Skip to content
  • Home
  • Services
    • Audit & Attest
      • Financial Statement Audits
      • Employee Benefit Plans
      • Attestation Engagements
      • Compilations & Review
      • SOC
      • Agreed-Upon Procedures
    • Advisory
      • Transaction Advisory Services
      • Cybersecurity, Technology Risk, Privacy
      • High Net Worth Services
      • Forensic Services
      • Litigation Services
      • Management Consulting
      • Technology Services
      • Valuation Services
    • Business & Tax
      • Corporate Income Tax
      • Individual Income Tax
      • International Tax
      • State and Local Tax Compliance and Tax Minimization Services
      • Tax Planning
    • T&C Family Office Group
  • Industries
    • Car Wash
    • Construction & Real Estate
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Manufacturing & Distribution
    • Nonprofit Organizations
    • Privately-held Companies
    • Professional Services
    • Technology
  • Firm
    • Overview
    • Our People
    • Our Community
    • Templeton Group
      • PracticePro 365
      • T&C Family Office Group
      • Templeton Investigative Services
  • Careers
    • Experienced
    • Students
    • Benefits
  • Pay My Bill
Menu
  • Home
  • Services
    • Audit & Attest
      • Financial Statement Audits
      • Employee Benefit Plans
      • Attestation Engagements
      • Compilations & Review
      • SOC
      • Agreed-Upon Procedures
    • Advisory
      • Transaction Advisory Services
      • Cybersecurity, Technology Risk, Privacy
      • High Net Worth Services
      • Forensic Services
      • Litigation Services
      • Management Consulting
      • Technology Services
      • Valuation Services
    • Business & Tax
      • Corporate Income Tax
      • Individual Income Tax
      • International Tax
      • State and Local Tax Compliance and Tax Minimization Services
      • Tax Planning
    • T&C Family Office Group
  • Industries
    • Car Wash
    • Construction & Real Estate
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Manufacturing & Distribution
    • Nonprofit Organizations
    • Privately-held Companies
    • Professional Services
    • Technology
  • Firm
    • Overview
    • Our People
    • Our Community
    • Templeton Group
      • PracticePro 365
      • T&C Family Office Group
      • Templeton Investigative Services
  • Careers
    • Experienced
    • Students
    • Benefits
  • Pay My Bill
CONTACT US

Why Nonprofits Need to Measure & Monitor Program Impact and Outcomes

  • Blog, Nonprofit

Home » Why Nonprofits Need to Measure & Monitor Program Impact and Outcomes

By Adam Cole, Patrick Pilch, and Dr. David Friend
More nonprofits are waking up. From stringent regulations and government scrutiny around tax-exempt status and grant compliance, to increasingly intense competition for funds, organizations of all shapes and sizes are realizing the need to implement strong measurement and monitoring programs.

The healthcare sector has been a bellwether for enhanced measurement within the last several years, as its institutions are heavily focused on clinical outcomes as drivers of financial results, prompted by the need to corroborate these outcomes to regulators and payers.

The rest of the nonprofit industry has followed suit. Nearly all organizations now face increased demand for their services, despite simultaneous resource shortfalls and heightened competition for funding. What measurement and monitoring practices offer nonprofits is the ability to stay ahead of this challenging situation. Through providing them with insightful and actionable data, organizations can affirm to funders and regulators alike that their programs and investments are aligned with their missions, and generate meaningful impact for the communities they serve.

With that in mind, here is a closer look into four specific reasons for why nonprofits should double down on their measurement and monitoring programs:

Tax-exempt status

Increasingly, organizations are going to have to re-demonstrate that they meet the requirements for tax-exempt status. In many cases, their actions may be appropriate, but they have failed to document them, and if challenged by a taxing authority, they could face a significant problem. If and when an organization faces this opposition, its credibility increases if it can demonstrate a five-year track record of outcomes, as opposed to suddenly scrambling to compile and report outcomes that fail to demonstrate insightful trends.

Competition

There are hundreds of thousands of nonprofits in the U.S., and while each contributes in its own unique way, there is considerable overlap in services, as well as cutthroat competition for limited funds. Every day, organizations vie for influence through their mission and messages. To stay ahead, think as though you were your grantors and donors. They don’t want to fund overhead; they want to help you create an impact, and donors are increasingly viewing their gifts not as donations outright, but as a social impact investment. It’s therefore critical that your organization demonstrates and communicates how its funds are used to pursue the mission, as well as the outcomes your programs generate.

Performance

An organization’s longevity does not determine or guarantee its sustainability. With rapid changes in funding sources and regulations reshaping the industry, there is a greater need for tight financial and budgeting models in order to preserve margins and maintain alignment between an organization’s performance and mission. Strong measurement and monitoring programs put in place a disciplined approach to collecting and analyzing operational performance to avoid liquidity issues, while also demonstrating to funders how grants and other funds are being deployed and delivering returns. This allows organizations to more strategically define desired outcomes, assess the current state and gaps, and then create and implement a plan to drive more mission-focused results.

Governance

Regardless of your nonprofit’s type, its board has a fiduciary responsibility to maximize the impact of its programs. Its onus extends to preserving financial and staffing resources through attracting and retaining the right levels of funding, with the ultimate goal of improving performance margins and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the organization. Strong measurement and monitoring enable and improve its ability to do so. Not only do these programs provide insightful and actionable data with which boards can benchmark their financials and become more efficient, they also keep boards engaged with the organization and the pursuit of its mission.

Why does your organization measure and monitor its programs and impact?

For more information, contact a Templeton & Company Professional.

This article originally appeared in BDO USA, LLP’s “Nonprofit Standard” newsletter (Summer 2015). Copyright © 2015 BDO USA, LLP. All rights reserved. www.bdo.com
Categories
  • Agribusiness
  • Assurance, Advisory & Review
  • Blog
  • Business Consulting & Corporate Compliance
  • Current Opportunities
  • Employee Benefit Plans / 401(k)
  • Healthcare
  • High Net Worth Individuals
  • Manufacturing & Distribution
  • Newsletter Articles
  • Newsletters
  • Nonprofit
  • Press Releases
  • Privately Held Companies
  • Professional Services
  • Real Estate & Construction
  • Retail
  • Specialty Tax Services
  • T&C Family Office Group
  • Tax Planning & Compliance
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • Valuation Services

SHARE THIS ON:

RELATED POSTS

SECURE 2.0 Act: What Is It and What Do You Need to Know About It?

What is it? The SECURE 2.0 Act went into law December 23, 2022, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.  It is expected to reshape

Read More »

GASB Statement No. 101, Compensated Absences

In June 2022, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued GASB Statement No. 101, Compensated Absences (GASBS 101 or Statement). The Statement updates the accounting

Read More »

A Closer Look at IRC Section 1031 Exchanges

By John Chenoweth, CPA What is an IRC Section 1031 Exchange? An IRC Sec. 1031 like-kind exchange is an effective method for investors to defer

Read More »

Contact Us

WEST PALM BEACH
Esperante Building
222 Lakeview Avenue
Suite 1200
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
(561) 798-9988
Fax: (561) 798-4053

FORT LAUDERDALE
The Main
201 East Las Olas Boulevard
Suite 1650
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
(954) 333-0001
Fax: (954) 765-0719

Twitter Facebook Instagram Youtube Linkedin
© 2023 Templeton & Company. All Rights Reserved. Website by Weber & Co.
Services
  • Audit & Attest
  • Advisory
  • Business & Tax
  • T&C Family Office Group
  • Pay My Bill
  • Audit & Attest
  • Advisory
  • Business & Tax
  • T&C Family Office Group
  • Pay My Bill
Industries
  • Car Wash
  • Construction & Real Estate
  • Government
  • Healthcare
  • Manufacturing & Distribution
  • Nonprofit Organizations
  • Privately-held Companies
  • Professional Services
  • Technology
  • Car Wash
  • Construction & Real Estate
  • Government
  • Healthcare
  • Manufacturing & Distribution
  • Nonprofit Organizations
  • Privately-held Companies
  • Professional Services
  • Technology
Firm
  • Overview
  • Our People
  • Our Community
  • Templeton Group
  • Overview
  • Our People
  • Our Community
  • Templeton Group
Careers
  • Experienced
  • Students
  • Benefits
  • Experienced
  • Students
  • Benefits
Cleantalk Pixel