Measurement matters in the nonprofit world, perhaps more than ever. A heartwarming story may pull folks in, but institutional funders and even many individual donors increasingly demand hard evidence that your organization is making a difference.
That impulse is especially strong among young philanthropists, particularly those with a tech or science background.
“They’ve been around data all the time,” says Paul Niehaus, a professor at the University of California at San Diego and co-founder of the nonprofit GiveDirectly. “They’re used to running A/B tests on their websites.”
As the tech community becomes a larger engine of philanthropy, you can bet the clamor for measurement will only grow louder.
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Advice
Program Evaluation: A Glossary of Important Terms
Here’s the lingo you need to know to evaluate your nonprofit’s work — and to demonstrate results to grant makers. -
Advice
8 Ways Grant Makers Can Help Nonprofits Measure Impact
Experts share advice on what foundations should — and shouldn’t — do to improve evaluation. -
Advice
Tips for Measuring and Conveying Impact
Identify the metrics that matter most, don’t be afraid to show short-term results for long-term goals, and weave your data into stories that resonate with grant makers. -
Advice
5 Steps to Effective Measurement
What your organization needs to do to best collect and communicate results. -
News
How One Small Charity Finds Success With a Focus on Metrics
Martha’s Table boosted fundraising by highlighting achievements using hard numbers. Data also helps with major decisions, like where to build its new headquarters. -
Advice
How to Use Data to Boost Giving
Tell a story, and present information that matters to donors in a format that’s easy to understand. -
Advice
Questions to Answer Before You Start Measuring Your Programs
Experts provide advice as your nonprofit sets out to evaluate its work. -
Advice
Two Types of Evaluations
Process evaluations measure how well an organization provides its services, while impact evaluations assess whether programs make a difference. -
Advice
Who Does the Measuring?
Nonprofits can rely on evaluation firms, academics, or in-house researchers, but there are pros and cons to each option. -
Advice
So, What Is a Randomized, Controlled Trial?
The rigorous evaluations are getting a lot of attention in the nonprofit world, but some experts are pushing back. -
Advice
Where to Start if Your Organization is New to Measurement
Nonprofits must start by defining what they want to achieve. They may also want to create a logic model. -
Advice
What Charity Watchdogs Look For
How some of the nonprofit world’s watchdogs come to their conclusions, and what they recommend nonprofits do—and not do—to measure their performance. -
Advice
An Evidence Framework to Improve Nonprofit Program Results
Learn five ways your organization can generate better data-based evidence of the effectiveness of its programs. -
Advice
Reducing Youth Violence: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
A low-cost randomized, controlled trial of a youth-violence prevention program helped it win more than $8-million in grants. -
Advice
How D.C. Central Kitchen Improved its Evaluation Process
By purchasing new software, developing a measurement culture, and hiring new staff members, the nonprofit was able to centralize its data and collect better information from participants. -
Advice
The Importance of Measuring Impact
Esther Wang of IDinsight discusses how rigorous evaluation can help determine which programs are most effective. -
News
A Template to Show Results by Mapping Out How You Got There
This form helps you show what resources you have, how you’ve used them in programs, and the change that resulted.