Nonprofit Leaders: How Does Your Nonprofit Measure Success?

A Strong Staff Supports a Strong Mission

We measure success through employee feedback and the experiences of those we support.

We prioritize a healthy work-life balance, a culture of support and learning, and equitable support for all clients.

Our success is reflected in the well-being of our staff and the high-quality support we provide to every individual, regardless of their level of need.

— Samantha Wilhite from Connections For Life

More Input Sources Mean More Usable — and Helpful — Data

We use a multi-pronged approach of quantitative and qualitative measures to gauge program success.

We’re known for having great data: In practice, that looks like:

• Tracking impact data (participants’ graduation/persistence rates, educational debt, financial well-being, employment rate)
• Event participant surveys
• Annual alumni monitoring surveys
• Advisor reports
• Case notes
• Scholar testimonials
• Ensuring representation by including program alumni in our decision-making bodies

The more inputs we have for gathering, analyzing, and incorporating feedback to evolve our program offerings, the better positioned we are to meet the dynamic needs of the scholars we serve.

Our team continuously tracks data in Salesforce and produces an impact snapshot every six months, allowing us to quickly identify trends that inform the ongoing development of our program.

— Nicholas Lorenz from New Futures

Satisfied Participants, Supporters — and Staff

ReHope measures success in three distinct ways.

First, as a recovery program provider, completion of any of the four phases of our program are successful steps for participants in their own right.

Second, assessing the staff’s levels of satisfaction and meaning derived from their hard, yet virtuous, work is a measure of success from employees.

Finally, consistent engagement from supporters — whether volunteers or donors — is a consistent gauge of the program’s success and the organization’s successful culture.

— Jason Alvis from ReHope

Measuring the Personal Impact Over Numbers

Success, for us, is a function of the life stories and experiences of the children we serve, and their families. Perhaps we pale when it comes to numbers, but the deeply felt, personal impact in our community is palpable.

In recent years (and for the foreseeable future), sustainability will also be a mark of success. As such, we use matrix methodology detailed in Bell, Masaoka, and Zimmerman’s book “Nonprofit Sustainability”.

Due to the current tendency for NGOs in Mexico, survival throughout the next decade will also be a badge of success.

— Pablo Medina Brener from Rehabilitación Infantil Equinoterapéutica

Are We Fulfilling Our Mission Objectives?

Our organization measures success in terms of how well a program fulfills our mission-driven goals and objectives. We do not view box office receipts and number of “butts-in-seats” as the only measuring stick by which we celebrate our outcomes.

Here are the questions we ask:

• Did the audience enjoy themselves and did how did they show it? (Applause, surveys, comments at the venue, return visits, media reviews, other feedback?)
• How well did this program serve multiple constituencies? (Live audiences, musicians, composers, students, funders, the community?)
• How did this program advance diversity, equity, and inclusion objectives? (In the audience, on the stage, in our outreach venues, by showcasing work by women, people of color, or LGBTQIA+ creators/performers?)
• Did this program advance our field/profession in some measurable, tangible or concrete sense?
• Finally, did we meet our box office/financial goals?

— Patricia Kristof Moy from Music at Kohl Mansion

Tracking Rescue Dogs’ Success Beyond the Adoption

We measure success through specific metrics and qualitative feedback. Our key metrics include the annual number of dogs rescued from shelters, dogfighting rings, and other dangerous situations, along with the number of adoptions finalized each year.

We also monitor the impact of our spay-and-neuter clinics by counting the surgeries performed and the number of animals prevented from being born.

Additionally, we evaluate our training and education programs by assessing improvements in dog behavior and the retention rates of families who keep their pets.

Testimonials from grateful families serve as powerful qualitative indicators, while increased donations and a growing number of monthly supporters provide quantitative evidence of our positive impact on the community.

— PJ Rosch from The Little Red Dog, Inc.

When the Community Trusts You, Getting Feedback is Easy

Through organic community feedback, in-person and online audience surveys, and testimonials, we are able to keep a pulse check of how we are fulfilling our community’s ever-changing needs and providing better opportunities for artists and culture-bearers to thrive.

Once you have built trust and a safe space among your attendees and supporters, feedback comes easy and we’re able to take steps to improve.

— Consuelo Tupper from La Peña Cultural Center

Making Connections Outside the Classroom

The HEAL Project teaches kids where their food comes from, and why it matters, through experiential, outdoor garden-based lessons.

Trying to measure what kids are learning is always hard — but take away desks and pencils and it gets even harder.

We rely heavily on anecdotal evidence and testimonials to learn what students and their teachers take away from our programs.

We often get beautiful drawings from students after the program that illustrate the deep, meaningful connections that kids are making.

— Fiona Benjamin from The HEAL Project

‘Did We Do What We Said?’

Success is defined by a series of small-action steps. As a small organization, Collaborising may not always win the battle, but we stay in the fight for solidarity.

Simply stated, Collaborising asks itself, “Did we do what we said?” — if the answer is yes, we succeeded.

— Lea Murray from Collaborising

Collaboration Keeps You Moving Forward

Any nonprofit organization that is moving forward in its mission is successful. We began as a little-known and often-ignored entity to one today that is sought out by city, county, state, and federal agencies and organizations.

We believe this is because our members have learned to work cooperatively instead of in silos.

Notice the “we” instead of “the organization”: We are a collaborative group — that is our success.

— Deb Nelson from Vision West ND, Inc.