At my recent annual physical exam, my doctor suggested I incorporate stretching into my regular exercise routine. I don’t have a specific injury or ailment, but apparently I am now at the age where staying loose and limber is important.
So, I did some research, asked around, and purchased a highly-rated “how to” book on the topic. It’s filled with photos, clear instructions, and simple advice on how to improve one’s overall flexibility.
It’s a terrific book. Well, as far as I can tell, since I have yet to crack it open.
And that’s my challenge. Buying a book is easy; putting it into practice is the hard part. And while the first often leads to the second, it is not a guarantee. My quest for improved flexibility will be no further along until I actually begin the exercises.
Outputs or Outcomes?
There has long been a debate in the nonprofit sector about the relative importance of outputs vs. outcomes. The two terms are similar, but their meanings in the nonprofit world are not the same (it doesn’t help that they are often used interchangeably in common speech).
Outputs refer to activities and efforts… workshops held, number of attendees, sessions completed, etc.
Outcomes refer to desired results… people housed, graduation rates improved, accidents reduced.
Certainly, the two are related. But as with books about stretching and actual flexibility, the presence of outputs doesn’t necessarily lead to desired outcomes. And it’s the outcome, not the output, we really care about.
Further complicating things is that outputs are far easier to measure than outcomes (especially in the short term). So that is often where nonprofits focus their attention, both internally and in their communications.
When I was in primary school, there was a program designed to convince kids not to use drugs known as Project D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). It was a federal program that brought police officers into classrooms, and for which the government spent an estimated three-quarters of a billion dollars annually. Subsequent research concluded the program was “as ineffective as it was widespread.”
Number of classrooms visited by cops? Easy to measure. Number of kids who did not use drugs as a result? We didn’t know for a while and even then, it was hard to say for sure.
The “Market” is Changing
The balance between output and outcome is not new. But recent shifts are making the distinction increasingly more significant.
Indeed, a report by Observer notes that as more and more federal funding gets slashed, nonprofits have become more reliant than ever on the private sector, whether in the form of individuals or nongovernmental organizations. Both present challenges.
In the private sector, there has been a significant drop in the absolute number of people donating. For example, a recent report by Bank of America on philanthropic giving noted that over the past 10 years, there has been a 10-percentage-point decline in the share of affluent households giving to charity.
Among nongovernmental organizations, the focus on outcomes is greater than ever. Again, according to Observer, “Funders are increasingly structuring grants around milestones, staged capital and quantifiable outcomes, approaches long familiar to early-stage startups.”
With a few notable exceptions (MacKenzie Scott first among them), the shrinking number of decision-makers behind the financial support of the nonprofit sector are proportionately more likely to look for metrics and clear stories about the outcomes of interventions from the organizations they fund.
Reflections
Part of the challenge in presenting outcomes to potential donors is that they are simply harder to track. Classic longitudinal studies over several years and against a suitable control group are complex, expensive, and typically not donor-funded.
There are ways around this — I’ve written previously about an approach known as the Theory of Change — but these can also be conceptual and the results less than conclusive.
The bottom line is that donors want results (outcomes) not just activity (outputs). The more you can incorporate these kinds of metrics and measurement into your thinking and actions, the better chance you’ll have of garnering the financial support you require.
