Virtual - Using Data To Drive Impact: Building Data Utilization Capacity for Nonprofits

Using Data To Drive Impact:
Building Data Utilization Capacity for Nonprofits

Wednesday, September 9, 2026
10:00 - 11:30 am CT
Virtual Zoom Event

Do you want to help your non-profit clients use data effectively to manage their day-to-day operations and achieve real impact? Then this session is for you. Jenn Ballentine (Highland Nonprofit Consulting) and Melanie Stathis (Confluential Impact Advisors) will walk you through how to help your clients approach data-informed decision-making holistically, without overwhelming. We will cover data use across an array of strategic areas including program outcomes, people and culture, fundraising, marketing, and board operations. Join us as we discuss how to support nonprofits on their journey towards successful data use.

Melanie Stathis
With over a decade helping non-profits increase their capacity for impact under my belt, I founded Confluential Impact Advisors in 2024. My passion for social impact is matched with a unique set of skills and knowledge:

• Technical expertise in data-driven strategic planning and project management
• Demonstrated cause-driven community engagement, donor engagement, and team building skills
• Program evaluation, continuous improvement, and grant management experience spanning a wide variety of program and grant types including housing, public health, community violence intervention, digital equity, education, youth development, and Head Start
• Technical expertise in data systems, analytics, and IT project management

I help organizations develop practical systems for data-driven decision-making. I guide stakeholders through the collaborative design of overall evaluation strategies, as well as specific tools and data systems so that they can maximize their impact and tell their story. I specialize in catalyzing growth for programs/initiatives with initially limited resources.

Jennifer Ballentine
Jenn Ballentine is a public health and nonprofit professional with over twenty years of experience designing, implementing and evaluating prevention programs and research projects for local, community-based organizations, regional and statewide Foundations and federal health agencies. As a Public Health Analyst for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jenn co-managed a five-year, multi-site, multi-million-dollar research project focused on STD/HIV prevention among African American and Hispanic youth. As an independent consultant, Jenn has partnered with numerous nonprofits to assess community needs, develop strategic directions, strengthen operating and performance measurement practices, and build organizational capacity, all with a racial and equity lens. Skilled in all aspects of impact measurement, Jenn has developed numerous data collection tools, collected, analyzed and synthesized both qualitative and quantitative data and prepared reports, presentations and other communications collateral based on findings.

Jenn has a master’s degree in public health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Psychology and Community Health from Tufts University.

Please contact ACN Association Manager, Jennifer Heffernan, at execdirector@acnconsult.org if you have any questions.