According to a study released by John Hopkins University, “a willingness to innovate, experiment, and evaluate is wide spread in the nonprofit world.” However, nonprofits are financially restricted and thus unable act on these innovative ideas.
Of the more than 400 social-service, economic-development, and arts charities that were surveyed, about 80 percent said they had adopted at least one innovative program in the past five years. But, more than two-thirds of respondents said they had identified an innovative program they were unable to implement, generally because they funds.
According to the study, large nonprofits were more likely to fund innovative projects than small ones. Of groups with budgets greater than $3-million, ninety-one percent said that they had adopted at least one innovative program or service in the past five years, compared with 75 percent of groups with budgets under $500,000.
When it comes to measuring results, 85 percent of charities surveyed said they measured the effectiveness of at least a portion of their programs and services at least once a year.
The most common way to measure was to focus on ways to quantify a charity’s work, for example, the number of performances an orchestra holds or the number of meals a soup kitchen serves. But many charities, nearly 70 percent, also look at results produced. These outcome measurements survey whether the organizations are succeeding in doing such things as curbing hunger or homelessness in their communities.
While most nonprofits agree that there are definite benefits to measuring results, many wish there were better, more efficient means for evaluation. Eighty-two percent of respondents said they needed improved tools to measure the qualitative impact of their work, and 81 percent called for measurement tools that took less time to use.
According to one respondent, “The message that evaluation is important is heard loud and clear. The message that we need help developing the methodology to do so and the assistance in implementing it and paying for it is not being heard at all.”
