Metrics: Tools for Measuring Success

By John Flynn, Principal
Petrus Development

“How many phone calls did I make last month? How many gifts of $5,000 or more did we receive this year compared to last year? How many new benefactors are contributing to our organization in the last two years? Is the money e make on that special event really the best use of our limited time and resources? Or would our time be better spent improving the phone-a-thon?”

While keeping track of phone calls, benefactor visits or event outcomes may seem like a luxury to some, the most successful development directors understand the value of consistently measuring success. Whether you call them metrics, benchmarks, goals, assessments, outcomes, or results the bottom line remains the same. Organizations that plan, track, measure and evaluate their development activity are often more successful in their organizational efforts than those that do not. This holds true for non-profit organizations committed to advancing their organization regardless of the cause or mission. It is this ability to translate your vision into quantifiable, measurable and achievable benchmarks that will help turn your vision into a reality.

So what is it about metrics that helps an organization achieve a greater level of success? 

Planning your development activities and programs based on achievable benchmarks can elevate your organization to a new level of productivity.  Well-planned benchmarks will demonstrate to exactly what has been accomplished, what still needs to occur, and provide direction for how those goals will be achieved. Tracking your progress will tell you immediately if you need 5 or 500 new benefactors (and at what level) in order to meet your goal.  Metrics can also be extremely useful when demonstrating accomplishments during your annual performance planning and review process.

With increased productivity, comes a new level of accountability and credibility for your program. Quite frankly, the more money that is raised, the more accountable your organization will have to become when tracking and utilizing funds. The more you are accountable, the more credible you become in the eyes of the community. 

For many current and potential benefactors, financial transparency is a requirement. A clear understanding of how and where an organization utilizes contributions is often one of the determining factors in one’s decision to contribute. While the amount of financial and other information provided to board members and the community does (and should) vary, communicating your financial situation is important for Church ministries as well as other non-profits. Organizations that are transparent with their board as well as constituents are going to inspire and instill confidence, and ultimately increase the level of support for your cause. Openness and honesty about your financial situation - in good times and in bad - will foster trust in your organization. During those times in which you are not in the best financial position, you will find that people want to help you resolve your problems.

Similarly, sound financial management is also crucial to the vitality of your ministry or nonprofit. Integrating and utilizing a benchmarking and metric system often requires that internal practices and the development infrastructure are reviewed. More times than not, this review elevates business practices to a higher standard. Too often internal business practices sabotage our work before it even has a chance to succeed. Instead, setting goals and tracking progress can facilitate increased communication and team work among the ministry staff. Procedures and practices may need to be evaluated and replaced to make sure that it works with our goals instead of against them. 

Finally, tracking your development activity just makes sense. Practically speaking, the more information you have about your accomplishments and progress, the better equipped you are to increase a benefactor’s understanding of your ministry or organization. You can use metrics to:

1.  Communicate to Board members and benefactors that your organization has performance expectations by reporting data in newsletters, memos, reports and presentations.
2.  Appeal to an individual’s desire for greater impact by encouraging him or her to look at your performance measurements before they write a check. 
3.  Include qualitative information and depictions of organizational performance and impact in communications materials. Use statements such as “The Living Faith Society began with 10 charter members. Today, over 500 people have joined the movement. Won’t you?”
4.  Use data that is simple and easy to understand. Inform benefactors about the efficiency of high-performing and high-impact programs by incorporating simple and concise data when appropriate. Avoid confusing constituents with lengthy explanations and interpretation of the information.
5.  Institutional funders like foundations or corporations expect an organization to be accountable and to articulate outcomes. They also tend to be cautious in their giving decisions because they often contribute based on the stated priorities of the funder or board. By providing data that is both reliable and practical communicates how well your organization functions to a group of benefactors with limited time and understanding of your mission. Make sure that the metrics used for proposals and requests are consistent with how you measure the accomplishments. 

No matter what you call it –success metrics, benchmarks, goals or just plain common sense – the commitment to identifying and tracking development activity is a characteristic of successful organizations. 

John Flynn is co-founder and principal of Petrus Development. Prior to his work with Petrus, he served as Director of Institutional Advancement at the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas for eleven years. John lives in Lawrence, Kansas with his wife and four children.