Non-profit Sector News, Trends & Fundraising
Q&A6 experts answer
Navigating the complex world of nonprofit impact can be daunting, but understanding the right metrics to measure success is crucial. This article demystifies the process by presenting 6 essential non-financial metrics, including accomplishments of SEGA graduates and donor retention rates, backed by insights from seasoned experts. These expert perspectives will guide readers through the intricacies of tracking and evaluating the true impact of nonprofit initiatives on nature, people, and internal stakeholders.
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The tremendous accomplishments of our bright young women graduates are a non-financial metric that showcases our success. 70% of our SEGA Girls' Secondary School graduates attend university, compared to just 3% of men and women nationally in Tanzania. University graduates in Tanzania can earn 12 times more income than non-university graduates, and college and university degrees are especially critical for Tanzanian women, who face widespread discrimination in employment and have traditionally been absent from leadership positions. Most of our graduates attend competitive higher education institutions in Tanzania, but some have attended prestigious universities abroad, including Ashesi University in Ghana, African Leadership Academy in South Africa, and African Leadership University in Rwanda. We are working to build a powerful network of Tanzanian employers, including hospitals, schools, and businesses, who can accept SEGA graduates as interns with the potential to lead to employment. Our efforts have been highly successful so far; in recent years, SEGA graduates have been accepted as interns at numerous companies and organizations. While many of our secondary school graduates are still full-time students in the process of completing their higher education, 22 SEGA graduates are employed full-time across various sectors, including education, health care, and community development. Fifty of SEGA's graduates operate their own successful small businesses, creating and selling important products to their communities like clothing, housewares, and food.
Our organization measures its impact beyond financial metrics by looking at customer satisfaction and employee engagement. One example of a non-financial metric we track is our Net Promoter Score (NPS), which shows how likely our customers are to recommend our product or service to others.
This metric gives us a clear picture of how well we're meeting customer expectations and fostering loyalty. For instance, when our NPS score increased after a product update, it reflected that our customers were happy with the improvements, which motivated the team and showed that we were on the right path with customer experience.
Nonprofits can measure their impact beyond financial metrics by focusing on donor engagement and loyalty, which are strong indicators of long-term sustainability and mission alignment.
For example, our latest Giving Experience Study at OneCause found that 74% of social donors reported being very or somewhat likely to become regular annual donors, and 83% of auction attendees expressed interest in continuing their support as annual donors.
A non-financial metric that showcases success is the donor retention rate—specifically, how many first-time social donors return to give again. High retention demonstrates that nonprofits are building trust, showcasing the impact of contributions, and fostering meaningful connections with their supporters. Tracking metrics like donor retention or how many donors shift from one-time gifts to recurring monthly donations provides a clearer picture of the organization's ability to cultivate lasting relationships and build a supportive community around its mission.
Beyond financial metrics, we like to measure how we've impacted the overall success we've had for our clients. We keep up with them and try to see how happy they are with the work we've performed. Customer satisfaction might be a trite way to describe a non-financial metric, but satisfaction is what keeps our clients coming back, and it's how organizations can build a reputation.
As the owner of a creative agency that supports nonprofits in telling their story and being transparent with their work, it's important to both share two kinds of metrics: 1. How many people have, or how much nature has, benefited from your services. If you are in conservation, for example, this might be total acres conserved this year, total acres conserved since inception, and number of species now flourishing in the conserved areas. You might also include number of new walking trails created, and number of people that benefit from the walking trails. 2. Financial metrics such as how much money you raised and how you spent that money (in broad categories). This is much less important than using numbers to tell a story of success and impact, but it is important for trust building. You want to be transparent with your donors about how you spend your money so that they give you more!
One form of impact that is often overlooked is internal stakeholder engagement. In short, the level at which staff and volunteers participate in the organization and its associated goals is determined by how well this is monitored and proactively improved. Methods such as regular internal surveys, group workshops, and one-on-one appraisals can feed into a staff "happiness score." I have seen that with my own clients that, generally speaking, the higher this score, the more impactful the organization is overall.
