logo
Donate
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
    • Glossary
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Sorry about All That “Impact Revolution in Philanthropy” Stuff

Ruth McCambridge
March 4, 2016
Measuring-Impact
“Measure a thousand times, cut once” / Sonny Abesamis

The latest mea culpa from the self-appointed reformers among us unwashed masses of nonprofits comes from Ken Berger, previously of Charity Navigator, writing with Caroline Fiennes. In their article in Alliance Magazine, they admit that the nonprofit “impact revolution” may perhaps have been…misdirected, let’s say.

I admit to having had a longstanding argument with Berger on why he would continue to say from his bully pulpit at Charity Navigator that donors were increasingly clamoring for information proving impact even when the research (that’s right – the research) in no way supported that, so maybe my perception of this confession is colored by that. Regarding what the research does say about “What Donors Want,” please see this article by Cynthia Gibson and William Dietel.

Berger and Fiennes write:

The revolution was based on the premise that it would be a great idea to identify the good ones and get people to fund or implement those at the expense of the weaker ones. In other words, we would create a more rational nonprofit sector in which funds are allocated based on impact. But the “whole impact thing” went wrong because we asked the nonprofits themselves to assess their own impact.

Is that why it all went wrong?

They claim there were two major problems with asking nonprofits to measure their own impact. First, nonprofits may get nervous about exposing negative findings and do marketing instead to ensure their own funding. (The authors admit they themselves have done so, and we believe them.) Second, those deep longitudinal studies can be pricy to undertake. What’s never said straight out: “We realize our prescriptions for this hardworking sector would have ended up favoring the well-capitalized and that there would be a necessary winnowing in all of that—a marginalization of the less well funded, a starving of the ordinary heroes that inhabit every community and the anointing of stars.”

So, according to them, what research should nonprofits do?

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

First, nonprofits should talk to their intended beneficiaries about what they need, what they’re getting, and how it can be improved. And heed what they hear. And second, they can mine their data intelligently, as some already do. Most nonprofits are oversubscribed, and historical data may show which types of beneficiary respond best to their intervention, which they can use to target their work to maximize its effect.

Sounds a lot like what a lot of the best nonprofits already do: ask their communities. Isn’t that what these impact revolutionaries were trying to talk us out of? It’s messy, human, infused with opinions—not at all rational and logic-model-driven, as Bill Schambra is so fond of pointing out.

And, oh, by the way, maybe you can pick up research from elsewhere in your field that will help guide your own work. (By the way, many nonprofits are doing an increasingly great job of this, given the increasing accessibility of research generally.)

Nonprofits and donors should use research into effectiveness to inform their decisions; but encouraging every nonprofit to produce that research and to build their own unique performance management system was a terrible idea. A much better future lies in moving responsibility for finding research and building tools to learn and adapt to independent specialists. In hindsight, this should have been obvious ages ago. In our humble and now rather better-informed opinion, our sector’s effectiveness could be transformed by finding and using reliable evidence in new ways. The impact revolution should change course.

You had us almost convinced…until we realized that there are independent specialists involved. Isn’t that how we got here in the first place? I am a big fan and respecter of research done well. I agree we need to encourage and fund and circulate research at any number of levels, including in nonprofits themselves and by communities associated with nonprofits, and well-funded intermediaries can help identify research questions. What we don’t need, in my not-so-humble opinion, is a new group of independent specialists to tell us what the research should be, and what the research says and should mean.

What these confessions always miss is that once you say you are sorry, you probably should not lay out the next course of action you want everyone to follow.

About the author
Ruth McCambridge

Ruth is Editor Emerita of the Nonprofit Quarterly. Her background includes forty-five years of experience in nonprofits, primarily in organizations that mix grassroots community work with policy change. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Ruth spent a decade at the Boston Foundation, developing and implementing capacity building programs and advocating for grantmaking attention to constituent involvement.

More about: Donor RelationsEquity-Centered ManagementImpact InvestingPhilanthropy

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
Beyond Shared Vision: Building a Collaborative Road Map
Michael Anderson
How to Fend Off Attacks on Nonprofits—Three Key Strategies
Aaron Dorfman
Why Legal Fear Shouldn’t Drive DEI Decisions: What Leaders Need to Know
Jennifer Johnson
How Are Foundations Responding to Federal Cuts?
Rebekah Barber
A Board’s Bold Leap: Radical Change and the Power of Trust
Lissa Jones-Lofgren
The Plan and the Pivot: Embracing Ambivalence in Leadership
Michael Anderson

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
May 27th, 2:00 pm ET

Ask the Nonprofit Lawyer

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
June 26th, 2:00 pm ET

From Performance Management to Mutual Commitment

Fostering a Culture of Joyful Accountability

Register

    
You might also like
Webinar Speaker Michael Anderson against a soundwave graphic.
Beyond Shared Vision: Building a Collaborative Road Map
Michael Anderson
Two fencers in full protective gear face off mid-duel in a brightly lit gym with tall arched windows and a digital scoreboard.
How to Fend Off Attacks on Nonprofits—Three Key Strategies
Aaron Dorfman
A straight, empty road lined with autumn trees stretches toward the horizon, symbolizing clarity, direction, and staying the course.
Why Legal Fear Shouldn’t Drive DEI Decisions: What Leaders...
Jennifer Johnson

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.