The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox: A Complete Guide to Program Effectiveness, Performance Measurement, and Results
One of the most talked about subjects in the nonprofit field is the question of effectiveness, performance measurement, and results—collectively referred to as "outcomes." Nonprofit organizations are increasingly being pressed to measure and report their outcomes regularly to funders and other constituents; in addition, service organizations need some form of regular feedback on their outcomes to help them improve their services. The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox identifies the stages in the use of outcomes and shows you how to implement specific facets of certain models to increase capacity and achieve desired results in your organization.Written by Robert Penna—a leading outcomes expert—and sponsored by The Rensselaerville Institute and Charity Navigator, the nation's foremost charity rating service—The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox compiles the most significant strides that have been made in the performance of nonprofits. This valuable toolbox digs deep to go beyond the familiar limits of the social sector to illustrate how tools and approaches used in the corporate sector can be of great analytical and practical use to nonprofits as well.Through the use of worksheets and examples, Dr. Penna offers structured guidance on how to tailor these tools to your organization's unique challenges and equip your "toolbox" to suit your program or organization's needs.Designed to be used by those who are new to outcomes as well as anyone looking for a refresher, The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox is divided into four accessible sections:Basics: Putting outcomes into an overall managerial context, contrasting the outcomes approach with several more common approaches to program design, the vocabulary of outcomes, the characteristics of good outcomes, and identifying outcomes relevant to your programWorking with Outcomes: Planning with outcomes, the different levels of organizational capacity and capacity assessment, using outcomes to track progress, the key characteristics of a good "Lessons Learned" system, and outcome-based communicationsAdvanced Tools: Six Sigma methodology, The Balanced Scorecard, key insights from the service economy, and an array of ideas from Value Engineering, Process Mapping, inventive problem solving, Failure Mode Effect Analysis, personnel recruitment and evaluation, budgeting with outcomes, and the creation of a value proposition for your program or organizationOther Tools & Perspectives: SERVQUAL analysis, Cost vs. Worth vs. Value, building value in, and process mappingAccompanied by a dynamic website to help you implement the concepts presented in the book, The Nonprofit Outcomes Toolbox puts an arsenal of tools at your fingertips to help your nonprofit perform more efficiently, effectively, and productively, from top to bottom.