At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County, there are donors, board members, employees, volunteers, and, of course, Bigs and Littles. Each person often fills multiple roles, be it a board member volunteering their time or a staff member becoming a Big. Despite the cross-pollination and familial atmosphere, it can sometimes feel as though we’re each working towards different outcomes. But we are all in this rowboat because there is one thing that brings us together, and that is the end goal: to change the lives of underserved children.
Quantifying program success is a critical part of the philanthropic industry. This is where the balancing act comes in. Identifying what to measure and how tomeasure it can be difficult, especially when dealing with something as immeasurable as a child’s wellbeing. Nevertheless, it’s something we have to do, not only to appease donors, but also to identify how our programs can improve. Over the past few months we have been going through a series of exercises in preparation for a new three-year strategic plan. Outcomes and measurement have been a part of each of the nearly dozen topics our leadership team addressed during this time. Whether it is how we hold our board accountable, how we measure impact, or the level of client service we provide, we measure virtually everything.
What should you measure?
Identifying what to measure starts with your program’s goals. Our #1 goal is to provide one-to-one mentoring for youth who are faced with significant challenges. Why do we want that? Because children who have positive role models are more likely to have high self-esteem and perform well academically.
We measure anything and everything that has to do with our Littles’ emotional and academic successes, such as graduation rates, whether they feel confident, and even their attitudes towards teachers and authority figures.
Over the years, we have discovered that mentoring doesn’t just impact the youth we set out to serve. It truly improves the lives of the people around our Littles, including their Bigs, parents, and siblings.
When pinpointing what you should measure, reach beyond those you directly serve. You’ll be surprised by how many people your organization truly impacts.
How do you measure it?
Here at BBBS, one of the tools we use is a self-evaluation system called the Youth Outcome Survey. Through this survey, we can identify a child’s educational success, avoidance or reduction of risky behavior, and his/her socioemotional competence.
Another is the Strength of Relationship survey, which measures our program quality. The strength of our program relies on our ability to create ideal matches between Bigs and Littles, so it’s important for us to continuously improve our programs.
How often should you measure it?
The simple answer: as often as you can. You should take every opportunity you can to identify whether you’re accomplishing what you set out to achieve and how your programs can improve.
Social-impact organizations can no longer survive on an idea and a promise; we need to ensure that we have strong, current data to support our missions. If we want to be taken seriously and change the perception of our industry (while also changing the world), we need to focus just as much on measuring the effect of what we do as we do on achieving that impact.
To learn how you can help us achieve our goals, visit www.BigBroOC.org.
