TLDR: Data scientist, impact strategist, and entrepreneur Andrew Means reveals why most nonprofits are "flying blind" without proper data infrastructure, shares hard truths about the charity evaluation industry, and explains how data democratization can transform social impact. Plus: Why he joined Altruous and his vision for evidence-based philanthropy. (72 mins)

Why Listen

• Learn why 90% of nonprofits lack basic data infrastructure and what to do about it

• Discover the "data hierarchy of needs" framework for organizational growth

• Understand why popular charity evaluators might be misleading donors

• Get practical strategies for building data capacity without breaking the budget

• Hear why "data is a team sport" and how to build a data-driven culture

Episode Timestamps

[00:00] Introduction

[03:30] Data culture transformation

[08:00] Why nonprofits are "flying blind" without data

[14:00] The problematic truth about many charity evaluations

[21:00] Data hierarchy of needs: From collection to optimization

[28:00] "Data is a team sport" - Building organizational capacity

[35:00] The power and danger of data visualization

[42:00] Why Charity Navigator and similar platforms fall short

[48:00] Community-centric fundraising vs. traditional philanthropy

[54:00] The case for general operating support

[59:00] Why Andrew joined Altruous as an advisor

[65:00] Building trust through transparency in impact evaluation

[69:00] Vision for the future of data-driven philanthropy

3 Quick Wins You Can Implement Today

1. Audit your data collection: List every piece of data you collect. For each, ask: "What decision does this inform?" If there's no answer, stop collecting it.

2. Start a data discussion: At your next team meeting, ask: "What number would fundamentally change how we operate if we knew it?"

3. Create one simple dashboard: Pick your three most important metrics. Track them weekly in a simple spreadsheet. Share with your team every Monday.

Key Insights & Quotes

On the State of Nonprofit Data

"Most organizations are flying blind. They don't know what's happening, they don't have data to make strategic decisions, and they're purely reactive—which means they're always on their back foot."

On Data Democratization

"Data is a team sport. If it's just one person in a room by themselves doing analysis, the organization is not going to change. You need everyone speaking the same language."

On Charity Evaluators

"We've created systems that cause incentive misalignment. A lot of these organizations that have four stars on Charity Navigator—many are actually not that good, and many great organizations have terrible ratings."

On Real Impact

"Are people better off? That's the only question that matters. Not how little you spent, not your overhead ratio—are the people you serve actually better off?"

Episode Highlights

Data Hierarchy of Needs

Drawing parallels to Maslow's hierarchy, Andrew outlines the progression organizations must follow:

1. Data Collection - Just start gathering information

2. Data Management - Organize and store it properly

3. Data Analysis - Begin asking questions

4. Data Insights - Find meaningful patterns

5. Data Optimization - Use insights to improve continuously

The Charity Evaluator Problem

A devastating critique of popular charity rating platforms: they measure the wrong things (overhead ratios), create perverse incentives (hoarding cash for better ratings), and miss what matters most—actual impact on beneficiaries. Andrew argues these platforms often highlight mediocre organizations while penalizing innovative ones.

Why Data Matters Now More Than Ever

With potential government funding cuts looming, Andrew emphasizes that organizations with strong data infrastructure will survive and thrive. Those who can prove their impact with evidence will attract funding; those operating on anecdotes will struggle.