The one question every nonprofit must answer

What do I get for my money?

I know it’s crass but…

Whether it’s members paying dues, supporters making donations or foundations giving grants, they all want to know their investment in your organization is paying off.

Now, I can tell you from experience that this isn’t always easy.

Progress is slow and far from linear.

If could take years to see movement on an issue or, as we’re seeing altogether too often these days, years of progress can be erased in a day.

So when you update members or supporters regularly, there’s not always a lot new or happy to say.

Sometimes you feel like you’re trying to find a new way of describing what you reported the month before and the month before that and the month…

Often you have to present process (e.g., meetings) as progress (and, indeed, sometimes they are).

• Small gains in fundraising are noteworthy, even when you’re far from your ultimate target.
• Speeches or presentations at conferences can be events of note.
• Mentions in the media show your organization’s influence.

But no matter what, your audience must know their dues, their donations, their grants are helping you produce results.

Unfortunately, there’s no single formula for how to do that.

It might be

• reminding your audience how far you’ve come on an issue or what it took to get certain people to the table talk to each other.
• reporting that something bad didn’t happen because of your work.
• explaining what it means that you’re on the agenda of thought leaders or influential organizations.
• offering a case study on how your organization’s unique approach built influence.
• quoting someone who’s benefited from your programs or a leader in your field on the importance of your work.

Have you ever faced this challenge?

How did you handle it?