Everybody needs to use numbers to do analysis. Whether you are tracking volunteer hours, counting donor dollars, or planning spending for the month, you need to keep track of numbers and use them to plan for the future. Excel can be used to conduct planning, manage budgets, create charts, analyze usage data, and keep records.
A lot of us know how to enter data into Excel and use basic functions like =SUM() or =AVERAGE(). That is a good start, but Excel is so much more powerful than that. Come to our workshop to learn how to use this great tool to ask more sophisticated questions of your data, and give your manager, your board or granting organization the information they are asking for.
Learning Objectives
After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Graph data using multiple types of charts, and know which type of chart is the best for each data inquiry
- Use cell references to make your tables and charts more easily updatable
- Use statistical functions
- Use pivot tables for quick cross-tabulation of large data sets
What to bring
Bring your laptop for this interactive session. You are also invited (optionally) to bring your own data to work with, if you can do so without compromising confidentiality policies.
Who should attend
Anyone who needs to write or interpret reports and who has a solid basic grasp of Excel, including cell references, basic functions, and basic charts. This may include program managers, finance managers, or Executive Directors
Instructor
Maria Lahiffe, VO’s Education Officer, has a rich background in data analysis and education. She started her career as an Environmental Engineer, where she managed wilderness monitoring projects which collected data remotely every 15 minutes for 7 months per year. She analyzed all that data each winter and turned it into slick reports. After that, she spent 13 years in K-12 education, where she honed her skills in simplifying difficult topics. Maria is a confirmed data nerd who loves helping others learn how much valuable information can be extracted from data.