Introducing “Ask Deb”: Your Data Destination

Welcome to “Ask Deb,” our new feature, here to answer all your questions about your station’s data and trends in public media fundraising. Do you have a question? Write in, and Deb is here to help!

Deb Ashmore recently joined CDP as our Strategic Analyst. Her work brings her close to station data, which she uses to help stations develop successful practices. But it’s her background that gives her a unique perspective and that perspective which makes her truly impactful.

I sat down with Deb to learn more about her, to get her insights on trends she’s seeing in public media fundraising and to learn how stations can best use data to their advantage.

Susannah: You’ve been at CDP for a few months now. How are you liking it and what’s different about CDP from other places you’ve worked?

Deb: Well, first of all, I love being here. There's a lot that I'm really excited about, but one reason specifically can best be told through something that happened just last week.

We were on a call with folks from across the organization, including from the business, human resources, marketing and tech teams. There was a presentation about fundraising data. I've been on calls like this before. I'm usually the one who's giving that presentation, and typically people are interested because it's important. There's lots of heads nodding and maybe a question or two, but then they say, “Thank you. That was interesting,” and they move on to the next line of business.

In this meeting, everyone was talking about that presentation and talking about the data the way data analysts talk about the data. They were all asking questions to dive in deeper. What does that number mean exactly? If that percentage is up, could it be that something else has gone down? What can we do about that? And why do you think that's happening? And what about the economy? How does that impact what’s happening now?

I was like, “These are my people.” It was inspiring.

Susannah: Data is very much at the center of everything we do here at CDP, which is a slightly different approach than you find in other places. It’s apparent you love data, so tell me more about your background. Have you always been into fundraising and data, and how did that evolve into your work as a strategic analyst?

Deb: I do love data and fundraising, but I had no idea I did. I was an English major and found myself in the role as fundraiser for a public media organization—WXPN—here in Philadelphia. We were a young team and a young station in terms of only being professionally run for a few years. So, we were still building our program. We decided we were going to have an actual direct mail program. So, we had Helen Kennedy and Barbara Appleby (those of you who've been around for a long time know those names) come help us formalize our program.

I remember sitting in the room with them, and they were asking me questions about average gifts and return on investment. And I had no idea what any of the answers were. They said, “OK, go get your fundraising report.” I said, “I don't have one of those.” And they said, “Yes, you do. It's in your office. It's a spiral bound report. Go back there and find it.” So, I did. And, sure enough, I found it. And Helen taught me how to do my job right, using data. I wasn't a numbers person, but what I learned is I can find the story in that data. And for me, that's what's fascinating. Discovering what the numbers say and finding the narrative throughout.

Susannah: In public media, there's no shortage of data. What's the best advice you could give to stations who are dealing with data overwhelm or analysis paralysis? Any tips or tricks you could share?

Deb: Susannah, I've been doing this for a while with public media and across different types of organizations as well. And it’s funny, I’ll be on the phone with an organization for an hour talking about all their data and explaining why different things are up or down and really getting into the details. And at the end of the call, they’ll ask me, “What three things should we focus on?”

I’ve been a deer in the headlights every single time I’ve been asked that. I have to quickly go through their data story in my head and identify the key plot points. What was the secret to any successes they had, and where are their greatest areas of opportunity? There may be lots of little things they could tweak, but what will move the needle the most? What is going to make the most difference this year or two years from now?

Susannah: That makes a lot of sense. What’s low hanging fruit we can move on quickly versus something that may affect the longer term. It’s important to balance working towards both.

Another thing we talk a lot about at CDP is innovation. It's one of our core values, and it's an area where we strive to help stations succeed. So, I want to ask you: What role does data play in innovation?

Deb: It's one of the reasons I love CDP, and I'm going to go back to the very first question you asked: What’s special about CDP? Seeing how all these different department heads just dive into the data and spend an hour on data analysis to determine if the strategy in place is the correct one. We start with what the data is telling us, not what we want to hear. Because that's very easy to do in any organization, in any area of your life. “I'm doing this thing, and I want to because it's comfortable for me. But is it the best thing I should be doing?”

Sometimes the answer is no. Making sure the data is lining up with your goals should drive the strategy you put into place—not the other way around. Do we need to try something else, or is this all working great? What are some other things we can try? What can we test to see which one works best? Let the data do what data does and follow along.

Susannah: Data drives the innovation story. I love that! I’ve got one last question for you: What do you love most about working with different stations and clients?

Deb: First, it must be said that no one gets into fundraising because they’re going to be buying a private island anytime soon. That's just not our main motivation. So, what is the motivation then? It's the work. It's the mission. It is the organizations that we choose to align ourselves with and work with. Seeing them strong and helping them grow in service to their mission is a beautiful thing. I mean, the folks we get to work with—they're the best. They're people who want to change the world and make it better. For me, any small role I can play in helping them do that is really satisfying.

I had so much fun sitting down and learning from Deb. And you can too! If you have a question about your station’s data or trends in public media fundraising, send her an email at askdeb@cdpcommunity.org.