The Technical Corner The Art of Telling a Story with NumbersNumbers do not speak for themselves. They need help. It often seems that the journey to develop a number can be so long that by the time we have finally defined, collected and analyzed an indicator, we often just release them into space with little regard to context and narrative to help others understand their meaning. It's important to balance how we can convey a lot with very little in communicating with numbers, while being mindful to not say so little that they can be used out of context. Read more
ProjectsInvestigating the Impacts of Social Enterprises in Vancouver A new project this fall will investigate the collective impacts of social enterprises in Vancouver that are providing employment and training opportunities for people who are marginalized. Demonstrating Value's Community Partner, the Vancity Community Foundation, is leading the project with funding support from Central City Foundation, Vancity Savings Credit Union, and the Vancouver Foundation. Read moreCreating snapshot templates for Co-operativesVancity Community Foundation is also launching a project to develop Performance Snapshot templates that responds to the specific management and stakeholder engagement needs of co-operatives This research is made possible through a grant from the Centre of Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives (CEARC) at St. Mary’s University. Read more
Issues & Ideas Value for Citizens, not just Taxpayers! There is increasing pressure to frame the value of community-based programs in terms of whether it can save taxpayers money. But trying to prove our worth in this way reduces society to a collection of taxpayers rather than citizens who want to achieve common goals that we can't accomplish privately. As community-based organizations, we need to show and celebrate the full value we create, and to communicate this in all kinds of ways Read more
DV Resources & Tools
Demonstrating Organizational SustainabilityMeasuring impact and business performance indicators alone don’t give a complete picture of the value of an organization and how successful it is. Measuring organizational sustainability does. DV's framework includes an approach to measuring organizational sustainability, and we have specific tools that can be of help. Read more
Tools Out There Nifty Assessment Planning Tool for Foundations and InvestorsI recently came across McKinsey and Company's Learning Driven Assessment Workbook that is based on a great framework for focusing evaluation to meet the needs of different types of programs at different times. The workbook is a simple on-line tool that is geared to the needs of foundations and investors, and results in an Assessment Plan for measuring social impact. Read more | 
