Empowering donors: measuring impact

We’ve got work to do.

I recently read a piece from Give.org, “Public Perceptions of Charity Impact.” In it, they refer to their recently released Special Donor Trust Report. And one of the findings left me with my head in my hands.

Those with household income above $200k who report they know the meaning of “impact”:

• 23% chose “how efficient the organization was in its spending”
• 23% chose “achievement numbers”
• 20% chose “the overall change or outcome brought by the charity’s programs in accordance with its stated mission.”

Sigh.

I hoped by now, at least within our sector, that “efficiency” has been tossed as a good measurement. How is it demonstrated? How is it achieved? Too often with pressure on people doing important work for longer hours or less pay… or both.

And while I love a good infographic, what are “achievement numbers” and how do they show impact? Those numbers – such as how many served, graduation rates, or acres saved from development – are all important, especially in-house. They help track progress within a defined period. But they don’t necessarily correlate with long-term change.

And isn’t that really what we’re after? Three hundred people housed is indeed worthy of celebration. But in the long term, the goal is to end homelessness, isn’t it?

Most donors don’t spend the time we do thinking about these things. They trust the organizations they support for the information that matters. So if they’re given bad metrics (like “efficiency”) or good but short-term metrics from us, of course, that’s how they’ll define the goals.

And then, we’ll feel obligated to use those definitions.

It’s up to us to frame it differently.

Trust, goals, and empowering donors

Donors give because they trust us to spend that money well. But to give them a true picture of how that money is working toward the goals they share, we may need a more expansive framework for impact.

And yes, I understand the power of that hit of dopamine when a donor learns they’ve helped make something good happen. We should be giving them that joy at every opportunity.

But why not use that moment to remind them of the bigger goal?

“Because of you, we fed more than 5,000 people this year. That’s amazing. But we still need you at our side. Our goal is big and audacious: no one goes hungry. Will you stay by our side as we achieve that together?”

Impact timelines matter

In the same report, people said that both immediate and long-term results are important. But more said long-term results are highly important (46%) than said the same for immediate results (23.9%).

Looking at those with incomes below $70k, nearly half said long-term results were most important.

They’re ready to hear about both our long-term and short-term impact. We need to be aware of that. We can frame both our work and annual (or monthly!) achievements alongside the long-term goals.

Donors are our partners in important work. We owe it to them to be thoughtful about how we present the impact of our work at every stage.

Clarity counts when describing your impact

So what will you measure and report? For shorter-term results? For your organization’s mission goals over the long term?

It’s worth thinking hard about this. It’s natural to want to grab any numbers you can to show how you’re worth funding. But think about what those numbers say to people who are not as immersed as you are in the mission.

Think about keeping both the nearby goals and impact and the big-picture goals in the frame. Donors will understand your work better.

The report also found that the public doesn’t quite understand the term “charity impact.” Maybe we can do better explaining that?

Questions to ask

A little personal privilege: my friend, Art Taylor, is President and Chief Executive officer of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance – give.org. It’s thanks to him that I saw the article referenced above. He also has a terrific podcast you might like, The Heart of Giving. Check it out!