Are You Counting or Are You Measuring?
But there is a fundamental question nonprofits need to ask themselves: Are you counting, or are you measuring? Counting doesn’t actually count for very much. As it turns out, when you count things you’re usually successful. That is not always true when you start measuring things.
A person who just counts things can only tell you that $537,891 was donated online to the organization last year. Yes, that’s a number, but there’s not much value in it. Not a lot of insight. It doesn’t pass the “so what and who cares?” test.
- People:
- Steve MacLaughlin
Steve MacLaughlin is the vice president of data and analytics at Blackbaud and best-selling author of “Data Driven Nonprofits.” Steve has spent 20-plus years driving innovation with a broad range of companies, government institutions and nonprofit organizations. He serves on the board of the Nonprofit Technology Network and is a frequent speaker at conferences and events. Steve earned both his undergraduate degree and a Master of Science degree in interactive media from Indiana University.
