YMCA of Chicago Uses Tableau to Turn Business Intelligence into Social Good

The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago is building operational efficiency and measuring the impact of its gyms, programs and camps with the help of Tableau’s Business Intelligence Software. The Y uses Tableau to analyze and communicate data about virtually every one of its hundreds of programs and services, promoting youth development, healthy living and social responsibility throughout Chicagoland.

“The ability to visualize and gain insights from data is critical for all non-profits but the amount and complexity of the data is often overwhelming,” said Andrew Means, Performance Improvement Analyst at the Y. “Tableau is easy to use and the ability of even non-technical managers to slice the data in ways that work best for them has allowed it to become our go-to analysis tool.”

The Y has 25 membership centers around the Chicago area offering programs for health and wellness, camps, child care and education, arts and community services. Data generated by all of those programs is analyzed and used by internal audiences to help them make timely improvements in programming that affects thousands of youth and their families every day. The Y also produces Tableau visualizations for its communication with corporate sponsors and others who want to see their money at work.

“Businesses of all industries and sizes use Tableau but it’s especially rewarding for us to see how non-profits such as the Y can make an impact when they understand their data,” said Elissa Fink, Chief Marketing Office at Tableau Software. “The Y of Chicago is a great example of how spotting trends and outliers can have significant financial and people impact.”

About the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
The Y is Chicagoland’s leading nonprofit strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Through its 25 member centers, five camps and hundreds of extension sites, the Y of Metro Chicago helps children learn and grow, teaches young people to lead, brings families closer, and encourages individual health and wellbeing. As one of the largest and oldest/most established cause-driven organizations/nonprofits in Chicago, YMCA programs impact hundreds of thousands of lives annually, helping to strengthen neighborhoods and respond to unique community needs across Chicagoland. To learn more, visit www.ymcachicago.org.

About Tableau
Tableau Software helps people see and understand data. Ranked by Gartner and IDC in 2011 as the world’s fastest growing business intelligence company, Tableau helps anyone quickly analyze, visualize and share information. More than 9,000 companies get rapid results with Tableau in the office and on-the-go. And tens of thousands of people use Tableau Public to share data in their blogs and websites. See how Tableau can help you by downloading the free trial at www.tableau.com/trial. Register now for the 2012 Tableau Customer Conference at http://conference.tableau.com/2012/.

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