Measure What Matters and everything matters
The title of this post says it all. In this chapter of Measure What Matters, Katie Paine spends some time stressing the importance of measurement in a non-profit world. I've spent a little bit of time involved with non-profit organizations and this is absolutely true.
Being in a non-profit environment is hard work. Many people can relate to this based on school fundraisers and charity walks. I'm sure you've done one of these things, you remember how much work it was to collect donations and explain your cause. It takes hard work to earn every dollar donated. My internship this summer was with a non-profit organization. The men and women in the office worked throughout the fiscal year to meet their donation goals. Once July came around, the fiscal year ended, they started at zero and did it all over again.
That's why measurement was so key. They needed to know what they were doing right. What worked and what didn't? Because there are only so many work days in the week and if they want to meet annual goals every day has to count. I often made personal phone calls to donors to see if they had registered for the upcoming events and if they needed anything from us. The non-profit professionals need to know if my phone calls made an impact or if I should spend time next year doing more useful things to raise money.
Measurement matters in any industry, but non-profits have to make everything count. In order to maintain day-to-day operations, pay employees and continue community outreach efforts, non-profits need every paid hour to pay off.
Being in a non-profit environment is hard work. Many people can relate to this based on school fundraisers and charity walks. I'm sure you've done one of these things, you remember how much work it was to collect donations and explain your cause. It takes hard work to earn every dollar donated. My internship this summer was with a non-profit organization. The men and women in the office worked throughout the fiscal year to meet their donation goals. Once July came around, the fiscal year ended, they started at zero and did it all over again.
That's why measurement was so key. They needed to know what they were doing right. What worked and what didn't? Because there are only so many work days in the week and if they want to meet annual goals every day has to count. I often made personal phone calls to donors to see if they had registered for the upcoming events and if they needed anything from us. The non-profit professionals need to know if my phone calls made an impact or if I should spend time next year doing more useful things to raise money.
Measurement matters in any industry, but non-profits have to make everything count. In order to maintain day-to-day operations, pay employees and continue community outreach efforts, non-profits need every paid hour to pay off.
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