measuring and communicating impact in nonprofit organizations by bryan richards of aspen impact
TRANSCRIPT
What’s the Score, Who’s Winning, and Who Knows?Discover Ways to Measure and Communicate Your Impact
Bryan A. Richards
President, Aspen Impact
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Measurement Matters
Welcome
More than 100 new nonprofits form nationwide each day. They seek donations, grants,
volunteers, publicity, and other resources to stay alive. Meanwhile, our society becomes
ever more interested in the performance of the nonprofit sector. Which groups make a
tangible difference? Which ones spend well? Which ones connect deeply with their
community? Which ones prepare well for the future?
This presentation provides a framework for choosing methods to measure and convey
impact. A framework can help a nonprofit organization monitor multiple bottom lines and
communicate to a vast array of audiences, within the confines of limited resources.
The best measurement system often isn’t the one that covers every single thing, or that is
the most meticulous in its methodology, but that efficiently, honestly, and memorably
shows how the organization pursues and achieves its top priorities.
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
There are many voices in the wilderness...how will anyone tell yours from the others?!
Who’s Who? Who’s Good? Strategic
We tutor afterschool kidsWe help youth finish
school
We tutor, but it’s for
youth, not kids
We’re an afterschool
mentoring program
We help parents of
children in school
We focus on
afterschool arts
education
For us it’s after-school,
not afterschool!
We provide health services
to youth after school
We offer afterschool
programs for youth with
special needs
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Measure outcomes in four core areas
Worth Measuring
Leadership and management
How well are we leading and managing?
Community outreach
How effectively do we engage our community?
Programmatic impact
How well do our programs serve individual constituents?
Financial sustainability
How financially sustainable are we?
Strategic
Make sure you are not only trying to measure programmatic outcomes.
You must prove your leadership knows what it’s doing.
You must prove you are relevant to your community.
You must prove you can survive.
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Examples of useful measurements
Worth Measuring
Leadership and management
Achievement of National Excellence Award
Dollars raised per board member
Line staff run strategic plan initiatives to completion
Community outreach
Consistent participation within Pike Township
Effective online media outreach
Media exposure generates steady volunteer base
Strategic
Target
Win by 2012
$2,000
Completion of top two initiatives
8,000 repeat clients
20% of new clients come via web
300 of new volunteers cite media pull
Actual
Won in 2009!
$2,000
Two completed
11,000
30%
400
Status
J
K
J
J
J
J
=
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Examples of useful measurements
Worth Measuring
Programmatic impact
Lasting job retention + progression among clients
Complete office skill development among clients
Financial sustainability
Debt-free building expansion
Seven-figure total revenue
Risk-minimal funding diversity
Strategic
Target
80% of clients get raise within 6 months.
100% of clients pass third-party exam
$0 of debt
$1,000,000
Government: 20% of $
<$1,000 gifts: 40% of $
>= $1,000 gifts: 20% of $
Foundations: 20% of $
Actual
80%
95%
$20,000 debt
$720,000
10%
45%
35%
10%
Status
K
K
M
M
M
=
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Shift from measures of busy-ness To measures of effectiveness
Worth Measuring: Examples of What to Measure
Number of clients
participating in program
Focus shifts from proof of
effort to efficiency of impact
Focus shifts from amount of
activity to achievement of
desired results for the client
Focus shifts from
nonprofit’s behavior to
client’s behavior
Strategic
Time spent with
each client
Number of press
articles published
Measurements should emphasize your effectiveness, not your workload
Number of clients getting
desired jobs in desired
time
Percentage of clients
obtaining jobs in target
industries
Number of clients
citing press articles as
key factor in their
enrollment
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Worth Measuring
Smooth
Sticky
Strategic
For each of the four Core Areas, design measurements that accomplish all three of these:
1. Correspond primarily to your strategic plan
2. Lend themselves to smooth implementation
3. Yield stories that will stick in the minds of your constituents
What you measure will play a large role in what you will do.
Measure a million things, and you may go in a million directions.
Therefore, measure just a few things that relate directly to your strategic plan.
Do not design measures that will drain your resources.
Measuring should enable you to operate better.
You should be able to view results as naturally as you view your driving speed.
You know how you are doing, but do others?
Use images, words, and channels that highlight and herald your outcomes.
Let your results be known! Yell them from the mountaintop!
Strategic
Sticky
SmoothSelect measurements that satisfy simple but powerful criteria
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Can we keep score
economically?
Can we do so with
little interference
in our daily operations?
Will the kind of scores we get
influence strategic decisions?
Will we have the power to act
upon findings we may encounter?
Do we have the tools, skills,
discipline, and sample size to
score accurately?
Worth Measuring
Smooth StickyStrategic
Will our scoring methods
and results grab the public’s
interest?
Will the way we convey
results make people
want to talk about us?
Of all the things we can
measure, which are
most critical to our
strategic plan?
!
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Traditional approaches Multimedia approaches
Ways to Incorporate Visuals and Stories Sticky
Online videos
Interactive maps
and GPS tracking
Time lapse
photos or videos
Recorded
sound clips
Award nights
Bios + stories +
testimonials
Financial reports
Program
photo collages
Choose methods that are simple and fun. Engage logic and the senses: touch, feel, sight, smell, sound.
Scrapbooks or
portfolios
Cooking results Internet analytics
Speeches
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Ways to Incorporate Visuals and Stories
Use diagrams to show scope in relation to things people already know
“Each week we
advise enough
parents to sell out
the Colts’ stadium
three times!”
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“Our shelter uses fresh
produce. You would have to
buy a full cart of groceries every
day for a whole year to feed as
many hungry homeless people
as we do in a single lunch.”
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Ways to Incorporate Visuals and Stories
Apply different perspectives
Ask a friend to check herself into your center.
· How long does it take before someone helps her?
· Does she receive the help she needs?
· Do your staff members answer her questions accurately?
· Given your findings, how can you improve operations to make a more positive and lasting impact?
Change your metaphor. View yourself in a different light.
· Imagine your reception area as a pit stop at the Indianapolis 500 race.
· How would this metaphor change the way you measure your center’s effectiveness?
· How would it change behavior at your center?
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Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Ways to Incorporate Visuals and Stories
Use mapping tools to show progress in each location you serve
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Map courtesy of the Ryan’s Well
Foundation, which finances water well
construction in developing countries.
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Ways to Incorporate Visuals and Stories
Let each person fill in the blanks
Give your clients a “Mad Libs” exercise.
· “I come to this agency to learn __________.”
· “The most important way I have changed since coming here is __________.”
· “I wish I could get more help with ________.”
· “The first words I think of when describing your services are _________, _________, and _________.”
· What words do your clients use to describe the outcomes they seek and the outcomes they actually get?
· Now repeat this exercise with your staff, board, and community partners.
· Are your outcome goals consistent across groups?
· Do all groups have similar perceptions of your impact?
· Where and why are there discrepancies? What will you need to change?
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Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Ways to Incorporate Visuals and Stories
Take shots before receiving financial and in-kind support
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Ways to Incorporate Visuals and Stories
Chronicle changes as you build your resource base
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Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Ways to Incorporate Visuals and Stories
Show the dramatic difference resulting from donations you receive
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Ways to Incorporate Visuals and Stories
Tie the tangible benefits to community impact
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Photos courtesy of
Aster Bekele,
Executive Director of
the Felege Hiywot
Center in Indianapolis
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Ways to Incorporate Visuals and Stories
Chart the contributions, immediate benefits, and ultimate social impact
Sticky
Source Date Contribution Benefits Impact
Flower Foundation
Pull Root Trust
United Gardens
Urban Way Fund
City Day of Service
Fruits Forever
Fund
Summer 2008 $10,000Siding and
insulation
Indoor gardening
courses in winter
Fall 2008 $7,000Lighting and
plumbing
Fall 2008 $12,000
Internet access,
databases, and
computers
Weekly e-mail to
3,000 supporters,
leading to $25,000
increase in donor
funding
Spring 2009 $5,000 Landscaping
Safe gardening
throughout the
season
Summer 200950 Volunteers
3 Tons of TopsoilPlanting of crops
Growth of 2 tons of
produce each week
Fall 2009$20,000
50 Bags of SeedGrowing of crops
Enough food to
feed 5,000 after
harvest
Feeding of produce
to neighborhood
twice monthly
Weekly e-mail to
3,000 donors,
leading to $25,000
increase in gifts
Mock data presented below
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Additional Thoughts
Apply friendly approaches and keep your integrity
Match your audience.
· Do a “vocabulary audit.” Ask friends and strangers to tell you whether your narratives are comprehensible!
· Do an “access audit”. Check whether people with varying technical and motor skills can access your content.
· Do a “snap the fingers test.” Could you, or a listener, concisely state your impact at the snap of a finger?
· Your funders may prefer certain information. Seek advice and feedback about how best to convey your story.
Make it easy...for next year.
· If it’s going to be a ton of work now, is it going to be a ton of work next year, too? If so, find another way.
· If you tell a lot this year, will you have enough to say next year?
· If your measurements may change, think ahead about how to enable comparisons from one year to the next.
Embrace objectivity.
· Help people understand your value, but avoid temptations to sugar-coat or dramatize your impact. Be honest!
· Earn a reputation for being thoughtful and level-headed.
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Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Ways to get help
Guidance and assistance are close at hand
Contact Bryan with questions.
· Arrange a conversation at your office, in the field, or via webcam.
· Ask questions, describe your goals, or discuss a project.
· Contact Bryan at 317.826.8520 or [email protected].
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Bryan Richards is a consultant to nonprofit organizations worldwide. He started
Aspen Impact in 2003 to help nonprofit leaders make a more lasting and meaningful
difference in their communities. He has assisted over 200 clients on projects that
have enhanced agencies’ strategic plans, leadership skills, marketing and
fundraising communications, impact measurement, and daily operations.
Bryan honed his creative and analytical techniques at the global management
consulting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers and as the director of a nonprofit service
center at Harvard University. He has served in board and committee roles for
theatre, park, sports, and educational institutions. Bryan occasionally teaches on
university campuses. A Chancellor’s Service Award recipient and Phi Beta Kappa
graduate at UCLA, he earned a master’s degree in education and social policy from
Harvard and an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Bryan completed additional studies at Indiana’s Center for Philanthropy and at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In addition to community roles, Bryan enjoys travel, reading, writing, and sports. You
can reach him directly at 317.826.8520 or [email protected]. To learn more,
see aspenimpact.com.
About Bryan
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact
Enjoy putting these ideas into action!
Bryan A. Richards317.826.8520
Copyright © 2010 Aspen Impact