Estimating the Impact of #GivingTuesday:
Do social media campaigns increase donations? 

I believe social media can be a powerful tool for anyone, but even I'll admit - it's hard to quantify the ROI of social media. Especially for users such as non-profit organizations. But I had the chance to test Twitter's ROI for non-profits in a project that linked Twitter and IRS data to study how #GivingTuesday campaigns affect fundraising. 

Goal: To estimate the effect of #GivingTuesday Twitter campaigns of 501(c)(3) fundraising 

Dates: August 2017 - present

Tools: Python (pandas, tweepy); economic modeling

#1 Lesson: The power of a diverse data science team. I started this project as part of DataDive, a weekend-long volunteer event that assembles computer scientists and data scientists to help charities gain insight from their data. I didn't know anyone at the event but learned an immense amount. And it was incredible to see how a team of strangers with different skills sets (mine was social media mining) can accomplish a lot in one weekend.

Where you can learn more: The project is still ongoing but I hope to publish a blog soon!