3 Ways the SPARC Dashboard Can Support Your Auxiliary Programs
Last April, after Apte Founder Kaitlin Windle presented her SPARC webinar "Data-Driven Success: Evaluating Your Summer and Auxiliary Programs," SPARC leaders had a light bulb moment--what if they collaborated with Apte to provide all member schools a powerful tool to visualize data?
The SPARC Dashboard
This partnership resulted in the SPARC Dashboard, a new, valuable benefit of SPARC membership. Here are three ways the SPARC Dashboard can support auxiliary professionals:
1. More Efficiently Leverage Data Generated by School Departments
Schools, according to Kaitlin, are "data rich," pulling numbers from finance/operations, fundraising/advancement, admissions/enrollment, and more. The ability to gather this data from multiple departments then store, analyze, and present this data to stakeholders is crucial to the efficient and intentional management of programs.
2. More Intentionally Run Summer and Auxiliary as a "Business within a Business"
Auxiliary programs are increasingly becoming key contributors to non-tuition revenue, helping to sustain the long-term financial stability of schools. Quick and clear access to data helps departments stay focused on goals and make strategic decisions in the present that affect the future. Over time, it's easier to measure and evaluate progress toward those goals.
3. More Powerfully Communicate Data to Stakeholders
According to Kaitlin, data is more readily comprehended when in visualized form as opposed to columns and rows of numbers. Auxiliary leaders, she says, "can more clearly and quickly understand budgets, fundraising progress, expenses vs. revenue, and which classes or programs are filled or which need extra marketing." And it makes a marked difference when presenting data to school leadership, making it easier to gain their support when initiating new programs or changes.
How to Get Started with Your SPARC Dashboard
SPARC members: if you've been waiting, now is the time! (If you're not a member, click here to learn how to join and get your own customized SPARC Dashboard.) Follow the steps below to harness the power of visualized data.
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Apte will send you a personalized data collection template for your school
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Submit your data (this year we’re collecting 3 years of data to establish trend lines)
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Receive your customized dashboard which you can use to inform planning, staffing, budgeting, and communications
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Deadline to submit data for the 2025 cycle: February 28, 2026
SPARC members have access to a host of valuable tools in addition to the new SPARC Dashboard. Join us today to take part in webinars, roundtables, collaborations through SPARC Connect, and vital community support!