What steps can you take to improve your social impact goals?

1 Define your vision and mission

Before you can set your social impact goals, you need to have a clear vision and mission for your work. Your vision is the ultimate outcome you want to achieve, and your mission is the purpose and approach you use to get there. For example, your vision could be to end hunger in your community, and your mission could be to provide nutritious meals and food education to low-income families. Your vision and mission should guide your social impact goals and align with your values and stakeholders.

2 Identify your target beneficiaries and needs

The next step is to identify who are the people or groups that you want to serve and what are their needs, challenges, and opportunities. You can use various methods to research and understand your target beneficiaries, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or secondary data. You should also consider the context and environment in which they live, work, and interact. By knowing your target beneficiaries and needs, you can design your social impact goals to address them effectively and efficiently.

3 Set SMART and relevant goals

SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These are the criteria that you should use to set your social impact goals. Specific goals are clear and concise, measurable goals are quantifiable and trackable, achievable goals are realistic and attainable, relevant goals are aligned with your vision and mission, and time-bound goals have a deadline and milestones. For example, a SMART goal could be to increase the number of meals served by 20% in the next six months.

4 Choose appropriate indicators and tools

Indicators are the metrics that you use to measure your progress and performance towards your social impact goals. They can be quantitative or qualitative, depending on the nature and scope of your goals. For example, you can use indicators such as the number of meals served, the satisfaction rate of the beneficiaries, or the change in their food security status. Tools are the methods and instruments that you use to collect, analyze, and report your data. They can include surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or software applications. You should choose indicators and tools that are relevant, reliable, valid, and feasible.

5 Collect and analyze feedback and data

Feedback and data are the sources of information that you use to evaluate your social impact goals. Feedback is the input and opinions that you receive from your beneficiaries, stakeholders, partners, or staff. Data is the facts and figures that you gather from your indicators and tools. You should collect and analyze feedback and data regularly and systematically, using methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or software applications. You should also ensure that your feedback and data are accurate, complete, and representative.

6 Review and improve your goals and actions

The final step is to review and improve your goals and actions based on your feedback and data. You should compare your actual results with your expected outcomes, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and learn from your successes and failures. You should also communicate your findings and recommendations to your beneficiaries, stakeholders, partners, and staff, and involve them in the decision-making process. You should then adjust your goals and actions accordingly, and implement the changes in a timely and effective manner.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?