The
finding that intrigued me the most from the Nonprofit Finance Fund survey was
that 53% of the 6,000 respondents regularly collect data on the impact of their
programs. I thought the number would be
higher. In a time when nonprofits are
facing government funding cuts and will be looking to individuals and
businesses for more funding, they need to be measuring and communicating
impact.
The
53% that measured impact corresponded closely to 54% of respondents who noted
that funders ask them to measure long term impact. While the survey does not note that the same
nonprofits who measure impact are the same ones who are asked to do so, the
similar percentages lead me to believe that is the case.
The
number one reason nonprofits did not measure impact was that they noted they
did not have enough time (69%). The
other reasons related to not having enough knowledge to measure impact. These reasons included: impact is not easily measurable (54%); no
resources to hire an outside consultant to help collect data (52%); and not
having the right staff expertise (40%).
Nonprofits
must make the time to measure impact.
If they cannot explain to their donors, staff, and stakeholders that
what they do makes a positive difference, how will they sustain the
organization?
Now I
know that studies show that 2/3 of donors give without consideration of the
data. I also know that many
organizations provide services to recipients that they cannot track in the long
term.
But
consider this—1/3 of donors do give with consideration of the data. So those organizations that regularly measure
impact will appeal to more donors and be better positioned to thrive.
On
the difficulty of measuring long term impact, nonprofits need to engage in
robust conversations, locally, regionally, and nationally to make sure that
what they are doing is truly impacting the community. They need to clearly define how they will
validate and measure the impact. Small
local nonprofits can and do use national studies that refer to research based
results. This can provide the long term impact
statistics that some donors consider.
Of
all the survey results, this is the number to improve. Over time, if this number increases and the
impact is communicated to donors, staff, and stakeholders, not only will the
financial viability of nonprofits improve but the impact of the nonprofit
sector on the community will improve as well.
