The Next Step: Performance Management Systems

Ingvild Bjornvold, Social Solutions

The best nonprofits -- those passionate about changing lives for the better (and equally convinced of their ethical obligation to make absolutely certain they do no harm) -- use technology to analyze and manage their efforts, processes, and outcomes with the goal of continual improvement.

The emphasis on producing social value and placing clients' well-being first converges with high performing organizations' need to raise money effectively. A well-designed performance management system can help an organization become more effective at serving people and at raising money in an increasingly competitive market.

Making the Right Decisions with Multivariate Testing

Alison Cherry & Joanna Miles, Beaconfire

When it comes to nonprofit fundraising, everyone wants to know "the best" way to do things, but deceptively simple questions keep coming up. And the answer is usually the one we all fear (and hate): "It depends." It depends on your mission. It depends on your audience, and the design of your site, and the goal of your campaign.

There's only one way to know for sure what's best: test it for yourself.

SXSW Nonprofit ROI Poetry Slam

Four great panelists, three funny judges, and the incomparable Beth Kanter put on quite a show. Oh, and we tried to learn a few things along the way. Some of the issues our poets raised:

• Combining qualitative and quantitive data
• Proving ROI to your managers
• Using measurement as a learning tool
• Whether or not online mom communities are mean

I didn't get to capture all the great discussion, but I did get some great video of the poems, thanks to Jordan Viator. So if you missed it, here it is!

The Intangible Measures of Success

David M. Lawson and Jay Goulart, WOW! Institute

Have you ever reached your fundraising goal, but still found your organization cash-poor? Have you found yourself surprised when donors you thought for sure would come through again, didn't?

In uncertain times like we find ourselves in today, we often discover the impact of things like donor perceptions, satisfaction, and happiness. Long-term success depends in no small part on your ability to measure the intangible reasons that create customer loyalty.

If you are going to exceed your donors' expectations, you need to incorporate qualitative measurements that start to illuminate the intangible reasons you are succeeding, holding your own, or perhaps, failing.

New Metrics for Success: What I Learned from the Drudge Report

Flickr Photo: Andrew_NWe had a staff meeting at NTEN a few weeks ago. In addition to seeing a bald eagle while kayaking, we brainstormed our ideas for 2009, and started translating those ideas into goals for the year. I've been chewing on those goals as we finalize our plans here. I have this unsettling feeling that the metrics we're setting for ourselves are adequate, but not outstanding. In short, I wonder if we're measuring what matters.

At the same time, I spent the last two days with some ridiculously smart, funny, and inquisitive folks talking about social media. These were sophisticated nonprofits, and as we discussed what social media might mean for their organizations, they zeroed in on one of the most interesting topics in the space: how do we measure this stuff? It seems that measuring what matters is in the water.