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In an age when nonprofits face intense scrutiny by everyone from donors to people while hoping to remain relevant, organizations rely on a variety of measurements to keep both outsiders and insiders happy.
Outcomes metrics are necessary for funding, accountability, stewardship, reputation, credibility, growth and impact. The pressure to prove credibility, however, can lead organizational leaders to try to document every number that comes down the pike, resulting in a huge, incomprehensible blob of numbers.
Speaking during the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Not-for-Profit-Industry Conference, Joan Benson and MaryFrances Pidgeon outlined the metrics that matter for nonprofits. It isn’t just about gathering numbers, they said, but the right ones.
Their first piece of advice: Link metrics to mission. They used the Nature Conservancy as an example of using metrics the right way.
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