Defining Success

Hello everyone,
 
I hope that somehow you are staying warm this month. I am not a cold weather fan, and this weather definitely tests my capacity for cold, smile…  
 
This month, I wanted to get you thinking about how you define success. Seemingly everyone in the nonprofit sector is focused on outcomes, perhaps no one more than funders. Funders focus on evidence-based outcomes. They want to know if an organization’s programs ‘work’ and are ‘effective.’  Many nonprofit organizations resist this trend. They argue that success is too difficult to define and certainly too difficult to measure. Other nonprofit organizations resist on the premise that an outcomes-focused approach to services leads organizations to work only with those who give us good results. As one Executive Director stated, “…without wanting to, we sometimes allow our preference for the poor to morph into a preference for the well-behaved and the most likely to succeed” (Boyle, Gregory (2010). Tattoos on the heart: The power of boundless compassion). 
 
The question remains – how do you define success for your organization? Defining success often happens in response to funding opportunities. Allowing others (funders) to define success for your organization leads to the issues listed above. When organizations answer this question for themselves, an outcomes-based approach becomes realistic and even desirable. 
 
To be successful, these discussions must take place at the leadership level. Engage your board of directors in a discussion around the question – how do we define success for our organization? Focus these discussions on outcomes, differentiating between outputs and outcomes. An output is what an organization does, for example, the number and frequency of program activities. An outcome is the change experienced by the people you serve, the impact of your organization’s work. 
 
If an organization does not know why it does what it does or what it does well, why would donors support that organization? Organizational leaders must define success for their organization and then share that success with others.
 
So let me leave you with this.   
 
1. What is success for those you serve? How do they measure success?
2. How does that align with how you measure success in your programs? 
3. Lastly, what is success for your organization?
 
Stay warm and thank you for all you do!  

Jamie