In the world of social finance and philanthropy we are focused on unlocking the key to ‘measuring impact’. Should we actually be more focused on 'measuring value'? You may guess from our name that we are a little biased to the latter!
Since Demonstrating Value was launched, many community-based organizations have developed performance snapshots. The examples on our website have not kept up! I've recently added four new ones that show snapshots for organizations working in different impact areas including environmental, local food and health. Click on any of the images below to see the snapshots in more detail.
Clearsky Retreat Centre, a social enteprise in British Columbia's beautiful Kootenays region, recently developed a performance snapshot of the centre's grassland restoration project.
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When it comes to tracking the business success of a social enterprise, it’s important to focus in on indicators that are truly important and directly useful to the decisions that you need to make. When any small business gets off the ground, there is a constant process of evolution in which you are evaluating success and revising what you do informally, with support from financial tracking and intuition.
When it comes to measuring impact it can be daunting to work out what's tangible and practical to do. You need to be able to think through how your work touches the lives of individuals and the community, and then focus in on measuring what will give you the biggest benefit.
