building.

Nonprofit communicators often have genuinely important data to share such as program outcomes, community trends, impact numbers. The story is already there. The question is whether your chart gives it two seconds to shine.

Tips drawn from Flourish's webinar "Stop the Scroll: Designing Charts for Social Media." Watch the recording here.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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How To Change Their Minds With Data Visualization

Your stakeholders aren't coming to your data as blank slates. They're arriving with assumptions, past experiences, and mental models already firmly in place. And no matter how good your visualization is, it will struggle to land if it doesn't connect to what your audience already believes.

The solution to this problem isn’t better charts. It's better bridges. Here's how to build one:

1. Start with what they already know

Open with a truth your audience already accepts such as a shared observation, a familiar trend, a problem they've personally witnessed. This isn't flattery. It's alignment. You're saying: "We're starting from the same place."

Here’s what that looks like in practice: A workforce development nonprofit is presenting job placement data to a skeptical board that believes their young adult participants are struggling primarily because they lack technical skills. So the presentation begins with: "We all know our participants come to us with significant skills gaps. That's been true since we opened our doors, and it's why our training programs exist."

2. Introduce the tension

Now show them where their current understanding falls short. Not to embarrass, but to create curiosity. "Here's what the data shows that we didn't expect." Tension is what makes people lean in.

In our example, staff might introduce tension this way: "But when we dug into why participants were leaving jobs within 90 days, technical skills almost never came up. Supervisors kept flagging something else entirely."

3. Reveal the new insight as the natural next step

Your key finding shouldn't feel like a surprise attack. It should feel like the inevitable conclusion of a journey you've taken together.

So, staff might then say: "It turns out that workplace communication and conflict resolution are often the problem. These 'soft skills' predicted job retention far better than any technical credential. Here's what that looks like in our data."

4. Anchor it in something real

Close with a specific person, community, or moment that makes the data human. Facts inform the mind. Stories open it.

In our example, that might look like this: "Marcus completed every technical module we offer. He lost his first two jobs within 60 days over a miscommunication with a supervisor. After six weeks in our new coaching program, he's been at his current job for eight months."

The most powerful nonprofit data presentations don't just show what's true. They bring their audience to the truth one step at a time.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Bonus: AI Won't Fix Your Data Culture. But Here's Where It Can Help

Nonprofit professionals are asking the same question right now: Should we be using AI to understand our data?

The honest answer is: it depends on where you are in your data culture journey.

If your team is still struggling with The Overwhelm Response, afraid to engage with data at all, AI adds another layer of complexity before the foundation is there. You can't shortcut culture with a tool. Not even a smart one.

But once your team has some footing, AI can genuinely help in three places:

1. It can lower the barrier to entry. AI can translate a dense dataset into plain language, making it easier for your program director to ask questions without fear of getting it wrong.

2. It can speed up analysis. If your team is stuck in Analysis Paralysis waiting for more data, AI can help synthesize what you already have faster, removing the excuse to delay.

3. It can help distribute data knowledge. One of the risks of Champion Dependency is that data expertise lives in one person. AI tools can give more people access to basic analysis, reducing that single point of failure.

One important note: AI can generate inaccurate analysis and reflect biases in your data without flagging either. Always have a human review AI-generated output before it informs a decision. 

What AI can't do is make your leadership model data-driven behavior, hold your team accountable, or build the trust that makes data culture stick. Those are human moves.

Use AI to remove friction. Don't use it to replace the culture work.

This is a bonus post in our miniseries on 5 Resistance Patterns that Kill Data Culture:

Pattern 1: The Overwhelm Response

Pattern 2: Analysis Paralysis

Pattern 3: The ‘Doesn’t Apply to Me’ Response

Pattern 4: Silent Sabotage

Pattern 5: Champion Dependency.

This is the last guest post from Candra Reeves of the Ardelle Group which helps organizations to build data cultures that survive staff changes and organizational transitions. Ready to start? Schedule a consultation at Ardelle.group

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Oh That’s Sarah’s Thing

You have a data champion. Maybe it’s your data analyst, your Deputy Director who loves spreadsheets, or the program manager who always comes to meetings with numbers. Everyone goes to her. She pulls reports, builds dashboards, and answers every data question.

Your data culture feels alive. And it is, inside one person.

I have personally watched organizations lose three years of data culture progress when their “Sarah” left. Within six months, nobody was looking at dashboards anymore. Not because the dashboard changed, but because the culture lives in one person, not the organization.

Champion Dependency is the most dangerous pattern because it looks like success until it isn’t.

The leadership move is to distribute ownership. Make data everyone’s responsibility, not just who asks for it, but who interprets it and uses it. Build data into your meetings, your decision-making, and your onboarding. 

Sarah will leave eventually. They always do. Make sure your data culture stays when she walks out the door.

This is Part 6 of 6 in our miniseries on 5 Resistance Patterns that Kill Data Culture by Candra Reeves (See this introduction to the series.)

Pattern 1: The Overwhelm Response

Pattern 2: Analysis Paralysis

Pattern 3: The ‘Doesn’t Apply to Me’ Response

Pattern 4: Silent Sabotage

Pattern 5: Champion Dependency.

That’s all 5 patterns. But there’s a bonus tip on AI and data culture next week.This is the work the Ardelle Group does every day, building data cultures that survive staff changes and organizational transitions. Ready to start? Schedule a consultation at Ardelle.group

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Nobody Said No. The Data Just…Isn’t Getting Used

Nobody’s resisting. Nobody’s arguing. And somehow, data still isn’t getting entered on time. Reports you sent last week are sitting unread in inboxes. Dashboard review meetings keep getting rescheduled.

There’s always a reason. “We had an emergency.” “I’ll get to it next week.”

This is Silent Sabotage. It’s insidious because it looks like busyness. What’s really happening is self-protection. When you put data out there, you’re accountable for it. When numbers are bad, you have to deal with them. So not engaging becomes a form of defense.

The leadership move here is visible accountability. Not punishment, accountability.

“We review these five metrics in every leadership meeting. Non-negotiable.” “Data entry deadlines are firm.” “Dashboard review is on the calendar, and we don’t reschedule unless it’s an emergency.”

When data becomes non-optional, people stop treating it as optional. But you have to actually mean it. 

This is Part 5 of 6 in our miniseries on 5 Resistance Patterns that Kill Data Culture by Candra Reeves (See this introduction to the series.) Follow along each week for the remaining patterns:

Pattern 1: The Overwhelm Response

Pattern 2: Analysis Paralysis

Pattern 3: The ‘Doesn’t Apply to Me’ Response

Pattern 4: Silent Sabotage

Pattern 5: Champion Dependency.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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That’s Great, But it Doesn’t Really Apply to What We Do

Your development team thinks data is for the program team. Your program team thinks data is for the evaluators. Your evaluators think data is for the funders. And your funders think you’re on top of it.

Nobody’s lying. They’ve just quietly convinced themselves that data isn’t relevant to their specific work.

This is one of the subtler resistance patterns, and one of the most frustrating, because it’s passive. There’s no pushback, no debate. Just polite disengagement.

The leadership move is to make data answer their questions. Not funder questions. Their questions. 

“Which outreach strategy brings in donors who give again?” That’s a development question answered by data. “Which program model has better outcomes for our highest-risk clients?” That’s a program question answered by data. 

When data starts solving the problems your team already has, suddenly it applies to everyone. And, by the way, the data dashboard design process should begin with these types of questions.

This is Part 4 of 6 in our miniseries on 5 Resistance Patterns that Kill Data Culture by Candra Reeves (See this introduction to the series.) . Follow along each week for the remaining patterns:

Pattern 1: The Overwhelm Response

Pattern 2: Analysis Paralysis

Pattern 3: The ‘Doesn’t Apply to Me’ Response

Pattern 4: Silent Sabotage

Pattern 5: Champion Dependency.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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We Just Need a Little More Data

You’ve been in this meeting. Your team has good data. Everyone agrees it’s pointing in a clear direction. And then someone says it: “I think we need just a little more research before we decide.”

This is Analysis Paralysis. And it’s not about the data. It’s about accountability.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: once you make a data-informed decision, you’re on the record. If it fails, you can’t say “we didn’t have enough information.” So, requesting more data becomes a very sophisticated way of avoiding that exposure. 

The leadership move? Set decision deadlines and give your team explicit permission to be imperfect. 

“We’re deciding on Tuesday with whatever data we have by Monday.” Say it out loud. Put it in the calendar.

Most decisions don’t require 100% certainty. They require 80% certainty and courage. Your job as a leader is to model that and make it clear that waiting is also a decision, and not always the safer one.

This is Part 3 of 6 in our miniseries on 5 Resistance Patterns that Kill Data Culture by Candra Reeves (See this introduction to the series.) Follow along each week for the remaining patterns:

Pattern 1: The Overwhelm Response

Pattern 2: Analysis Paralysis

Pattern 3: The ‘Doesn’t Apply to Me’ Response

Pattern 4: Silent Sabotage

Pattern 5: Champion Dependency.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Your Team Isn’t Resisting Data. They’re Afraid of Getting it Wrong

When someone on your team says, “There’s too much data. I don’t know where to start,” they’re not being difficult. They’re telling you something important.

Your program director has run successful programs for ten years on instinct and relationships. Now you’re handing her a dashboard. She’s terrified she’ll ask the wrong question, or worse, misinterpret it in front of her team. So, she avoids it entirely. This is the Overwhelm Response. And it’s a common resistance pattern I see in data culture work.

The leadership move isn’t more training. It’s fewer choices. Start with one decision. One metric. One meeting. Don’t ask her to master a dashboard, ask her: “Are more people completing your program this year than last?” That’s it. One number.

Build confidence before you build complexity. Data culture doesn't start with the right system. It starts with the right question.

This is the first pattern in our miniseries on 5 Resistance Patterns that Kill Data Culture by Candra Reeves (See this introduction to the series.) Follow along each week for the remaining patterns:

Pattern 1: The Overwhelm Response

Pattern 2: Analysis Paralysis

Pattern 3: The ‘Doesn’t Apply to Me’ Response

Pattern 4: Silent Sabotage

Pattern 5: Champion Dependency.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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5 Resistance Patterns That Are Killing Your Data Culture

A few weeks back, I attended a webinar with Candra Reeves. I loved how she so aptly described all the common and quite understandable reasons folks don't embrace data. And I loved her simple and clear ways of addressing those barriers. So I asked her to share her ideas in a series of 60-Second Data Tips. I'm pleased to share the first one today. -Amelia

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I’m Candra Reeves, Founder & Principal of the Ardelle Group. Before launching my consultancy, I spent over a decade in the nonprofit sector. In that time, I watched well-funded data initiatives collapse. Not because the tools were bad, but because nobody addressed the human side. The resistance. The fear. The habits that outlast any dashboard or data initiative.

After more than 12 years of this work, I’ve identified five resistance patterns that show up in nearly every organization I work with. You’re probably experiencing at least two or three right now.

Over the next five posts, I’m going deep on each one - what it looks like, what’s really happening underneath, and the leadership move that breaks the pattern.

Follow along each week (for the next 5 weeks) so you don’t miss a single one. And if you want to know which patterns are showing up in your organization right now, start with our free self-assessment

Pattern 1: The Overwhelm Response

Pattern 2: Analysis Paralysis

Pattern 3: The ‘Doesn’t Apply to Me’ Response

Pattern 4: Silent Sabotage

Pattern 5: Champion Dependency.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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How To Plug Your Logic Model Into Real-Time Data

“Too often, we treat logic models like grant attachments, only to forget them once the funding is secured. But they are living tools—maps that guide strategy, surface gaps, and keep us accountable. Inputs, outputs, outcomes, long-term impact—each part tells a story and prompts a question. When we revisit these regularly, we find clarity and direction.”

- Courtnee Biscardi, Urban League of Broward County, in July 2025 Harvard Business School article

Indeed, logic models (and their close cousins: theories of change) get more play in grant proposals than in the daily work of a project. But what if we could plug a logic model into the real world? What if we could see how our plan is playing out in reality and make adjustments along the way?

You can do just that by creating a type of interactive data dashboard called a “living logic model.” A living logic model compares theory to reality by showing progress to date. It also allows you to track the progress of subgroups and individuals. So it helps you to plan, to ask the right questions, and to make mid-course corrections.

Here's an anonymized version of a living logic model I created for a client. This is a static image but the logic model is interactive. As you can see, darker shades show more progress.

And if you click on any component of the logic model, you are sent to another page that provides much more detail on that component. In this case, we can see how the average score for school experience, based on survey results, has changed over time and results on the various indicators that comprise school experience.

And you can filter the logic model to show results for a specific location (in this case schools) or year.

So living logic models are a great way to track progress over time. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to talk about creating a living logic model for a project or initiative.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Ideas You Should Steal From This Viz (Installment 17)

“All creative work builds on what came before.” —Austin Kleon in Steal Like An Artist.

Today I offer up another steal-worthy viz. Luc Guillemot uses a connected scatterplot to show how the HIV/AIDS epidemic evolved over time.

Note: This is not a line chart! Here’s how to read it:

• The X-axis (horizontal) shows the number of new HIV infections each year.

• The Y-axis (vertical) shows the number of people dying from HIV/AIDS each year.

• Time follows the line.

To understand it, start at the 1990 point in the bottom right, then follow the line year by year, reading the captions along the way.

Where the line turns from dark to medium red in the late 1990s, you’ll see something powerful: the line begins turning leftward because new infections begin falling. But deaths keep rising for years. The two measures are out of sync because people infected earlier were still dying before treatment became widely available.

A simple line chart wouldn’t show that relationship nearly as clearly. That’s why you should steal this approach. Use a connected scatterplot when:

• Results lag behind effort

• Two metrics influence each other

• Progress isn’t linear

For example: plot program participation (X) against successful outcomes (Y) over several years. If the line loops or bends, you may have uncovered delays between investment and impact.

When you want to show how two forces move together over time — not just whether they go up or down — connect the dots. Just make sure your audience knows where to start and what each axis means.

To see past data tips, including other steal-worthy data visualizations, click HERE.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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Data Visualization Is Not A Monologue

Showing and telling isn’t enough. Remember to also ask and listen.

I talk a lot about showing and telling with data visualization including choosing the right chart, emphasizing what matters, and clearly explaining what the data says.

That’s essential, but it’s not sufficient. Just as important is listening and asking.

If your goal is communication (not just display), you need to know whether your visualization is actually landing. After sharing a chart or dashboard, try asking:

• What stands out to you here?

• What questions does this raise?

• What feels confusing or unclear?

• What would you want to know next?

For example, imagine a nonprofit shares a dashboard showing program participation is up 20%. Leadership celebrates. But program staff ask why certain neighborhoods didn’t see growth. A funder wonders whether outcomes improved, not just counts. Same chart. Very different readings.

Those reactions are data, too. They tell you whether your visualization is:

• communicating clearly,

• answering the right questions,

• sparking curiosity, and

• supporting real decisions.

Use the answers to these questions to hone your charts.

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Let’s talk about YOUR data!

Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.

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