MEDIA ALERT: Tableau Announces Free Software Programme for UK Charities

Tableau Foundation, part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme of Tableau Software, is providing free licences of its data analytics software as well as training services to UK charitable or not-for-profit organisations. Charities with an annual operating budget of £3 million or less can now unlock valuable insights from their data using Tableau for free.

“We started the Tableau Foundation with a mission to encourage the use of facts and analytical reasoning to solve the world’s problems,” said Neal Myrick, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility at Tableau. “The Tableau for nonprofits programme supports this mission by helping small nonprofits to better manage programs, tell impactful stories, or increase the effectiveness of fundraising efforts through data.”

Tableau Desktop is drag-and-drop software that helps people to analyse and answer questions with data. People use it to visually analyse data in real-time. Results can be shared with other Tableau Desktop users through the free Tableau Reader, or posted online with Tableau Public.

Alongside free software, the company is also launching the Tableau Service Corps, a volunteer network of Tableau employees who are eager to help nonprofits see and understand their data. Regardless of organisation size, a nonprofit can request help on a data-focused project from one of the many volunteers listed on the Tableau Service Corps website. While separate initiatives, the two programs are launched simultaneously so that any nonprofit can use Tableau software and have access to experts who can help make the most of it.

Data can have enormous value to charities, enabling them to quickly measure the results of fundraising campaigns, tailor communications to individual supporters, discover new trends and tell more powerful stories. However, few charities are harnessing the vast volumes of data that exist within their organisations.

According to recent research from the UK’s Institute of Fundraising, less than 24 per cent of UK charities are collecting, analysing and implementing data as part of their strategic planning and decision-making. The same survey found that more than four-fifths admit that although they collect the right data, they don't have time to analyse it properly.

Emma Prest, General Manager at the UK chapter of DataKind, an international NGO made up of data science and social sector expert volunteers supporting charities' use of data, reinforces these findings. “Data is an important and largely untapped resource for charities. Charities often sit atop mounds of rich data, but due to a lack of internal expertise and resources they struggle to realise its potential. From identifying new patterns of need to predicting who needs their support most, charities can hugely benefit from exploring and using data, through visualisation, to make a greater impact.”

To learn more about the Tableau for Nonprofits programme and to obtain free Tableau software, please visit http://www.tableaufoundation.org/free. To book a Tableau Service Corps volunteer visit, https://servicecorps.tableaufoundation.org/browse.

The program is administered through TechSoup, a nonprofit that offers free resources to nonprofits and libraries and charges an administration fee to facilitate the product donation. This program is currently available for U.S. based 501 (c) (3) public charities.

About Tableau Foundation
The Tableau Foundation is an initiative led by the employees of Tableau Software (NYSE: DATA) that encourages the use of facts and analytical reasoning to solve the world’s problems. Tableau Foundation grants combine Tableau’s two most valuable resources – its people and its products – with financial support to nonprofits that are using data to reshape communities around the globe. Since 2014, the Tableau Foundation and Tableau employees have contributed 2,355 volunteer hours and $4.1m to 460 nonprofits worldwide. To learn more, please visit www.tableaufoundation.org